relaxed homeschooling...

[Ekatherina]

hello ... i just want to know how much of real schooling is needed per day for 5 years old? we are just playing, well he knows letters and numbers, he doesnt really know how to read and i dont like to push him...i dont like schedules or fixed hours, we read whatever happens to be on hand every other day...I dont have textbooks either....i just get bored of schedules and textbooks very quickly......what do you think? I am not really homeschooling am I?

[SundayCrepes]

It sounds like you may be on the unschooling spectrum. Do you follow your child's interests? If so, you are an unschooler.

[4evermom]

All the average 5 yo needs to learn and thrive is a parent who interacts with him a good bit and things with which to explore and play.

[cappuccinosmom]

For a 5 yo? Little to none. Even with doing a formal curriculum, at that age actual school work is minimal. With involved parents and lots of resources, they learn so much just through daily life.

[Ruthiegirl]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom

For a 5 yo? Little to none. Even with doing a formal curriculum, at that age actual school work is minimal. With involved parents and lots of resources, they learn so much just through daily life.

Yep. Very little at this age. When my little people were 5, we spent a lot of time doing the fun stuff -- riding bikes, learning to swim, cooking, playing, gardening....lots of fun, free activities.


Even at 8, my 3rd grader can complete a "day's" worth of schoolwork in less than an hour. And then.....she play and plays and plays.

[Ekatherina]

thank you everyone! you made my heart rest in peace, well actually he will be 6 in three months if that matters......but please can you explain more what unschooling means ...i always thought it is taking your kid from school and starting to homeschool him...

[mimaja]

I think what you're referring to is "deschooling". Unschooling is a form of homeschooling. There is a terrific unschooling subforum here at MDC. It's a great place to learn more about the concept and the unschooling spectrum.

Kristine

[SundayCrepes]

Unschooling is the idea that children want to learn. They will learn if we stay out of their way. And what they learn will actually stick with them and have meaning because they are interested.

My kids are still little, but we follow unschooling. I used to have my son in a kindermusic type class. When it became appearant he was unhappy there we pulled him out. Our daughter on the other hand loves music so we will stay with it. When my son was first into firetrucks we got him tons of library books and a couple videos. As they get older you keep following their interests. I also "strew." I get lots of books and activities that I think they will be interested in then let them choose those they like and see if they are more open to the other books later on. I'm using the sonlight curriculum books (I pick and choose from their list. I also use other books.) My son loves most of the sonlight books that I chose. When I added in some books on children from other countries he had no interest in those and I don't push it.

Here are some interesting links:


Unschooling definition:
http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/earl_stevens.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling

I did a search on Peter Gray on the Psychology Today website and he has lots of interesting looking articles. Here are a couple I read:

Math:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...r-own-learning

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...ath-in-schools

Reading:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...hemselves-read

Sudsbury School:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...sudbury-valley (The closest we have to Sudsbury in Tucson is the Kino Learning Center.)

Do schools kill creativity? Very entertaining video with some good points to ponder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

[ReadingMama]

I consider us to be relaxed homeschoolers because while I don't do lesson plans and make my son read textbooks and do worksheets, I do insist that he read every day and do a little math here and there (his least favorite thing to do) and that he learn to type. He has a natural interest in science and history and music and drama, so I don't have to insist on those things. Since I insist he do some things he doesn't want to do, I'm probably not a true unschooler. But I'm ok with that. I've learned so much from the unschooling community though. I love them! Our relaxed homeschooling works for us.

For a 5 yo, I wouldn't do anything formal. I would read together a lot and explore in nature, and play pretend. That's great that he knows his letters and numbers. My son went to preschool and kindergarten before we started homeschooling. He didn't read fluently until about age 8, and now he's an awesome reader.

Congrats on beginning your journey in a relaxed way!

[bobandjess99]

zero.

[Arduinna]

come on over to the unschooling forum, tons of topics for you over there.

[VisionaryMom]

For our year of homeschooling to count in terms of public school (should he ever go to public school), we are required to keep records indicating 6 hours of instructional time daily. I have to say that we did a couple of days of "homeschool" 2 weeks ago for assessment (for me, really), and we zipped through everything I had planned. I don't even know how you would begin to require a K student to sit down for 6 hours one-on-one, so I've decided it's absolutely going to be necessary to use field trips, household projects, & the like to count toward instructional hours. I figure learning to put in tile flooring has loads of educational opportunities and is no different from the hands-on activities teachers use.

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

Originally Posted by VisionaryMom

For our year of homeschooling to count in terms of public school (should he ever go to public school), we are required to keep records indicating 6 hours of instructional time daily. I have to say that we did a couple of days of "homeschool" 2 weeks ago for assessment (for me, really), and we zipped through everything I had planned. I don't even know how you would begin to require a K student to sit down for 6 hours one-on-one, so I've decided it's absolutely going to be necessary to use field trips, household projects, & the like to count toward instructional hours. I figure learning to put in tile flooring has loads of educational opportunities and is no different from the hands-on activities teachers use.

exactly! i think it is aweful to think that our kids must have 6 hours of instructional time at 5, i mean how many hours a day are wasted at school, walking to lunch, bathroom breaks etc. And i know in the past most full day Kindergartener's have nap time, so how does that count in public school as instructional time? I guess that is why a lot homeschoolers do better, it seems that there are stricter guidelines on HS compared to PS, I know it seems that way in my state.

[zjande]

It sounds like unschooling may be your thing. As for us, we do around 45 mins a day for preK & around an hour to 90 mins if interest is high for K of actual sit down learning.