Just a little chewing of the cud.

Life Without School: Checklist for New Unschooler

We are not "new unschoolers" I don't like the term "unschool" but I can get behind the term "unschooly"

I thought I would take a little bit of time out of my evening to reflect on the checklist that Becky presented in the above link.

1. Remove the word "educational" from your vocabulary.

Ohh, that is a tough one. As much as we were unschooly while doing a public charter I am forever scarred on this point. I spent so much time fitting their activities into subjects that it is only now that I'm realizing that I need to deschool even it the kid don't. I find it interesting to note that fact after another parent just used the term about herself last Wednesday at Dragon Tree. We used a charter for ds for 4 years and for dd for 3 years. We started because we needed a way to keep mil appeased. She is a retired local K teacher and it was easier to find a middle ground that to potentially cause a major problem in the family. We stuck with it for as long as we did for dd's speech therapy. When there was a failure to provide those services the last year I had to realize that time, experience, and development were making a much larger difference that most of the therapist we were assigned. I had to accept that like so much of our lives I was ready to release and trust the process.

2. Slow down and relax.

True. True. True. That is something that many of us,
myself for sure, need to be reminded of on occasion. My kids have been
making that clear the last two weeks that they needed to slow down and
relax. Sometimes I'm slow to pick up on that need.

3. Make sure that cool stuff is within reach.

That is so much easier at 8 & 10 than it was 5 & 7. Much of it was out of sight, so out of mind in those earlier years.

4. Make time for the things you enjoy.

YES! This is true for parenting in general but especially when we are spending this much time with our children. Sometimes it can be easy to forget about making time for things I enjoy. I strive to do so and have throughout my parenting journey but it is still something to keep in mind.

5. Have fun.

:) YES! Find the Joy. Find the Fun. Concentrate on the positive.

6. Don't be afraid of being called a flake.

That is a trigger for me. Flake, applied to anything relating to parenting sets me on edge. I will say, that I am not "afraid" of being called a flake from someone uneducated (oh there is that word) about our path more so afraid of potential problems that could be caused by someone who takes it upon themselves to decide that they no what is best for my child and they deem that what we are doing is "flaky".

7. Allow yourself to be imperfect.

More great words of wisdom.

8. Remember that what other people think of you is none of your business.

Hum. My bolding. Wow. What other people think of me is none of my business. What other people think of me, is none of my business. Interesting. What other people think of ME is none of MY business. That one has some great potential and I'm definitely going to have to spend more time thinking about that.

9. Chose the relationship over your need to be right.

So true. This applies adult relationships as well as those with our children. Good point.

10. Trust your children.

LOL DS has been teaching me this from the get go. From his birth to learning to read and ride a bike. I'm sure DD has been doing the same but I'm less aware of major landmarks with her than I was with him.

9/19/08 Friday Five

That One Girls - Friday Five

1. What did you want to be when you were a kid? --- The first female vice president of the United States. That was short lived, by the time I was 12 I knew politics was not my thing. Then I wanted to be a professional volunteer. I was going to marry my knight in shinning armor (I did) and then be a volunteer for the rest of my life (hsing mom is pretty much that) and I was going to skip the Mommy thing and go straight to the Grandma thing (I messed that one up when my hormones got in the way)


2. What is your proudest accomplishment so far? --- It is not my best work but my proudest accomplishment. The Strength and Hugs quilt that I made in about a week. When my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer in 2002 I put out an APB to IRL and on-line friends for favorite scraps and fabric and made my mom a quilt. From conception to completion was about 14 days. Mom got to look at that quilt every day of the rest of her life knowing all the people that were sending her strength and love. She requested a 2nd, smaller, quilt to take with her to her different treatments. I had enough extras from the first to make another similar one but smaller, more of a twin/lap size.


3. What is your dream job? --- It used to be something where I can be on a laptop on the beach somewhere warm and check in every once in awhile to do some problem solving. Now, I find that I'm doing it. This educational facilitator gig for my kids is amazingly satisfying and challenging at the same time.


4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? --- In a similar space. Still facilitating the kids education but to a lesser degree. Still learning and growing every day. Still enjoying life while creating and researching.


5. What does it take to make you happy? --- Sunshine, fresh air, and warmth.

I've been chewing on this word for about 6 weeks.

It is a word I had heard in the past. A word I understood. But a word that was given more weight in my mind after a group discussion at a confrence.

The word is "unschooly" or would it be "unschoolly" or "unschool-y" or even "unschoolie"?

It is being used as a way to describe a type of non-institutional learning.
Not just homeschooling because much of it does not occur at home.

The idea is that the form of education being described is like unschooling but not exactly unschooling so it is "unschoolly" "unschool-y" "unschooly" "unschoolingy" "unschoolingie" oh crud some of those are ugly words..

I'd really like to figure out how it is actually spelled.

Why? Why do I care? Why does it matter?

Well, it matters to me because people get all caught up in the check list that is, and is not unschooling, unschooled, unschool. The intent, the execution, what it looks like to the kid, parent or outsiders. No, it really doesn't "matter" matter but it matters in context of attempting to communicate a philosophy of education.

I'm using it as "having properties of" unschooling. So would that mean the word would be "unschoolingly". Oh goodness, I'm in over my head.

So, if it is my call, I decide, until convinced otherwise, that the word is "Unschooly"

If Merriam-Webster defines "girly" as "girlish" and "girlish" as "of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a girl or girlhood" then I can extrapolate "unschooly" or "unschoolie" to "of, relating to, or having characteristics of unschool"... but should it be "unschoolingy" instead of "unschooly".

Ugh, I'll just decide that I don't have enough knowledge to decide. Nor the inclination to gain the knowledge needed in order to make a decision.

Definition from John Holt Grown Without Schooling
http://www.holtgws.com/whatisunschoolin.html
A short snip from the full definition given on the site.

"When pressed, I define unschooling as allowing children as much
freedom to learn in the world, as their parents can comfortably bear. The
advantage of this method is that it doesn't require you, the parent, to become
someone else, i.e. a professional teacher pouring knowledge into child-vessels
on a planned basis. Instead you live and learn together, pursuing questions and
interests as they arise and using conventional schooling on an "on demand"
basis, if at all. "

Unschooling.com definitions of unschooling

http://www.unschooling.com/library/faq/definitions.shtml
List of definitions from Sandra Dodd's site.
http://sandradodd.com/unschool/definition