Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Unschooling, FTW

I woke up a couple weeks ago to hear my husband and daughter giggling and counting.  I didn't want to interrupt, so I stayed in bed to listen.

"Okay, roll the dice and help me count how many dots come up!"

Never have I heard such amazing words.  My husband made his own tabletop game, and since our daughter has been enthralled with learning, he asked if she would like to play while hiding the fact that they would be practicing numbers and rules.

I came out after a few minutes to watch them play.  Her face was lit up like nothing I've seen, and she was so excited to be playing, she had no idea she was learning, too.

A little bit later, I talked to my husband about how what he was doing with her was schooling and learning.  He had no idea.  He told me that it couldn't have been school because it was too much fun.

We have had a really hard time trying to decide what to do when our daughter is old enough for Kindergarten.  It is such a hard decision to make, especially when you want nothing but the best for your child.

When she sprouted a month ago by learning on her own and at her own pace, it felt like our decision was made for us.

There are still doubts, but watching my husband and her learn through play and practice just reinforces the idea that she needs to have the freedom to learn as she will and not be structured or boxed, not that I believe public school will do or does that.  As I watched him unschool our daughter, I knew we needed to give it a try.

For now, we will keep teaching her how she wants to learn and not force her, and see where it goes.  We are going to keep her home for Kindergarten.  It wasn't an easy choice, but that one moment where I heard learning and fun convinced me that this is something we need to at least try.

She was so happy, so enthralled, that I owe her at least that much.  Homeschooling might not be the future option for us, but I go in completely ready and excited, and open to evaluate as I go and change what needs to be changed.

Kids are all about flexibility, and nothing has shown that to me more than this.

2 comments:

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

This is pretty much where we are. We decided to keep our oldest out of K (she would have started in September) and have been "schooling" at home for the past few months instead. One day she asked if she were going to go back to school and "learn things" . . . I told her she was learning all sorts of great things right here with Mommy (which she is). She replied, "but it's FUN." Two years of preschool and she had already concluded that school = learning = not having fun . . . in other words, learning couldn't possibly also be enjoyable, so what she's doing with me isn't "learning." Aye! Working on that one!

Kayce Pearson said... [Reply to comment]

Nice!!! My daughter is big on going to school with a backpack and a desk, but she knows only what she's seen on TV, and it isn't as fun as they say it is for most. She has a really hard time sitting still as it is haha

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