does anyone homeschool this way?

[happyhats]

I'm not sure if this would be classified as unschooling or homeschooling, etc and the label doesn't really concern me. I'm just wondering if anyone educates this way and how they got to that point, if they have any advice, etc.

Here's what I ideally see with my hsing my dd (who is only a year and half right now so we have a while off to perfect things)-

I would like to find some kind of cirriculum I'm comfortable with. I don't know what that is yet, and I'm planning on waiting a couple years before I explore true cirriculum further. I'm not worried about having a typical school day or school year, but I would like to follow the cirriculum from beginning to end, then get the cirriculum for the next "year". I know that having coursework is not an unschooling notion, but I follow some relaxed/unschooling beliefs at the same time. I am fine with taking days off for playing in the park, going on trips, etc. I don't want to try to keep dd at the kitchen table for hours at time. I am happy with her following her own schedule for sleeping and (for the most part) eating (we eat together but we don't have a standard time for doing so). I'm just not comfortable/confident in myself at this time to go coursework free. I want to ensure my dd can go on to get a GED and attend further schooling if she would like to, etc.

I suppose I've always been exposed to a rigid idea of homeschooling, that it's basically the same thing as school only at home. I want to make it a point to learn things in interesting ways, to attend events and go to museums, to spend extra time on subjects that my daughter finds more interesting-I just don't want to TOTALLY ignore other subjects at the same time.

At this point, I don't push any learning skills on dd. We talk about colors, numbers, letters casually. I don't push reading aloud to her unless she's interested. We work on motor skills casually. But her attention span is extremely limited at this point, so I'm working up to her being ready for more "focused" education. I'm not worried about whether that's at four or eight though.

I'm rambling and I hope I'm making some kind of sense to someone out there!

[Laark]

I think you're making total sense!

We homeschool in a similar way, although meal times have become fairly scheduled since DH has been working at home. But that's just what works for us right now.

As the kids got older and developed more of an attention span as well as a desire to do more 'work', I started pulling different things together for them. The kids are just now finishing their grade 5 and 7 year. I would say they've got a 'full' curriculum. However, when they were much younger, we had just about nothing but good books. DD was ready for school work much earlier than DS was. This is DS' second year of officially school-y stuff. Before that, he had a couple of things here and there, but nothing requiring a schedule or effort to get though.

We get to schoolwork most days but only because the kids sit down on their own to do the work they can independently. We take days off, days out and some days, I just can't pull it together long enough to get schoolwork organized! But that's ok, if it's important, we get to it sometime.

So yes, I think you've got a great plan. I would caution you not to freak out and lose sight of it when your dd becomes school-aged. Sometimes we can get sidetracked by friends' kids going to school and questions about school attendance when our kids turn 4 and 5 and 6. A couple of times I felt pressure to get a more substantial curriculum resource when read alouds and an empty notebook to draw her letters in was working perfectly for DD.

Good luck...and great plan!

Laark

[Citymomx3]

That pretty much sounds like us.

-We use a curriculum we're very comfortable and happy with (Ambleside Online).
-We plan on following this curriculum from beginning to end using each successive "Year".
-We are very unschooly and relaxed and always take days off for trips and fun.
-The method we use enforces short lessons and afternoons free (Charlotte Mason), so no hours-at-the-table here.
-My kids have always followed their own schedule for sleeping and eating.
-My kids have already decided they'd like to go to college (you don't have to get a GED. Taking the SAT or ACT along with a nice transcript should suffice for any college).

"I want to make it a point to learn things in interesting ways, to attend events and go to museums, to spend extra time on subjects that my daughter finds more interesting-I just don't want to TOTALLY ignore other subjects at the same time."

^^We do this all the time. Museums, science centers, gardens, zoos, art galleries, etc. are a major part of our lives. The kids spend a LOT of time on their own interests.

At 1 year-old, just have fun right now. You'll fall into a groove and know what works and what doesn't. Kids, parents, and homeschool ideas do tend to change a lot over time and what you thought would be perfect turns out to be the completely wrong fit. So just go with the flow and see where it all takes you.

[dubatatamama]

You are totally making sense to me, too!

We don't use a curriculum now only because my DS is 4.5 and my DD is 3, so right now we are pretty much going with their interests. We plan on using some sort of curriculum for math/LA. The only difference with us is that I am not set on using one curriculum the whole way through. We lean more towards eclectic that way.

We definitely would choose going to the park, zoo, museum any day over sitting down and doing something formal.

The only piece of advice I have is to remember that the beauty of homeschooling is that if something is not working for your child, you can always change it up and try something different. Your child is so young still, so you may find that as they get older, the full, formal curriculum may not work for your child. So be willing to junk it and try something else if needed!

Have fun and try to remember that at this young age, kids are sponges and are learning all the time! My DS learned to read, not with a formal curriculum, but by just being read to ALL THE TIME. Now he reads at a 1st/2nd grade level at 4.5. Same with learning his letters/sounds/colors. It was through playing/reading/answering his questions.

Now I am rambling, so I will stop!

[Linda on the move]

That's kinda how we homeschooled. I use the term "relaxed" to describe how we homeschooled. My kids are now in school -- they started at the ages of 10 and 12 and did great accademically even though they spent tons of time in nature, at museums, etc.

We tried unschooling for awhile and they just ended up fighting with each other a lot and being unhappy. They liked it when I planned fun things for them to do -- hands on math, a reading time every day with wonderful books, etc. A little structure was necessary for family harmony, but a little structure went a long way. It also let me keep them more or less at grade level.

They learned to read at different ages, but by the time they started school they were the top readers in their classes.

My advice -- if it's fun for you and your DD, then it's working. If not, then dump it. Different things will work at different times. The only people who'se opinions really count are yours, your DH, and your child's.

I also keep in mind in all my parenting that eventually my kids are going to tell me how they think I did raising them, and it keeps me centered. That's my real goal -- when they are adults for them to look back and feel that I did a good job. I don't really care what the neighbors think!

[nicholas_mom]

I understand completely. After looking at all the different methods of schooling we chose ENKI Education to have all the methods and MORE.

http://www.enkieducation.org/index.htm

For example, we don't need to do endless worksheets. I do brain exercies to impove handwriting skills. Nicholas' handwriting with backward lettering was fixed by waiting for the brain to mature AND also doing brain exercises that helped improve his handwriting.

[keyley1090]

We do that with our youngest DD, with our oldest DD, not so much.

We never unschooled are children, but we didn't have a rigid schedule with rigid standards for that day. If we get to it, we get to it. I actually create my own lesson plans for my children but my oldest DD is going into 8th grade next year so we are really looking into programs for math and science.

For now, for both my DD's, I sit down with both of them in the beginning of the year, ask what they want to learn that year, add some of my own stuff, and voila!

Then, every week, I sit with them and ask what they would like to look more into based on what we talked about before the year began. For example: My oldest DD is doing British History this year, so one week, she might like to go more into famous British authors, and that way we also incorporate some Literature.

For my 4 y.o DS, I have some workbooks for him that I got pretty cheap at Walmart. We do colors, numbers, and letters. Some days, we'll look at jobs or other things that interested him. One week he was fascinated by space, so we went to the library and got books on space. Nothing is structured for him yet, but I already see his will be the most flexible schedule of all. The girls like more structure but he seems more like a free spirit and that's great! That is what homeschooling is all about. So, don't think you have to buy a curriculum, though I do not say you shouldn't if it would be best for you and your family. Sometimes, the perfect curriculum is the one you make yourself! Just remember, have fun with her for now and good luck for the future!

[akwifeandmomma]

Sounds a lot like us!
I consider us relaxed eclectic. We haven't always used the same curriculum year to year (nixing what doesn't work, adding in new things here and there), but we maintain the same approach and core values. We're Charlotte Mason-ish.

[annethcz]

You sound like many of the homeschoolers that I know. Not all of them use a specific curricula from beginning to end, most just pick and choose what works at the moment. But most homeschoolers I know are relaxed homeschoolers.