skip to main |
skip to sidebar
My boys favorite activity is programming in Scratch. It is a programing environment that is made of "puzzle pieces" that are easily put together to make the icons on the screen move or whatever else you might want them to do. My 7 year old started programming in Scratch almost two years ago. He started with simple movements-- the Scratch cat just moving back and forth across the screen. He added different elements and started drawing his own sprites to animate. He can also download pictures that he finds on the internet and add them to the scenes he creates. My 5 year old is quickly becoming as proficient as his big brother. Together they make scenes and games. It is great fun, and they will spend the entire day working on a project.
Some of my family's projects:
http://scratch.mit.edu/users/raeleo
A Link to get scratch for yourself:
scratch.mit.edu
I never thought I would say this, but because of unschooling, mornings are now my favorite part of the day.
I am usually the first one out of bed (on weekdays my husband is technically the first one up, but he gets up at 6, and leaves around 7, and the boys and I are not early risers). I get up and get a glass of diet pepsi ( I am not a coffee drinker but an influx of caffeine is good) and sit on the living room couch and open up the laptop. This is the time of day that I have to read emails, check on facebook and twitter and just enjoy my own thoughts for the day.
Slowly, the rest of the family starts to stir. And they join me on the couch.
First they just snuggle in. They hide behind the throw or the couch pillows so that they can stay warm and in that wondrous sleep state just a bit longer. Then as they really awaken, we begin to talk to one another. Sometimes it is about things as banal as the placement of my sheep in farmtown. Other times we discuss the least ferocious of the wild cats, or where a certain bird might live. Since I have my laptop, information is at my fingertips and we can use the internet to answer questions. Sometimes the kids will get their laptops and program in Scratch or draw. Always we will figure out what animal we are that day.
All too soon the boys start to get hungry and it is time to get breakfast. Then we all go about our own tasks, coming together during other times of the day, and perhaps we will all sit on the couch again. But it is never as peaceful as it was first thing in the morning.
Before unschooling, we had too many "things to do" to take the time to enjoy each others' company in the morning. I am thankful that I took the time for my Unschool October experiment.
