The End of Unschool October

The trees on our mountain have passed their peak, and dried brown oak leaves fill our yard. My mom's birthday has been celebrated. Halloween has come and gone. My little owl and the "cuter bird" went trick or treating and acquired their fill of candy. All of these events herald the end of October, and for me, the end of our trial unschool period. I have to say, that life is better with unschooling. No more crying because we have to do things. No more whining, no more frustration.

I went into the month with the vague notion that unschooling would work for my family. My boys are "do-ers." They want to experience life, not just have it taught to them. October was filled with Scratch programming, trips to aviaries, reading books, and conversations about everything. As I said before, this is what our life is like on the weekends, during breaks, in the summer. It was a change in my perception that led me to understand that my boys are always learning, and now they are enjoying life-- even during school times.

Unschooling seems to be a benefit for the entire family. I am no longer as stressed and grumpy. Instead of planning for the formal schooling and teaching while trying to get some time in for me and work around the house completed, I work the kids into the things I need to do. They help make lunch and have taken on the tasks such as feeding and watering the cats. While they are schooling themselves, I can read or work on a sewing project. I'm less stressed about their schooling, so my husband has a bit less stress as well.

That isn't to say that our first month of unschooling went perfectly. I was happy that I followed through with my plan to cancel the cable (thank goodness Project Runway is on the 'net). I also took away the Wii and Playstation. The change is not necessarily permanent, but the games are away while the boys break their addiction cycle and remember how to play with other things. I am happy to add that when they discovered that the game systems were gone, they merely started playing LEGO and reading a book. No one complained.

I still worry about how I'm going to prove to the BOE that I am teaching them. My portfolio last year was large and filled with "things." This year I think it will have more pictures-- more of a scrapbook feel-- along with samples of work they have wanted to pursue on their own.

Now I plan to unschool for the entire school year, and then reevaluate it. I know that for now it is the plan for us, and I beleive that we will remain unschoolers until the boys go off on their own.

Hmmmm...... I think this could lead them to their Mamma's alma mater. COA, here they come.