We've Hit the Wall

Our school year using Oak Meadow has been great.  We've stayed on track through remodeling and moving, the kids like the curriculum, and they have learned things that I would not have thought to teach them.  They were doing great, and there was no whining when I called "time for homeschool."

That was until 2 weeks ago.  It was a crazy week that began with a night in Pittsburgh with my inlaws so that my MacBook could get fixed.  (Macs are wonderful computers, but the fact that I have to travel at least  an hour and a half to get mine fixed, after having traveled an hour and a half to get it diagnosed may factor into my next computer purchase.....)  And it was out 10th wedding anniversary and at the end of the week we were going for a weekend getaway to the ocean without the kids.  In the middle we were trying to get some homeschooling accomplished, and the boys were a bit out of sorts, but I expected that from the crazy week.

But this past week (Oak Meadow Week 28), the boys were unfocused.  I would put math in front of them that they knew, and they couldn't get it.  Division with remainders would be understood, and then completely forgotten.  It would take forever to read a story because they were unfocused.

By Wednesday I knew it-- they had hit a wall.

I don't know if it the awful weather we are having, or Spring Fever, or what.  There is a reason why so many schools have a Spring Break.  And Easter is so late this year that if I put off Spring Break until then, nothing will really get accomplished for the next 3 weeks, except for all of us being frustrated.

So as we progressed through the stuff I had planned for Thursday and Friday (though admittedly a lighter load), I was planning for OM Week 29.  In the week's schedule I had already factored in Homeschool Group and a trip to the local college with other homeschoolers to see a kid's show.  I looked through the rest of the week and decided that Week 29 was going to be an Unschool week.  Yay!!!!!

Ahhh.... It's been a year

Ok, so it has been a year since my last homeschool blog post. I fell off the wagon. Since then, we have put our old house on the market, bought a new house, rehabbed that house, and moved.

We are still homeschooling, but I bought a curriculum this year because there was an odd amount of stress involved in unschooling my boys. Sure, day to day things were fun and relaxed, but when it came to bi-yearly BOE evaluations, and planning for unschooling (yes, that does occur) I decided that with all the house stuff, my life would be a bunch easier if I bought a curriculum.

I did a bunch of research, and found the Oak Meadow curriculum. It is Waldorf based, and is intended to nurture the "whole" child. My family is on week 16, and it is working for us quite well. My 3rd grader is happy to write a paragraph if he gets to discuss and draw a picture first. I like its structured flexibility. The math is a problem for some families, but I just read what they recommend and make it work for my family. I also appreciate how the 1st and 3rd grades sorta line up so that both are covering things like maps at the same time. I can easily make the lesson adapt to both boys.

I have my BOE review tomorrow, and I am feeling pretty good about it. It feels oddly appropriate that my last blog post was right after last winter's evaluation. Perhaps I can start anew with this post and evaluation.

Unschooling: A working dad's perspective

With traditional school and homeschooling I missed out my children's education.  When I got done working and made it home, with a traditional 8am-3pm school day, I missed it all.  The math.  The reading.  The geography.  The philosophy.  The science.  The robotics.  The computer programming.  The carpentry.  The human performance studies.  Oh they don't do all that stuff in public school do they?  Anyway, I missed out on the "golden opportunity" to participate in my kids education.

That's when you school children -- when parents are at work; right?  If the kids have been completing worksheets all day, being handed work to do and told what is of interest, they will be more than ready to stop listening to me, and anything I tried to teach, by the time I get home from work.  Last year, when we were more traditional homeschoolers, the kids were not as eager to listen to one of my heartfelt explanations of nuclear fission.

Stop the press!  With unschooling kids aren't overloaded all day.  They are trusted with being inquisitive humans who will stop at nothing to understand the world in which they live.  With that schooling pattern our kids seem to stay open to learning and asking questions all day.  They don't say "No.  I really don't want you to explain that now."  Instead they approach me with questions like "How do you spell screech owl?" or "How can Betelgeuse be as large as our entire solar system!?"

What's most important?

• The kids are happier (fewer arguments with parents over what to focus on)
• We're happier (fewer arguments with kids over what to focus on)
• They're interested and engaged in what they're learning (their interests, us showing our excitement in helping them when they can use it)

Am I sold on unschooling?  Not completely.  We both have our eyes on wether our kids will be able to happen upon an interest in all the things they need to know to succeed in the 21st century.  So far I'm optimistic.  I'm happy with the changes we've experienced so far.