Homeschool playground days are always a highlight for my family. They provide wonderful opportunities for deepening friendships and developing social skills. Plus, they’re just plain fun! And every once in a while, they present me with a “window” moment: an opportunity to witness the beauty of this unschooling life in action. Today was one of […]
Unschooling Blog
What About Socialization? Part 1
We went to a homeschool gathering today at a local park. It was a raw, chilly, gray kind of day, but I left with a warm glow. It was such a beautiful thing to watch these children of all ages, shapes and sizes come together to socialize. “What about socialization?” is such a common question […]
How do YOU Take Care of Mom?
Recently I wrote a post about how difficult it can be for us moms to make time to care for ourselves. It’s something I’ve struggled with since the moment I became a mother. And apparently, I’m not alone. So many of you wrote back to say that you share this same challenge. A few of […]
Facilitating Our Children’s Desires
For two years now my daughter Katy has wanted a cat. No, wanted isn’t really the right word. Passionately desired with every fiber of her being is more like it. At first, I kind of figured it was a passing phase. After all, she was barely five years old. Her tastes changed as often as […]
Living a Double Life
It’s 11:55 on a Saturday night. In just about 5 minutes, my husband will turn 42. For the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of sharing those birthdays with him. But not tomorrow. Tomorrow he will be winging his way to sunny Florida on business, while I keep the home fires burning. As I […]
Lucky 100: A Post About Posts
My last post, Unschooling: Who Takes Care of Mom?, was my 100th post on unschoolers.org! It’s been a two-year long journey since I sat in this very same spot writing my very first post, It’s a Wonderful Life – under protest. As my visionary of a husband likes to point out, this entire website was […]
Unschooling: Who Takes Care of Mom?
Today it was my turn to come down with the mild cold that my kids had last week – only for me, it was clearly shaping up to be not so mild. I got up, gave the kids breakfast, and got Katy ready for her play date with my mom. After her departure, I surveyed […]
An Unschooling Twist on Worksheets
Friends of ours recently gave us a bunch of old workbooks their kids had outgrown, and today I pulled one out just out of curiosity. It was kind of cute, using classic literature and incorporating a few skill-based worksheets. As I flipped through the pages, Faith’s eye fell on some cut outs of farm animals […]
Say Goodbye to Standards: how unschoolers learn what they need, when they want
Because I’ve yet to entirely vanquish the schoolteacher in my head, every once in a while I find myself perusing the school system’s scope and sequence. This is a weighty document that spells out everything a child in a particular grade is supposed to have covered, and – with any luck – mastered. Eight years […]
In Praise of Teachers
I know, it’s a weird title for an unschooling website. It’s a weird subject for an unschooling mom to be writing about. But, having taught in public schools for ten years, it’s a piece I feel compelled to write. Like members of every other profession, teachers span the spectrum from outstanding to completely incompetent. As […]