Though we homeschool year-round, we tend to have a lighter “schedule” during the Summer months. So, as that winds down, my oldest is ramping up on his own.

During the past week, he has spontaneously started a research project of his own devising (studying detailed biographies of each of the US presidents, in order), creating his own Math worksheets, teaching his younger siblings how to play chess, teaching his younger sister basic robotics (yes, really!), and undertaking a knitting project, which in 3-1/2 days is already just about halfway done!

This is just in one week, mind you, and is in addition to my standing daily reading assignment of three chapters (of any book).

This bodes well for the school year, I hope! We have an ambitious schedule this year as my oldest enters sixth, my daughter enters 3rd and my youngest, 1st:

Monday: Swimming (we find out for certain on Saturday); and possibly Spanish (contingent upon swimming time)

Tuesday: Lego robotics (for my oldest); dance (all three)

Wednesday: Homeschool Choir; swimming (possibly–we find out Saturday for sure)

Friday: Lego robotics (oldest)

Let’s see what this year holds!

Today, the two of my three who auditioned for solos will find out what parts they’ve been assigned. My youngest remains a part of the general chorus.

Their auditions went well, as the pictures may illustrate. Both kids received compliments from their instructor.

Today, the kids are working on their multi-lingual song. So far the song has Cameroon, French, German & Japanese. Another song is in Gaelic.

Our local traditionally schooled counterparts are on a break this week, so we’ve taken a hiatus of sorts as well. Because, as mentioned yesterday, our learning tends to be more life-based, clearly we never truly take a break.

The kids still read books on their own, and went to their Spanish classes, as well as music class. Today is our knitting group for Teens & Tweens held at a local yarn shop.

We go back to “normal” (whatever that is!) next week…

I will admit upfront that I hate the term “unschooling.” To me, it connotes a “free-range, no-learning-here” stance. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth!

Unschooling, the end of the homeschooling continuum that I lean closest to, should more rightly be termed “life-based learning” or “practical homeschooling”. Learning does not merely occur between the hours of 9am and 3pm. Life-based learning is where activities one engages in as part of daily living provide experiential opportunities for children to learn.

For example, when my oldest was learning to read, we would go to the market with a list. He would draw pictures of what we needed, and I would write the words. He would take the list, and find the things we needed based on the pictures he drew, and learned to associate that object with the letters I used to spell the word.

I labeled bins in my children’s rooms with words and pictures to promote independence. The bins for toys, and bins for types of clothing were labeled so that my children could choose, and put away with minimal assistance from me, all the while learning to associate the picture with the word listed on the bin, a pre-reading skill.

Sounds like a lotta learnin’ goin’ on!

Much of what I learned in school, I don’t ever use anymore. Much of what I learned in school I don’t even remember anymore.

My oldest learned about counting money by going to the store with coins. He learned 10% long before his public school counterparts (he was maybe, six??), because we rounded up the sales tax to an easier increment to calculate. Thus, when he expressed interest in purchasing something with his allowance, he had to compute the cost of the item + 10% for tax to see if he had enough money. This is real-world math, that he will use time and time again throughout his life.

My youngest is learning to read by looking at the signs he sees out of our car window as we travel daily to our various activities. He sees words and pictures, and can fill in the words he may not know based on the picture. He is learning to spell in this way, too.

My children have days where they want to build with Legos from sun-up to sun-down. They build elaborate structures that incorporate engineering (sound, weight-bearing structures), math (base 10 and manipulatives (how many white squares equal a red one?)), and reading, if they are following set instructions (which they do as often as not). I can’t say this isn’t learning, and I can’t say they don’t learn as much from this free-form activity as they do with more “structured” activities we engage in (and there are some!). They have more interest in it, and a stake in making it happen, thus, get more from it.

I am not anti-learning, but I do question if a “traditional” school setting is the only “legitimate” way in which “true” learning occurs. I am not anti-unschooling, but I dislike the term because it leaves the impression that “those zany homeschoolers let their kids run around all day without teaching them a thing” when nothing could be further from the truth. Our family is a practical, life-based learning homeschooling family….and loving it!

© 2009, Marie Stroughter; All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced without written permission.

Our last installment found The Intrepid Three imploring their father for a corn snake. In their efforts to show responsible pet ownership, the kids have researched corn snake care online & at the library.

Additionally, I had the kids go to four different websites today & create a cost analysis for start-up, as well as weekly maintenance.

The kicker was today’s return visit to the pet store. The kids observed a corn snake devour a live pinkie mouse (squeaks and all). I thought if they observed this aspect of the life cycle and were okay with it, it would bode well for them. I feared that just researching it and knowing the “facts” were one thing, but if we got the snake and they cried or felt sorry for “the cute little mouse” they would decide it wasn’t the pet for them….and guess who would inherit the snake?

Surprisingly, they were very accepting of this reality of life. They watched the whole thing in rapt fascination, and still want one. They held and played with one of the corns. He had such a great personality, and they really loved him. He liked them, too.

The kids were invited to come as often as they want to gather more information and experience (it’s a very homeschool-friendly shop…we’ve gone independently and with homeschool field trip groups).

I’ve spared you (okay, *me* the chicken mama who didn’t look!), the graphic photos