Day of Unschooling

One Unschooled Day

*Wake up at 8:30

*Get kids to make own breakfast (cereal)

*Convince them to comeback and clean up breakfast mess

*Kids use Scratch to construct computer games, read bird books.
I start sewing bag for mother in law's birthday present.

*Leave for lunch. Kids choose to eat at Subway. Andy gets more diverse vegetables on his sub than I do. Jules just gets shredded cheese.

*Andy asks about the effects of catnip on cats. Asks if we can experiment on our own cats.

*Drive to local state park to visit the aviary. Park away from the aviary so that the kids (and mom) can get some exercise.

*Kids enjoy walk to birds: throw rocks in lake, identify leaves, marvel over the changing colors.

*Make it to the aviary, renew our acquaintances with the birds there. My boys LOVE owls. At the aviary there are 3 screech owls, 2 barn owls, 2 barred owls, and a great horned owl. There are also 2 red tailed hawks and a black vulture with only one wing. We get to see the vulture eat (not everyone would consider this a treat). I quiz my boys on owl and raptor facts, but they have committed owl books to memory and know more than I do.

*At a picnic table near the aviary, the boys draw owl pictures, making a find the mouse game (sometimes the tail is sticking out of the owl's mouth; sometimes it is in the owl pellet lying on the ground; sometimes, just to trick you, it is in the belly of the owl).
While they are drawing, I ask questions to help devise a scientific method-based experiment to test the effects of catnip on cats.

*Collect stuff and walk back to car, stop on the way home to buy sizable bag of catnip

*Go home and have dinner with dad and older brother. Kids play and talk to dad while I read and make bag to contain catnip for the next day's catnip experiment.

My boys engaged in reading, math, science, phys ed, home-ec and art activities. And no one cried. At least not because of school.