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#272932 10/03/06 12:40 PM
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What do you think of unschooling?

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#272933 10/03/06 01:23 PM
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Koala
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Jan Ziegler, our Natural Living editor, has a section dedicated to Natural Learning that you might find interesting. She's an "unschooling" mom.

I still have trouble differentiating between child-centered learning and unschooling.

#272934 10/03/06 04:20 PM
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Hi!!! Yes, I'm an unschooling mom. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The difference between child-centered learning and unschooling was hard for me to get at first too...

Here it is. You can do child-centered learning and still have a set curriculum. For example, you may teach your child about Egypt but plan child-centered, hands-on activities that will hold your child's interest.

Unschooling is totally child-led with the parent serving as the facilitator, exposing the child to new concepts, places, and people while allowing the child to delve as deeply as he or she prefers.

For example, right now my son is interested in planes and space....We've done a trip to Kennedy Space Center, etc...Lots of books on the topic from the library, videos, anything we can get our hands on regarding this topic.

He wanted to try gymnastics, so he does that each week. He also has played soccer and basketball. He wants to play a musical instrument--specifically the trombone...Not sure what we'll do for that..LOL <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

He has taken art classes. We cook together since that interests him. We garden a bit but hope to do more.

Just remember that unschooling means your child is learning 24/7. You don't take summers off. You don't take weekends off. The idea is that your child is learning constantly--even if he's playing with no traditional curriculum requirements.

With that being said, I should explain this doesn't mean unschoolers never use textbooks or curriculum. My son asked me to teach him to read and write this year so I ordered Sing, Spell, Read and Write because he's so musical. I knew he'd love to learn that way.

I don't initiate it though--he does. And guess what!! He wants to do it mostly everyday. He calls it is "homework" and wants to do his reading/writing when Loralei goes to sleep.

We spend our mornings out and about town visiting the museum, going to storytime, etc and then our afternoons doing quiet things at home like crafts, reading, and baking.

Unschooling doesn't mean that a parent isn't active in their child's education. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hope this helps...Oh..here's a good article called "Nurturing your Child's Natural Love of Learning" by Jan Hunt. I share this with EVERYONE!!!

http://www.naturalchild.org/jan_hunt/unschooling.html

#272935 10/03/06 04:42 PM
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Koala
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Jan:

Do you keep a portfolio of projects? How do you (or do you) track and measure progress?

Since I work mostly with high-schoolers who plan to go to college, they really MUST have at a bare minimum a portfolio to demonstrate that they have completed the minimum academic pre-reqs for college.

#272936 10/03/06 04:57 PM
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Lynn,

My little one is only 4, so I don't have to keep up with state requirements yet. When I do, I'll keep a portfolio with a list of books read, educational experiences (of course everything is but I'll keep track of big ones), and a photo album. When you unschool, you can document your child's learning by taking photographs of them at the local worm farm, participating in a play, gardening, etc...I do homeschool evaluations here in FL and there's one mom who comes with an amazing photo album each year--I look forward to seeing it!!

Also, this is a great curriculum guide for unschoolers who are required to put their real life curriculum into words:

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#272937 10/03/06 08:32 PM
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Texas doesn't have state set curricular/documentation requirements. Home schools are considered "private schools" and aren't under state control. Parents simply certify completion of graduation requirements. BUT when they apply for college admission, students HAVE to present fairly detailed homeschool transcripts and/or a heavily documented portfolio.

I know of no high schoolers that are unschooled--they're all on a regimented curriculum (online, correspondence, something). The only unschoolers I've come across so far were very young children.

Thus the questions.

8o)

#272938 10/03/06 08:44 PM
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Personally I think unschooling is the most natural method of schooling a child. I think it's also the most meaningful.

Meg


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#272939 10/03/06 08:59 PM
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Record keeping and making a portfolio/transcript for a college-bound child isn't difficult. You keep track of what they do (or have them keep track). You record all of the details and an estimate of time (ex: drawing plans for a treehouse = 4 hours of geometry, 4 hours reading research, 2 hours computer research, you get the idea) Keep track of volunteer hours, projects, reading time, etc.

You keep meticulous track and you calculate the carnegie hours. You also call any colleges the child is interested in before hand and ask about the format they prefer.

There are quite a few colleges that don't require transcripts from home educated children, they require "real" shows of knowledge instead. This is why it's so important to narrow down a few choices at least a year in advance and see what they require.

It is harder to find older unschooled children, but there are plenty to be found if you look in the right place.

I recommend the book "The Unprocessed Child" (http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art19432.asp) it does the best job of detailing high school unschooling that I've ever seen.

As for portfolios, that goes by what is required by law but it's a good idea for everyone to have them for many reasons.

a book specifically about homeschoolers entering college is "And What About College" that is worth a quick read.

I wrote a huge section in my book about all of this, I wish I could share but the publisher might have a fit!

here is a handout from a local university in my area. Transcripts are only needed if the child attended school during the high school years, otherwise you just fill in credit info...all of which is easy to fulfill in unschooling.

http://www.kennesaw.edu/admissions/pdfs/Home%20School%20Admissions%20Package%202006.pdf

Also...if the child wants to go somewhere that has a specific requirement the child doesn't meet, it's still unschooling for the child to gain that requirement. Let's use the example of a foreign language, which most universities require. let's say student A is 16 and has no foreign language instruction...when the child finds this out they will ask to be taught a foreign langauge. The unschooling parent facilitates that learning, it's the child's choice to actually do it.

meg


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#272940 10/03/06 10:09 PM
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Koala
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Of the 150 campuses within my state ALL (public and private) require documentation from the student/parent that a home school student has met the minimum high school academic pre-reqs (or... and some will still try to push this on homeschooled students as well as on students graduating from nonaccredited high schools... the student has to provide a GED certificate).

Some will take either the transcript or the portfolio; others specify one only; others require both (the fill in the blanks credit system would be considered a homeschool transcript here). Students will then also have to do standard admissions testing (or the college's admissions test) and if attending a state funded college, will also have to take the state's college readiness assessment.

When I work with homeschooling 8th graders (or equivalents), I suggest they keep a detailed portfolio and use one of the transcripting programs even if they hadn't planned on it. This way they have the information readily available if a college asks and they don't have to scramble that last year to pull something together.

#272941 10/03/06 10:45 PM
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Shark
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Quote:
Of the 150 campuses within my state ALL (public and private) require documentation from the student/parent that a home school student has met the minimum high school academic pre-reqs (or... and some will still try to push this on homeschooled students as well as on students graduating from nonaccredited high schools... the student has to provide a GED certificate).


My understanding is they cannot legally require a GED certificate from homeschoolers. If that were the case I'd simply have my daughter take the GED now instead of homeschooling her for another two years. The prereqs are pretty loose IMO. It's no wonder they want portfolios/tests before admission.

I am not exactly unschooling because I did take the program she would have had for three years and substituted comparable studies. The comparable studies were chosen based on what she wants to go to college for. Do I get a hybrid status??! LOL


Denise Lacazette
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