A Fellow Unschooler (or a fellow crazy)

This morning we went on a much needed Costco trip and then had a pot luck lunch at Kollen's house.  Many women came, kids all over the place and food galore!  It was great. During all of the commotion, I was able to talk with Andrea, a fellow home schooler.  She started home schooling this last year when I did, but we haven't gotten together very often.  I confessed to her that I only have a math curriculum and everything else is whatever we want to learn or think up.  She said that math is the only subject that she has a curriculum for as well.  Most home schoolers that I've run into use curriculum for most subjects and so it really made me feel at ease that Andrea is teaching her children in a very unschoolish way as well.  I know I shouldn't look to other people to validate the way I teach my children, but I must admit, seeing that Andrea teaches similarly to the way I do made me feel not so crazy.  Or maybe I just found a fellow crazy.

I also met a woman who has two girls the same ages as mine.  When it came out that I home school and she mentioned that she had thought about doing that I really encouraged her.  Her girls are very bright it is apparent that she was doing a great job home schooling them before her oldest daughter started Kindergarten this school year.  On a selfish note: More home schoolers in my neighborhood means more of a support group for me and more friends during school hours for my kids!

Tonight we will do some school stuff at the kitchen table while we make cupcakes for tomorrow's Leap Day Party.

Tangible Proof

Everything that Luke and Isabel did today were very unschoolish. -They cleaned out the car. (Lesson on cleanliness AND that mommy gets angry if you leave all of your crap in the car!)

-They helped me make a chocolate pie. (Lesson on following Jello pudding directions. Also good hand eye coordination...seriously, it is easy to forget that we once had to learn how to stir.)

-They worked on their rough draft of the Superhero Comic Book they are making. (Lesson on writing, drawing, imagination, story problems, etc.)

-They rode their scooters outside (P.E., right?)

-Webkinz (okay okay, I know, not ALL of those games are educational.)

-Isabel read Bob Books to me.

-Isabel made a beaded bracelet (Lesson on patterns and more hand eye coordination.)

-Right now they are currently working on the Comic Book rough draft some more.

I know I will feel utterly guilty if I don't at least slip them a Math worksheet tonight. I don't know if I will ever get out of the worksheet-textbook-sit-down-school frame of mind. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with worksheets or sitting down for that matter (textbooks I am not sold on though.) Worksheets are such wonderful tangible proof to the teacher of the students work. Think about it, our car will get messy again, the chocolate pie is already half eaten and I am betting that in a few days the beads from the bracelet will be scattered all over the house. That is mostly why I/we (Joey too) write this blog. So that I can read this a year or years from now and say, "Hey, we DID do school."....tangible proof.