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Links we like right now:

Math Reference: Tables, Facts, and Formulas (Hollis)
ABC Tracing Pages (Annika)
Powerpuff Girls Coloring Pages (Annika)
Stage 1 Multiplication Worksheets (Hollis)
WorldAtlas.com (Hollis)
Barbie.com and NickJr.com (Annika)

What is Unschooling?

If school is structured, teacher-led learning, then unschooling is precisely the opposite: unstructured, child-led learning. That means the kids pick what they want to learn, when they want to learn it, and how much they want to learn at a time. That means no classes, no formal lessons, no grades, no tests, no set cirriculum, no schedule, not even any specific goals.

But can kids learn this way? Can they really learn math and science and reading without formal instruction? For real? They sure can, and Hollis and Annika are proof. They've never been inside a classroom, never been tested. Yet Annika can identify numbers into the hundreds and is beginning to read by herself at the age of 5. Hollis knows more about astronomy and geography than the average adult. Both kids "work" above (in Hollis' case far above) grade level and both have never had an academic lesson from a professional teacher. And 95% of their days are spent playing.

The key to unschooling is to trust your child, the same way you trusted them to learn how to walk, talk, eat, and throw a ball. Remember that human beings are curious by nature and that for us, learning is instinct. Left to their own devices, kids will learn, because they have to and because they want to and because learning is fulfilling and kids don't like to be bored. As long as kids have access to the resources they want and need (art and sports equipment, books, TV, whatever they like) then they'll learn. Life is interdisciplinary, and unschooling means learning from life.

May 22, 2003

Unschooling pic of the day: Occasionally We Sleep

Yes, it's been a year since we updated. So?

Quotes of the Day:
"Mommy, I love my globe, but what I really want is a globe with the supercontinent of Pangea." -- Hollis
"Mommy, I found a 1 Euro coin that dropped in the lego box!" -- Hollis
"Mommeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Hollis hid my Powerpuff Girls and now they're lost and I can't find theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeem! I WANT MY POWERPUFF GIRLS! WHERE ARE THEY I WANT THEM RIGHT N...... oh, never mind, I found them." -- Annika

June 17, 2002

Unschooling pic of the day: Strange Fantasy World

-- Essay by Mommy --

So I wake up this morning and my kids (6 and 4) are playing high concept Little People.

"Zoo!" says the 4yo. "Get the zoo, Mommy! We need the zoo. The animals need a place to hide from the poachers!"

"Urgle," I say, rolling off the futon and nearly landing on my head. I am not a morning person.

By the time I've returned from their room with Fisher Price Zoo in hand, the kids have constructed a paddock out of Disney DVDs.

"That's a trick," they explain. "Those movies trap the bad guys." (God help the bad guys. Disney movies? The court system should hire my kids to mete out justice.)

I leave them to their strange fantasy world to take a shower. When I come out, my 6yo is spouting tidbits from the Shaquille O'Neal biography he is reading.

"That's great, honey!" I say, hoping I don't sound too bitter. I am a Celtics fan and the recent Lakers victory still hurts.

Undaunted, he follows me into the computer room. "FUN FACT FOR THE DAY! Why did the Americans put a tent on the other side of the river at West Point?"

"Ummmm..." I say non-commitally, but it's obvious he's not going to let me off the hook. I am tempted to comment on Shaq's woeful free throw percentage as a cruel distraction, but instead I bow my head and concede defeat.

"So the English England people couldn't take over the river!" He cackles as if it's a joke. Or maybe he's just laughing at my ignorance. I'm not sure.

About three minutes later he returns. He is holding a pair of socks in his hand. "Which way do these go again, Mommy?" he asks.

And I feel like a normal mother again.

June 12, 2002

Unschooling pic of the day: The Play Family Castle Arena

What we did today: Put the futon up all by ourselves! Yay!; Ate the strawberries we picked yesterday; Drew maps; Invented an obstacle course to race; Listened to They Might be Giants; Played with dominoes; Made some Latin verb cards; watched a movie; Watched a documentary on ancient Ireland to kill time before the basketball game.

What we learned: Istanbul and Ankara are cities in Turkey. Istanbul is on the border of Asia and Europe; Istanbul was Constantinople, Now it's Istanbul not Constantinople, Why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks; How to conjugate various Latin verbs; "Threepeat" is a damn dirty word.

June 11, 2002

Unschooling pics of the day: Hollis making calculations from his world atlas | Annika playing Chopinsticks.

What we did today: Played blocks and cars and fisher price people; went to the post office; picked strawberries from the garden; watched cartoons; played outside; perused the Barbie.com and NASCAR.com websites; watched a Nova about honey bees; looked at the world atlas.

What we learned: Different ants build different sized anthills, and some termites build really giant ones with towers (discussed on the way to the post office); Canada is slightly bigger than the U.S. in land area; Wrestling is not allowed in the post office, but if you're nice the post office guy gives you lollipops; Sometimes you have to wait an extra day for fruit to ripen before you can pick it; It doesn't matter that your sister borrows your hat if you never wear it anyways; Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland; American Indians are not the same as "Indians" from India; Turkey is partly in Europe and partly in Asia; There's nothing Mommy can do about the heat; India is subducting under the Asian continent and that's what made Mt. Everest; There are six states in New England; There is a leap year every four years because a year is really 365 days and 6 hours long; Mommy can only answer about 200 geography questions per day before she loses the ability to think.