Week 1 is in the history books.† It was not without problems.† See the whole thing about ëunschoolingí is my child craves lists and plans.† She kinda freaked out about not having them.† Which is ironic considering SHE NEVER FINISHES THE PLANS EVER!
NOTONESINGLEWEEK!
I told her to letís just do it this way for awhile.† I remember when we began homeschooling all the things I read about deschooling.† Maybe the same thing is true for letting completely go.
She wrote stories; a lovely story about a turkey who planned his getaway right before Thanksgiving.† It was so hysterical.
She worked on the Webkinz blog.† This takes up huge amounts of her time.†
She knitted and knitted and knitted.† She is working on a purse with the colors of Ice Cream in each patch.† She read.† All by herself. She worked on a documentary whose subject is a secret from me.
I bit my tongue, MANY times.† I started saying, “Maybe you could” ….and I would just stop.
We watched a DVD called ìPrinces in the Towerî about one possible scenario for the strange disappearance of Englandís King Edward V and his younger brother.† We both LOVED it.†
We watched another DVD, ìCreatures That Defy Evolution, Disc 3î.† We both really liked this too.
Keilee watched episode after episode of ìDance Academyî.†† She loves this show.† It is about a Dance Academy in Australia.† She loves all things Australia.† [*Waves to Helena].†
She played “Tower Madness” on iPad which she loves.† Very physics based.† She tries to save sheep from Aliens.† I mean how great is that? † I got this free on “Apps Gone Free”.† I am telling you if you have an iPhone or iPad download this APP!† Free stuff every single day.
We had 2 semi performances of ìThe Princess and The Peaî.† Director asked Keilee and Britney to do their roles for ìRelay for Lifeî and a fundraiser at the theater where she performs.
She has had practice and she is working on her audition for ANOTHER play which she tries out for Saturday.† More on that later.† We are also exploring options for even more theater experiences.
We went to Panoply with a homeschool group.† This is a HUGE Art festival in Huntsville.† We had such a great time.† We heard a blues band, we watched a Shakespeare performance, †we watched dancers and saw amazing art.† I got so many ideas for art journaling. ††The place was filled with Public School kids and Keilee kept telling them to ëshhhhhí during the performances.† She couldnít believe how rude they were. 🙂
†Really bad lighting but here are some of my favorite ideas.
So Week 1 is down and out.† My feelings….it went well.† It feels weird.† What about Math???† What about???† I am trying.
Favorite Resources this Week:
Teenage Liberation Handbook – Grace Llewellyn
I have known about this book forever but always thought, “Keilee is too young for me to read this”.† She is suddenly not too young.† About 1/2 way through it and LOVE it.
Happily Linking up With:
Susan at “Favorite Resource“
and
Mary at “Friday Collage“
Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen
I recognize June by the flowers now.† I used to know it by review tests, and restlessness.”† ~unschooled teen (From The Teenage Liberation Handbook.
†”Education is hanging around until you have caught on”† ~ Robert Frost
1 Year Ago Today.
†
I’d have to agree with a lot of the other comments. I think if Keilee works best with lists, than go for it! Just make sure she comes up with it. You could take the list she wrote about a week ago- the one where she came up with lots of ideas of what she wanted to study. Then under each thing she wants to study, she could brainstorm, along with you, different ways she could go about learning it. That way when she wakes up in the morning, she could look at that big list and then jump right in with whatever she’s in the mood to work on. Or if she wakes up with a really great idea than she could go with that, too.
It’s funny that she wants the agenda even though she doesn’t exactly follow it. 🙂 My kids are a little bit that way, too. In the case of my teens, sometimes I think they just want to know what expectations they’re rebelling against. 😛 I am very intrigued by The Princes in the Tower.
What lovely art! You are right…..they are very inspirational! I have been thinking of turning my back room into more of a studio. But I only have a class every other week so it seems like a lot of work for a few classes……
I love reading about this new twist in your journey. I think if you look back over your posts of the last year you will find that you have been moving in this direction all along. Much of what Kei has been doing is interest-led and very unschooler-y! I loved Teenage Liberation Handbook and many passages are ingrained in my mind. My goal this summer is to read more about unschooling through high school.
Keep sharing! Kei is simply amazing.
Jess
I am really proud of you for taking this leap! I want to…and keep trying and then keep backing up and making my girls do stuff (math) and then trying again…it’s a process! I hope I get there sooner rather than later, because when you can let go, all the good stuff happens. I’m inspired. Thank you for sharing your week. 🙂
Love the art and all of your creative experiences this week! I have to check out the Teenage Liberation Handbook…I always thought I’d read it when the girls got older. I guess it’s time, huh?!
I’m with Susan on the lists and plans. Abby loves a list and a plan, but she’s the one in charge of it. I don’t manage her list (oh, how I would hate someone managing my “list” or “schedule” each day!). She’s working through a math book on her own right now because she wants to. Her choice, her schedule, her pace…and she’s doing just fine! Molly’s not likely to approach math in that way anytime soon, but she loves cooking, building, and sewing which all involve math! Maybe when she’s older, she’ll pursue a more structured study of math…maybe not. I’d much rather her love learning and be motivated to pursue it in all areas throughout her life than have her complete a math text just because I think she needs to.
Blessings to you both this week. Interest led learning kind of goes against how most of us were taught…it takes some getting used to, but you’ll love the freedom! You’re doing an awesome job already:)
Karen, I love all the things your girl has done this week. She is, always, AMAZING. 🙂 And I wanted to say, I believe there’s no reason unschooling can’t include plans, structure, even, YES, even curriculum, if that’s what your child wants to do, or if that’s something that you agree would be fun and/or interesting.
For example, my boy loves having a routine. He totally has a rhythm for his day that includes a maths textbook that he asked to use. He wants to know that he’s “checking things off” his listóscience, history, geography, etc. He’s way more structured than my girl. But in my eyes, he still unschools. Because everything he and my girl do, they do knowing they are free to explore to their limits, free to move on to something new, free to learn as they choose.
And I have to confess: I totally make suggestions! I suggest and then see whether the kids want to run with it. Sometimes they are less than excited about it, so we talk it outóif the kids are genuinely not engaged or interested, I let it go. Sometimes they’ll try my idea, but it won’t stick, so we let it go. Sometimes it’s out of their comfort level, but after they’ve tried it, they become engagedóthey become excited and inspired and proud.
My ideas might involve doing something they mightn’t have thought of doing. It might be an essay writing idea, or reading books I found in the library, or discussing and practicing a maths concept; or I might stumble onto a project I found on the internet (such as our recent enrolment in our computer programming courseóso much fun!). I see myself as a big part of their learning dayóI’d be lost if I couldn’t contribute to the big Idea Pool that keeps filling up in this life learning house!
Anyway, this really really long comment can be summed up as this: I am so pleased for you both, for leaping and trying something new and being true to yourselves. I can’t wait to see what you get up to next, dear friends!
I love all the photos! It looks like another amazing week 🙂
I completely agree with the math comments made by N above, but I understand your anxiety about it.
You know, unschooling doesn’t mean that one cannot use lists and plans if that’s what works…put Keilee in charge of making her own lists!
I have heard about The Teenage Liberation Handbook in many, many places, but I haven’t read it yet. I placed a hold on it through our library system today, after reading your post 🙂
Have a great weekend!
I love all the pictures! It sounds like you are off to a good start this week. I hope it all works out great for you, but how can it not. 🙂
My goodness, she is beautiful, especially in that pink dress. A real live princess! Looks like a fantastic week 1 to me! No worries…how much math does an actress need?
You took the unschooling leap?! Wow! I keep saying that I would try this, but I have the hesitations that you do. I can see how some days they just TAKE OFF and learn so many things I would never do with them…and then some days when they do little learning! 😉 It’s going to be fun to read about your journey!
I love that Panopoloy!!!
Sounds like you got a TON of quality learning in this week. I think just providing that environment of opportunity: the DVDs, the plays and festivals…is all we really need to do and let them take it away! Which they do!
Keilee seems to be a lot like my girls with the knitting and creating and stuff 🙂 Did I tell you Piper is going to a two-week theater camp this summer?? Our homeschool neighbors do it every summer and it’s great! Allie is regretting saying no every time she was asked if she wanted to attend…and now is waitlisted…but it should be a great experience!
Wow, Karen, what a great week and kudos for being able to “let go!” She is thriving, that’s for sure! 🙂 I am trying to go in that same direction. In fact, 2 kiddos have already given me their “wish lists” of what they want to study next year. 🙂 We can encourage each other on this new journey! Have a great weekend!
Oh she looks so pretty in that pink dress!! 🙂 You guys have so much fun together!!
I read the Teenage Liberation Handbook when Davan was a preschooler, then handed it on to Anthony. It was that book that helped him turn the corner to being enthusiastic about homeschooling.
I’m glad to hear that you’re exploring more theater options – that’s great!
I’m really excited about the Dance Academy link. I know that’s a show that Davan and I will love!
As for math…I really think that Keilee will take math on when she’s ready to do so for her own reasons, whatever they may be. That seems to be the case with most unschoolers I know. I do think it’s enormousnessly helpful to have those resources around and ready to use for when the motivation shows itself, but if the learner is really ready, they’ll be the ones clamoring it get it, even if it’s not around. Keilee may be far enough along in math to hold her own for a while now…although she did express an interest in algebra, no? So, it may come up sooner rather than later. 🙂
Karen ~ I admire what you are doing. I don’t think I’m going to be able to let go completely, because my Anna isn’t self motivated like your daughter appears to be. I’m going to watch you and see how this goes. My guess is that it will work beautifully for her!!
I think you aren’t too far from Atlanta. We should REALLY try and meet half way this summer. Wouldn’t that be fun???
Thanks for linking today!