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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Deschooling

When I was asked to consider homeschooling for Avery, my gut response was "No way!". I started looking into modern homeschooling. I read books, met with other homeschool moms, found a homeschool store, and surfed the web for real homeschoolers. It didn't take long to convince me that homeschooling was just what Avery needed, but I still wasn't convinced I would be able to teach her all she needs to know. My aunt is a 27-year veteran to teaching Kindergarten. I asked her a lot of questions and she showed me/explained to me how she teaches in the classroom.
I threw myself into preparing to teach. I made up a calendar showing what units we would cover weekly. I broke up our day into subjects. I had art projects, science experiments, and all sorts of fun things to do with the first few units and was planning out the rest of the year in my head.
Week One. Avery quickly informed me that I did NOT do things like she did in preschool. I assured her that we were now in Kindergarten and things had to be different. She half-heartedly participated in the activities I had planned, but refused to follow my time schedule. I evaluated our week, and decided to keep trying because things would get better as she learned the schedule and got excited about being in school.
Week Two. On day eight of her reading lessons, I threw the book in the floor and gave up. She was bored to tears. I asked her to grab Charlotte's Web off the shelf and she listened as I read. Later that week I gave up on the time schedule and decide to do subjects on Avery's time-table.
Now. All the workbooks and curiculum are on the shelf. If Avery wants to use them, she can at any time. I have latched onto the theory of unschooling. It is child-led learning. If I find a project that looks fun I tell Avery about it. If she is interested, we try it. She helps me do our daily chores in the morning. Then we play together or she plays alone in her room. She has several "educational" games to play on the computer and frequents pbskids.org and everythinggirls.com. Some days we turn on the Wii and play each other. Her favorite t.v. shows are SuperWhy, Sid the Science Kid, and Little Einsteins.
I have finally set aside all of my preconcieved notions of what a homeschooling mom should be like. After reading several articles, I think Avery and will definitely enjoy the rest of the school year more. I think I am fully "Deschooled" and am ready to embrace learning instead of teaching! http://lifewithoutschool.typepad.com/lifewithoutschool/2007/09/interest-based-.html
http://applestars.homeschooljournal.net/an-introduction-to-the-creative-right-brained-learner/
http://applestars.homeschooljournal.net/2007/01/10/the-death-of-show-me-work/

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