What Have We Been Up To?

Lately we have been so busy. It seems that we are constantly on the go. Lots of things to interrupt that Unschooling Experiment. I have been distracted with a zillion things: garage sale, physical therapy for my neck, runs to and from ballet and choir, planning a vacation, upcoming testing, upcoming field trip... I don't remember ever having such a busy month of May.

It is difficult to continue school in the midst of such much distraction. I wish I could stop school now and just enjoy the nice weather, go outside, go on nature walks, learn to draw, do art, and then school more formally later in the summer, when it is miserably hot outside. I had a friend who did that. But I know my kids won't go for that. They would like to be out and done in the summer like all their friends. It is difficult to swim against the current!

Of course, you would say, isn't that what the unschooling experiment was all about? less formality, more delight directed learning? Well, I have discovered that

• my kids are not self motivated. If I directed to something new then they can take off with it.
• that to homeschool this way the mother has to be really present and in tune with her kids.
• this mother, with half her brain in other stuff, doesn't do a good job at motivating her kids.
• going into "unschooling" half way doesn't really work. You either do it or don't. Having to do certain things (like non-negotiables like math and religion) ruins the atmosphere.
• I have to be the one making the big changes. I have to be involved. I either get involved with what they want to do or get them involved in what I want to do. I have opted, in most instances, for the second option. No fair. I need to be willing to play what Nicolas wants to play, listen to what Alex wants to say,etc.
  
• with me, it is an issue of control. It is difficult to let go and let them be in charge.
  
• it is also an issue of trust. I don't trust that they can self regulate. I don't trust that they would choose good things to spend the time with. I fear that they are going to choose the easiest thing to do: watch tv and play on the computer, talk to friends, chat...
• it is funny how you enter into something for your kids and you end up learning a lot about yourself.

Now, I don't want you to get the impression that we are not having fun. Nicolas and I have sat every day for about an hour and just read. I haven't done that for a while. We are reading about plants, bees, butterflies. We are reading fiction and non fiction. Then we are going outside and doing some plant related "stuff". We have planted, weeded, watered, looked at seeds, drawn seeds... I have a mind of making use of some free lapbooks I have found here and here. Nicolas likes to work with his hands.

Other things we are doing:

• Reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
• Reading Amy Welborn's Prove It! Church.
• Studying decimals.
• Reading Introduction to Scripture the Scott Hahn textbook.
• We just picked up again Story of the World vol. 4. We read yesterday about South Africa and Apartheid.
• Alex is reading The Breadwinner a book that takes place in Afghanistan. ( I just discovered this have a sequel)
  
• Gabi is reading Murder in the Orient Express.
• I am reading Hold On to your Kids, subtitled Why Parents Need to Matter more than Peers.
• Alex and Nicolas have spent some time playing together.
• Alex is fascinated with the Toreador Song from Carmen.
• Nicolas just thinks about baseball.
• Gabi is trying to plan how she would remodel our bathroom (it needs it badly- believe me!)
• Alex and Nicolas have watched some segments on plants from the LPB Cyberchannel.
• Alex is drawing downtown Meratain, a city he has created in his imagination.
• Gabi is busy preparing for her dance recital.
  
• Alex is practicing his violin and his choir concert.

I guess learning is happening more than I realized.