by Tessa | Homeschooling
How do you establish a common baseline as what skills are necessary to survive and contribute to society? Also, how do you determine how a person meets those criteria in a timely fashion so the system is efficient? I agree that the system does a disservice to some individuals but for the majority it works.
These questions were posed to me by a friend after I shared a photo on my personal Facebook timeline stating that a fish should not be judged by it’s ability to climb a tree.
Here’s the response I gave this friend:
Wouldn’t living/participating in society be the best way to establish the skills needed to live in society? Also, do we need to establish a common baseline? Or perhaps instead of teaching everyone specific facts, we could teach them how to acquire the required knowledge for themselves? For example, the baseline I have for my children includes seeking/trusting the Lord and making Him the center of their lives, learning how to manage finances, taking care of their family, and having integrity in all they do. Those are skills that they learn through participating in society, and church, and getting involved in business and family affairs. I could care less if they ever learn how to solve a quadratic equation, or memorize who the 6th prime minister of Canada was, or know exactly how photosynthesis works.
And what is the definition of “timely fashion?” People used to be married with careers before age 20 and nowadays we still have 30-40 year olds living with their parents who, according to “the system” have been told they are adults but, according to society, do not have the skills necessary to venture out on their own. There are also many individuals who are still pursuing conventional education at those ages who don’t actually begin contributing to society until 10 years later than those who chose to learn career skills within their career instead of in a classroom.
As for efficiency and the system working for the majority of individuals, my personal experience has been very different. Most people I know hated school and learned more about how to live in society after their conventional schooling was finished. They don’t remember and/or use most of the information they were taught in school and, instead, acquired the skills necessary for their vocation through actually participating in that field. I also know way to many people who were made to feel stupid (and some were actually directly told they were stupid) and therefore they still believe that, because they were a fish who was asked to climb a tree, they must be stupid. It is heartbreaking that those “fish,” so to speak, are now too afraid to swim. It may be “efficient” for us to put everyone through the same system, but has not proven effective.
Here is an article where the author states that “The truth is: the sooner you start learning from the real world, the sooner you will find success. School is great as far as it can teach you basic knowledge and allow you to network. However, going to college is not the end — it’s only the beginning.” (Note: Some of the pictures are offensive and I do not necessarily agree with every opinion of the writer, but he does make some good points that are worth considering.)
Another great article on this subjects reminds us that “wisdom, insight and intelligence aren’t a function of how many years you spent in school.”
Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m not saying that college & university are worthless. There are certain instances when it can be very beneficial to attend conventional schooling. What I am saying, however, is that conventional schooling does not help us establish a baseline of skills necessary to live in and contribute to society. Many people thrive in their careers, not only in spite of not completing college or high school, but because of it. It gave them those extra years of experience that they would not have otherwise gotten. In fact, some of the greatest business minds that I know never completed high school. Many of the other great business minds I know are not even working in the field of their degree.
The common baseline of skills is established, and learned, by getting involved in society and applying. Skills are learned in a timely fashion (when a person needs them) and effectively applied. My opinion is that the “real world” is nothing like the “classroom world.” We even tell kids, when they graduate from high school or university and start working full time, “welcome to the real world.”
Where do you stand: should we have a checklist of skills or facts that children need to learn before they become contributing members of society? Is there a specific timeline that we should expect our children to learn them? Is there a particular way that these skills should be taught?
by Tessa | Motherhood
I’ve already told you about what unschooling is to my family and why I feel the need to set up a plan for our year. This post will break out a few more nitty gritty details of how I’m hoping to accomplish a planned unschool year.
Step 1: Figure out the boys’ interests and write them down. I gave them each a tab in a binder (binders have become an organization obsession of mine lately). C was very easy in this regard as I already know many of the things he wants to learn about. Things like birds, weather, corn, mustangs (the GT Supersnake in particular). I asked him what he wanted to learn and was rather shocked by his some of suggestions:
* Play tricky games
* World of Warcraft – logging on (Out of sheer adoration for his Daddy)
* How to teach the new baby to play (when he/she gets here)
* How to treat toys
* How to treat shoes
* How to treat ourselves
* All about our bodies
* Write numbers and letters
* How to be gentle
* Bees
* Zebras
Biscuit wanted his own list. It was much simpler:
* How to write “Opa”
Step 2: To C’s tab, I added a sheet with the heading “Methods C Enjoys.” Here I’ve listed things like movies, video games, reading and painting. I’ll ask him for input on this page as well. I’ll also be able to add and pages with notes on how to help him expand on certain ideas/interests. For example: Magic School bus has some videos and books about bodies and I have a couple of lapbooks from Currclick on some of his chosen topics.
Step 3: Plan into my daily routine time to sit with my sons and allow them to choose a topic and learning medium. It sounds very technical but this step naturally comes with more flow. A typical day may start with C talking about the very cool robin he saw on the lawn. We can watch some videos on YouTube, print out a coloring page, make robins with playdough, and, of course, head outside to watch the robins in the trees. Depending on his level of interest in the topic, we can add in lapbooks (what little boy doesn’t like cutting and gluing?) or photography and scrapbooking (i.e. notebooking).
The most important part of this process will be for me to be diligent in spending time in the boys’ world on a daily basis. It is so easy to just let them play independently, since they play so well together. I frequently pull them into my world with asking/allowing them to help with housework, gardening, and meal preparation. They even join me for my morning Bible reading. I, however, need some prodding and reminding to get down on the floor with them just to play cars, or sit at the table and play playdough with them instead of just putting it out and letting them have at it. We even painted together the other day and it was so much fun! And sometimes we walk to the barn just so we can play with the kitties, and this (rather large and pregnant!) mama sits in the straw with a kitty in my lap as the boys make up stories about what the kitties have been doing. The only thing that I haven’t joined in with is playing in the dirt. That’s totally Papa Bear’s department.
by Tessa | Faith
Welcome to my Word on Wednesday post!
This is a verse that I have been reflecting on. I used to be the “young” one that this verse talked about. I still am young, comparatively speaking, but having children has allowed me to see this in a different light. I am the mom; the authority figure; the one who should have all the answers. But I don’t. And I’m not afraid to admit that to my kids. In fact, I’m fully aware that sometimes their ideas are better than mine. They see things differently than I do and it gives them an interesting perspective.
I also remind my boys that people are watching them and their example. My oldest is really starting to understand that he is setting and example for those around him (especially his younger brother). He and I have had a number of conversations about how it’s important to always allow God’s love to shine through us. We have an agreement: we are allowed to call each other out when we are not being gentle or showing love by our words or actions. I’m setting an example too, both in our family as well as in the way we conduct business. It’s helpful to have an accountability partner, especially since his eyes are so innocent and he knows better than to accept my excuses.
by Tessa | Homemaking
Typically, the words “unchooling” and “planning” do not show up in the same sentence. So how can I claim to be an unschooler and still be scouring the internet for information on how to plan a homeschooling year?
C is 5 this year and, even though kindergarten isn’t mandatory where I live, I have decided to register with a homeschool board. I did this for a couple of reasons:
1. To get people off my back about his education. Everyone is asking me what we’re doing so now I can tell them he’s registered as a homeschooler. It just eliminates some of the much-repeated questions I receive.
2. To give a school board a “trial run.” I know that I want to homeschool but I don’t know exactly what it will all entail, as far as there being required records or plans, or what a meeting with a facilitator would look like, or what a homeschool board will offer in terms of support/guidance.
Back to the whole “planned unschool” idea.
I used to be a schedule-a-holic. My days were planned down to the minute (including time for inevitable interruptions like traffic or getting stopped by a chatty co-worker). I loved it and thrived. It reduced a lot of stress in my hectic life/career and helped me accomplish more than I would have if I wasn’t a planner and list maker.
5 years ago: enter baby #1. He was on his own schedule (of nursing for about 30 minutes every 1-2 hours and not sleeping longer than a two hour stretch until about 18 months). It didn’t match mine. I retired from my business and significantly slowed down my pace so I would be better able to meet his needs. It was an amazing season of growth, trust, and learning priorities. Everything else could wait. My son could/would not. He was about 2.5 before he finally settled into what most of society would consider a decent routine. Which allowed me to settle my life into a bit of routine again. Until his brother was born a couple months after that. Thrown into chaos, any semblance of a rhythm or routine eluded me. Fast forward another couple of years and we moved away from everyone we knew and, consequently, all outside of the home commitments. The first few months were hectic as there was a lot of extra work on the farm which made scheduling anything rather difficult.
A few months ago I started reading about home management binders on Pinterest and became a little obsessed with finding a way to work a planner back into my life. The boys are at a stage where they spend much of their time playing together happily outside, which means that I have more time to figure out things like a housekeeping and time management system that will suit our ever-fluctuating family rhythm. I have been running my home management binder (a “lite” version compared to some of the other ones out there) for a couple months and it has made a huge difference for my family.
I am in the process of figuring out a loose routine that will allow me to have lots of breaks to sit a nurse the baby or change diapers and such, but will also encourage me to stay on top of things in my household, including encouraging the interests of my children. I’m not there yet, but I’m praying about it regularly and the pieces are starting to come together. Including the pieces that require me to be very involved with my boys’ interests and assisting them in furthering those interests, through various methods. Though I’m not planning any curriculum for them, they still deserve my focused attention. Their interests are important to them and, therefore, they are important to me. And kids spell love T-I-M-E. So that’s what I am planning to give them.
by Tessa | Book Notes
Title: Planner Perfect
Author: Jenny Penton
Publication Date: May 17, 2012
Price: $4.99
Place Acquired: Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle
About the author: Jenny is a homeschooling mom of 8 who, while growing up, watched her mother’s diligent use of a planner. Her mom’s use of a planner to manage her home and plan her life’s goals and dreams inspired Jenny to create a system that worked for her own life to help her manage her home and life. Jenny’s passion is “to inspire women to live with purpose and intent; switching focus from task slave to goal aficionado.”
Describe: The first few chapters of her book are not about how to create a system for yourself but rather about recognizing the need you have for a system in your life. She explains about setting up a special place for yourself to plan and dream and then goes on to explain how God put those plans and dreams in to your heart to pursue. Then comes the more technical section of the book dedicated to how to use loose leaf to capture your dreams, track your goals, and plan your projects. She gives tips on how to plan parties, vacations, how to plan the perfect Christmas, and more. The last portion of her book is dedicated to examples of how to set up the different pages to keep your life in check as well as how to use a journal and meal planner.
Analyze: As I read this book several months ago and have since set up my own home management binder, I did not expect to glean a lot of new information. The reason I chose to read this again was because of a couple of posts I read on Jenny’s blog about how she is unschooling her children. I could relate to her as a fellow unschooling mom who enjoys having a plan and a bit more structure to the home than some other unschooling blogs I have come across. After gaining some insight about Jenny’s life and family, I was able to take fresh eyes to this book. I took a page and a half of notes. That’s a lot considering the book is 48 pages long (according to my ereader) and can easily be read in one sitting (assuming you don’t have little ones interrupting, which I did so it took me a couple of evenings). It was so full of information and ideas that I think I could read it a third time and still come away learning something.
Evaluate: It’s about more than staying organized. It’s also about being refreshed and inspired every day. It is about allowing yourself to recognize and grasp those dreams that God placed in you and then setting a plan in motion to accomplish them. “Once you are a true “Planner Perfect Gal,” you will soar!” There are a lot of methods out there that will tell you what to do, but not many help you figure out why you’re doing it in the first place. Anyone who knows me likely knows how much I value a slower-paced life to help you stay on track with your priorities and Jenny’s book has some wonderful explanations of why and how to accomplish this. There are so many different books, articles, and blogs out there on the “how” and yet so few truly help you figure out your “why.” Planner Perfect encompassed the whole journey from telling you why a plan is important, to helping you figure out the direction your plan should take, to giving you the tools you need to get there.
Recommendation: While I haven’t adopted the complete Planner Perfect system, I have made use of many of the techniques and ideas in the book. I think there is something special about giving yourself permission to dream and plan and put it all on paper. Plus, since I’m rather frugal, I appreciate the fact that she encourages the use of loose leaf (especially considering I just bought several packages for 15 cents each at Walmart a few weeks ago during their “back to school” sale). Organizing tasks is easy and any old planner system can do that. If you have tried other systems and became bored or distracted, or even if you have never tried a planner/binder system at all, check out this book and give yourself a kick start by starting up your dream engine again. Once you have your motivation and mission, you’ll find that the tasks start to fall into place.
