Me Too

I'm Learning to Love Learning

One of the main goals I have in homeschooling my children is to teach them to love learning. What I'm finding, is that as I guide my children along this path, I am re-learning to love learning.

I went through a traditional schooling experience. I survived it. I succeeded at it. I came out ok. However, many of my "successes" are really just my success at coping with certain restraints or figuring out how to "work the system". I want my children's experiences to be more than just coping.

As I homeschool my kids, I find that I'm excited to learn too. I am still not interested in learning history, it's never been my favorite subject. But I am fascinated, that when I read about historical events, knowing there is no test later, I find that the information is much more interesting to me. I may forget the facts tomorrow, but the general feelings of events stay with me. I love putting different historical pieces together and seeing a larger picture. A new energy is emerging from me as I read about our world's history.

Perhaps one could argue my interest is peaking because I'm older now and history is more interesting to me at this age than when I was a teenager. But I think I'm having more fun because there's no test to measure how much information I'm retaining. No one is asking me if I can site 3 examples as to why my point of view is correct. I'm free to read in any order I want. I get to share my thoughts and interpretations with others without a grade attached to it.

I am also allowed to learn about things that interest me, like the photography business I have with my father. There is always something to learn in photography that will make my work better. I hope my children see that, while I may be scared sometimes (like shooting my first wedding event), I am attacking the learning curve around my passion. That I, willingly, spend the time to be sure I'm ready for a shoot. That "getting ready" can look like practice, information gathering, reading, and more. I hope they see how proud I am of myself after successfully completing a shoot I worked really hard one (not just on the day, but the days and weeks leading up to the event).

Motivation Works

 How A Motivated Kid Succeeds

I keep wondering how my kids can learn under the unschooling method. I want them to follow their passions. But at their ages (8 and 11), they seem to be passionate about YouTube and Minecraft. Yes, they have other interests. Yes, it is my job as the parent to facilitate learning for those other interests. But I keep reading about successful kids and how they followed their interests on their own. Because they were interested in the subject, they learned faster, deeper and without much direction from an adult. I just don't see that kind of behavior with my kids yet. They are young, and perhaps that is why. Or perhaps I'm too lazy and too hands off? Whatever the reason, this lack of motivation that fuels my desire to hold onto certain school paradigms I desperately want to let go.

This summer, my daughter participated in a day camp based on the theme of the Percy Jackson  novels. One of her tasks was to sharpen 10 sticks with a knife, unaided, so she could use them with a homemade bow. I was impressed with her dedication to the project. She stayed up late into the night, working in the dark, to get her 10 sticks completed.

I admit, I offered to help around 10pm. She refused my help, wanting to do it herself. I promised I wouldn't tell. I promised they couldn't figure it out. But she refused.

The cynical part of me thought this was only to avoid getting caught. Or to avoid being embarrassment in front of co-campers who she feared would finish without her. Or to avoid humiliation if she wasn't allowed to participate in the next day's events because she didn't finish. But, the optimistic part of me is proud of her. She was determination to do her own work, no matter how long it took. She made each stick "perfect". She kept her integrity about her and did all the work herself.

In the end, of course, the counselors realized the task was too long for one night and gave the kids another day to complete the assignment. My daughter, having finished the night before, enjoyed a night off, feeling proud of her accomplishment.

Is It Summer Yet?

 Can't Conentrate Anymore

I planned to be engaged in our routine until early or mid-June with the local public school system. However, this year, we went on a big family vacation at the end of May. Since returning home, I have NOT been able to get back into routine-mode. So, for our family, summer routines started early.

Thank goodness for a homeschooling community that continues on and invites us on wonderful field trips to local museums.

The Joy of Giving

Giving Together

The girls celebrated their birthdays together this year. We talked with them about having so much in our lives. We asked if they'd be willing to forgo regular gifts and ask invitees to bring donations for our local pet shelter instead. I'm proud that they agreed to do this and it was a great celebration that ended in warm and fuzzy feelings as we donated tons of dog and cat food.

My Mistake

Lead by Mistake

I think it's fun that my kids get to learn from my mistakes, not just their own. Being home with me, most of the time, they are able to see a lot more of my mistakes as I make them.

Today, I left the room while boiling eggs. I completely forgot I was cooking until I heard a loud banging noise. I thought the kids were hitting the wall with a stool or book or... I really couldn't imagine why they were making such a racket. When they yelled through the house that they weren't doing anything, I came to investigate and found my eggs like this. The banging noise I heard? Eggs exploding and popping all over the kitchen.

I am also reminded that even though we all learn through our experiences, we can forget and may need to re-learn some lessons. Things I re-learned today and hope my kids learned too:
1) Always set a timer when working in the kitchen
2) Exploding eggs are very loud and go very far (I was still finding bits and pieces hours later)
3) Forgive yourself for making a mistake you know you should have been able to avoid
4) No one's hurt? Then laugh!

Events Lead Our Learning

 Learning Day by Day

More and more, we are using the events of our days to drive our learning. Unschoolers learn through their natural life experiences, and I'm learning more and more how this type of learning looks as I try to separate from traditional schooling formulas.

The Dalai Lama was invited to speak in our town over 10 years ago and his visit was finally realized a few days ago. We read books on his life, spirituality, exile, and more. We also read about others who have received the Nobel Peace Prize. This event was an exciting opportunity that presented itself and drove our learning for the past few weeks. I continue to enjoy the freedom and flexibility to be able to focus on events happening right now without the fear that something else is being "skipped over" to make room for it.

Moms' Day Out

Follow the Leader

Spring fever is here and any chance we get, we are outside enjoying the sunshine. Today we walked around the local ponds again. This time we went with friends and had a great time looking for turtles. It was great to see a mama duck leading her ducklings in the pond, just as we were leading our "ducklings" around the pond (but to be honest, we didn't really lead our "ducklings" as much as they ran ahead!)