Tag Archives: child-led learning

She can read

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BigGuy taught himself to read by the age of 3–despite all of his other global developmental challenges.  He actually taught himself to sight-read; but since he knew all of his letters and letter sounds, I intervened and imposed phonics on him.  It wasn’t easy, but it was quick.

People used to tell me that I was so chill about homeschooling and my stock reply was “Well, he can read.  Come talk to me when Girly is 8 and not reading yet and let’s see how chill I am then.”  Because it seems like reading becomes the barometer of educational success and Girly is another story…

Continue reading She can read →

The happiest boy on the block

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Because he finished his first semester of Pre-Algebra this morning “before lunch”–as he proudly announced.  He then promptly laid out his progression of math and science from here.  Wow…

To meet my kid, you would never.  EVER. imagine this kind of motivation out of him…

Continue reading The happiest boy on the block →

Scheduled unschooling… I’m serious

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We are ending our sixth year of homeschooling.  For the first 1-2 years, I waffled between scheduled and notsomuch scheduled when it came to academics.  If not for all our moving, I might have tried to find a schedule that worked until I gave up.  Instead, I threw my hands up and said “He’s ahead–I’m not gonna worry about it”.

But we’ve entered a new phase of life…

Continue reading Scheduled unschooling… I’m serious →

To plan, or not to plan… that is the question

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Next to packing lunches, planning is the complete bane of my existence.  I loathe each with equal passion.  Currently, I am detaching from reality each evening with an inflammation-inducing comfort of organic milk (we have been dairy-free for ELEVEN years) and chunky Chips Ahoy cookies (we have been gluten-free for a decade and pretty much flour free because of blood sugar issues for easily 3 years)… because I am in a quandary about how to proceed with my kids educational needs and I just don’t feel like dealing with it.

But I’m going to deal with it, obviously… Here is the quandary…

Continue reading To plan, or not to plan… that is the question →

BigGuy’s first Scouting adventure

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It was a weekend that feels like the first day of the rest of our lives… because Boy Scouts is NOT Cub Scouts, people.  For one, in Boy Scouts, the boys run the show.  There are adults there to be sure nobody is hurt and some basic rules are followed; but the boys live and suffer by their own hands.  So when the Scout assigned to build the campfire Saturday night didn’t get to it, everyone ate “raw” s’mores.

And this was BigGuy’s first Boy Scout campout…

Continue reading BigGuy’s first Scouting adventure →

The Dragonnaire Cluster

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I just needed to update you all on BigGuy’s writing.  I’m VERY. PLEASED with it!  He’s seriously coming along really well!!  We don’t work on this every day but after his first whipping out of a page of writing, I introduced the process of rewrites.  There is a local homeschool mom I admire very much and she recently divulged how she tackled writing instruction and the gusto with which she embraces the rewrite.  Her kids (who are high school age) know that there is pretty much no set number or max on rewrites.

I gave this some thought, and decided that I would really rather my son be prepared to rework his writing many times over than assume he was done after any set number (likely a number close to 3).  Continue reading The Dragonnaire Cluster →

Totally hacked my son’s education today

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Sho ’nuff did.  So, I have not been able to get my act together–especially to facilitate Socratic/thinking discussion.

But I was inspired by my son’s willingness to write when the writing was about the fictitious land he created and made a map for.  Then I saw a TEDx talk on hackschooling.   Suddenly, I remembered the whole reason we’re homeschooling is to allow our kids the experience of learning by way of the things they love–that drive them to learn. Continue reading Totally hacked my son’s education today →

Folks, we have a 6-year-old in the house

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And she is very taken with the concept that yesterday she was 5, but today she is 6.  Mind-blowing.  She also had a fit today, stating that she is “the worst writer in the world” because she wrote something and her brother couldn’t read it.  Oh my…

Every year I e-mail the social worker that first handled her case and met her birthmother.  His birthday happens to be the same day as hers and had he been able to catch the birth certificate processing in time, our Girly’s first legal name would have been the female version of his.  So he and the social worker that handled the remainder of the case get an e-mail each year with a link to a photo album of pictures.  Occasionally, the first one responds.  I have no idea if either of them still work for the state, but I send it anyway. Continue reading Folks, we have a 6-year-old in the house →

Applying neurotypical logic to kids in the spectrum

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So, I get this a lot.  Especially since I run in unschooling circles (and please keep in mind that “unschooling” is, at it’s heart, about following the child).   Just to be sure we’re all on the same page here: “Neurotypical” refers to a child who develops in a way that is free of disabilities of any kind.

That is not my BigGuy. Continue reading Applying neurotypical logic to kids in the spectrum →