Any radical unschoolers here?

[OrganicallyGrown]

Forgive me if I am not posting in the correct place. I am relatively new to this forum.

We are an unschooling family with two boys, 5 & 1 yo. I would love to connect with others who are also unschooling with a 'radical' twist. For those who do not know what this means, it is applying the unschooling philosophy to all areas of life- for example, no bed time, no food restrictions, etc. Kids self-regulate themselves (as we adults wish we could do better..."don't have that extra piece of cake...but I want it...ahhh! why can't you listen to me, self?"). KWIM?

best,
jenn

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by radiantorganics

I would love to connect with others who are also unschooling with a 'radical' twist.

There are a couple of us here.

[WuWei]

We live consensually, that includes child-directed learning.

Pat

[cottonwood]

I'm not a radically extreme radical unschooler, if that makes sense , but I consider it an ideal to reach for.

[beansavi]

What is the name of that (those) book(s) written at the turn of the 20 th century about unschooling?

[UUMom]

We're not unschoolers, but we do not have TV, food, toy, or bedtime restrictions etc.

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by beansavi

What is the name of that (those) book(s) written at the turn of the 20 th century about unschooling?

Do you mean A.S. Neill's writings? (More generally about education rather than unschooling, but it's all I can think of from that time period.)

[UnschoolnMa]

I suspect that'd be us.

We unschool, and we have no mandatory eating rules or bed times. We have free access to media. No real rules about these things other than the ones we all agree on together, and lots of discussions.

[UnschoolingAmerica]

Hi Jenn,

We are Radical Unschoolers!

We were recently the main guests on the Dr. Phil Show introducing Radical Unschooling to the World.

I actually do not love the label 'Radical Unschooling', because it focuses on what we don't do, rather than what we DO, but I use the label with those who are familiar with it.

A label that better describes what we are is "Joyful Learners"

I have a website and offer free Radical Unschooling Mentoring and I also have a video series on YouTube about RU and peaceful parenting.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=DaynaLeighMartin

(Jenn, I think you recently joined my Yahoo Group!)

Here is our family blog:
www.thesparklingmartins.blogspot.com

~Peace & Love, Dayna

[Dar]

Originally Posted by UnschoolnMa

I suspect that'd be us.

We unschool, and we have no mandatory eating rules or bed times. We have free access to media. No real rules about these things other than the ones we all agree on together, and lots of discussions.

Us, too. There are quite a few of us here who have been living this way with our kids for a long time....

Dar

[gassadi]

We're doing it

We are unschooling our kids (eight and one year). The eight year old suddenly learned to read last summer with no help from me because he really wanted to advance in "Animal Crossing" and other video games. Now, he reads all kinds of stuff. Not books so much, but I'm trying to get used to the fact that we have a new literacy with this generation raised on computers, gadgets, etc.

This has been a real leap of faith for dh because he was raised with very strict schooling and comes from a place where education is highly valued. For me, it was natural. I saw in ds's eyes when he first started school how much it was hurting him emotionally and imaginatively. THe kid who used to never be bored and loved learning hated it. He had figured out the stomach ache routine by the second week of kindergarten.

Anyway, it's working for us and my older son is very close to us in ways his friends don't seem to be with their parents. We spend a lot of time together and he is often more mature than his father and me.

Originally Posted by radiantorganics

Forgive me if I am not posting in the correct place. I am relatively new to this forum.

We are an unschooling family with two boys, 5 & 1 yo. I would love to connect with others who are also unschooling with a 'radical' twist. For those who do not know what this means, it is applying the unschooling philosophy to all areas of life- for example, no bed time, no food restrictions, etc. Kids self-regulate themselves (as we adults wish we could do better..."don't have that extra piece of cake...but I want it...ahhh! why can't you listen to me, self?"). KWIM?

best,
jenn

[TheJoyfulMom]

We're some of those radical unschoolers as well.

[OrganicallyGrown]

Thanks for all the replies.

I like that Dayna- 'Joyful Learners'. I agree that 'radical' makes the way we live and learn with our kids sound really extreme and 'out there'.

I have enjoyed watching a few of your videos (more as time allows). I have actually uploaded one to my blog recently

Where do other unschooling mums find inspiration, community amongst other unschoolers, resources, etc?

thanks.
jenn

[VijayOwens]

We're radical unschoolers in rural central VA. DH Charlie and I have two daughters, 2 and 4.

I don't really mind the label "radical unschooler" because I think the degree to which we trust our children *is* considered radical in this society.

I started out with online-only support, but have been very fortunate to meet some really cool unschooers and homeschoolers IRL. You just have to know where to look.

-Vijay

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by radiantorganics

Where do other unschooling mums find inspiration, community amongst other unschoolers, resources, etc?

thanks.
jenn

Here. I do have a few unschooling friends irl. Some fall into the "radical" catagory. I used to be on the TCS list, years ago--lots of food for thought there, but after a while it was all sounding old. I guess I'd just found my own groove, yk? Anyway, it's a good list for discussion, not specifically unschooling, but about respecting kids and their choices.

[mama in the forest]

I'm here. Your post made me ask myself, "when did I stop being a full radical unschooler?"

I was with my first daughter. I remember sitting up with her at midnight when she was 2 because she is such a night owl. I actually was always with her...and then when I had five more kids I remember feeling very lost and out of control when the children took over. I think it was after my fifth babe was born that my family needed a bit of bed routines & supper schedules. Then I had my sixth and those routines have helped me transition one more child into my life.

But I am a radical unschooler at heart, and I plan to return to that as soon as I can! Actually, I see us moving slowly back to that every day. I don't like what I am when I'm making them do things, and it's always a conflict within me.

[Softheart]

We are! It would be great to discuss here--also there is a great yahoo group called "Always Unschooled" I love...

[UUMom]

Originally Posted by mama in the forest

I'm here. Your post made me ask myself, "when did I stop being a full radical unschooler?"

I was with my first daughter. I remember sitting up with her at midnight when she was 2 because she is such a night owl. I actually was always with her...and then when I had five more kids I remember feeling very lost and out of control when the children took over. I think it was after my fifth babe was born that my family needed a bit of bed routines & supper schedules. Then I had my sixth and those routines have helped me transition one more child into my life.

But I am a radical unschooler at heart, and I plan to return to that as soon as I can! Actually, I see us moving slowly back to that every day. I don't like what I am when I'm making them do things, and it's always a conflict within me.

When my 3 older children were small, I couldn't always continue on sometimes. I remember the bone-crushing exhaustion. An older friend with multiple children encouraged me to lower the lights, maybe put some calming music on, fix a little snac, k and just calm all the activity down in a soothing, slow way in the evenings. Snuggling down with the children, reading them to sleep, even without fixed bedtimes can often be the kindest thing to do for small children and their tired parents.

In the old days, nights just fell, and people followed the sun. These days, even homes can be Vegas, so sometimes it helps to know it's ok for a day to come to a calm end. It's OK to lower the lights, and hush the sounds some to help little ones unwind. There isn't anything wrong with working/planning together with the children to get some shut eye.

One reason I've moved away from defining us as unschoolers (which never felt comfortable, even when we stopped with the very little structure we had) is because there are too many questions of whether something is unschooling or radical enough. "Is respectfully helping a child settle down so I can also rest a radical enough thing to do?" lol I think sleep can be a very worthy goal, and in the right spirit, it can meet the emotional and physical needs of adults and children. If the children are not running around at midnight, it doesn't mean you've failed, or stopped being the kind of parent you want to be. (I mean not unless you shamed, beat or drugged them to sleep).

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by mama in the forest

I remember sitting up with her at midnight when she was 2 because she is such a night owl. I actually was always with her...and then when I had five more kids I remember feeling very lost and out of control when the children took over.

This reminded me of a something someone once said about the "child led" idea. It was regarding hsing and she said that she could never be child led as it wasn't fair for the parents to be led by the child. This blew me away because that's never the way I thought of it. To me, "child led" meant that the child leads their own learning/life, as opposed to a parent doing the leading. It had never occurred to me that some people were taking it to mean that the child was directing the whole family!!

Anyway, I don't think unschooling (radical or not) means that you don't get what you want. (This is where I can't separate RU from consentual living--it's all the same to me.)

[WuWei]

Vijay!!

So delighted to see you here!


Pat