What is your homeschooling style?

Alisha - posted on 04/20/2010

i thought i was failing at homeschooling but i found out that i was following the more unschooling approach.we got to museums and run family buisnesses and do the library and sell at craft shows as a family we do everything together and i answer every question they have and they do sk sme pretty deep questions at times that shows they are thinking and learning

Lisa - posted on 04/21/2009

Oh, and we live in Apple Valley, MN (I have 18-month old twin girls, and a husband :)

Lisa - posted on 04/20/2009

I am still researching and trying to decide what to do as far as our homeschooling style. I've been reading "You are your child's first teacher", (a Waldorf book), and "the absorbent mind" (Montessori), and I've heard that the "Oak Meadow" curriculum is really good for encouraging creativity. What is the "child-led, world learning style"? Do you recommend a book to read about that or is there a program? Thanks for anybody's advice - I'm still learning (as we all are, I guess)!

Heather - posted on 03/04/2009

Thanks for sharing Yvonne! I struggle with the same feelings then I think of my son's emotional IQ and knowledge of real world issues and feel much better!

Yvonne - posted on 03/03/2009

Hello Heather and everyone. This is a very cool forum. I guess we are an eclectic mix. I have a hard time losing the " we aren't getting enough done" feeling sometimes, but then I remind myself that my son is 11 & 2 grades ahead, so what are NOT geting done? He's obviously fine with the mix of items and blends of curriculum we are using. I never thought of myself as an unschooler, because around here that has a really bad rep.......but we've had times when I let him pick the subject and he did his own thing,and it turned out just fine!

Laurianne - posted on 02/24/2009

Amy: I found that any of the John Holt books are good for learning "how to go about it," or actually more NOT "how to go about it!" Just let it happen. Everyone learns, willing or not. Everyone teaches, whether they know they are or not. If you aren't in the right frame of mind, it's very hard to learn anything.

Laurianne - posted on 02/24/2009

Hi Heather,



We almost lost our 6-year-old son Ryan in December, so things have been a bit hairy. Thanks to God, he is back to normal, healthy and happy once again.



As for the schooling style, it is mostly unschooling, with a few loosely structured classes offered by our local rec. centre. Right now they are both in Science (Ryan and my 8 year-old daughter Myrriah. She also takes Musical Theatre, and some nature classes in the community.



My son plays a lot of Nintendo DS and Guitar Hero World Tour!

Amy - posted on 01/26/2009

Hi. I'm new here and new to homeschooling. My son is 11 and this is the first year I'm doing this. I didn't buy a curriculum. They are so expensive and none of them looked worth it to me. I bought a workbook that has reading, writing, LA, and math in it. I also got Middle School Advantage software. I like the History and math lesson in it. But I have been pretty much making up my own curriculum as I go along. I have serious doubts sometimes if he's learning anything. I would really appreciate it if someone can tell me more about unschooling. How do you go about it?

Heather - posted on 01/09/2009

cool thanks for posting !

Emily Mellow - posted on 01/09/2009

We are unschoolers. I know as a kid I always liked doing workbooks, puzzles, and even tests, so we will definitely have that kind of thing available if our kids are into that feeling of completion that I loved as a kid. But for the most part our resources are the library and the internet, both pretty endless sources of information and inspiration. I also think that other people in our kids' lives are invaluable, for diversity of opinion and experience. We are fortunate that our kids have very involved grandmas in their lives, and we are also very close to another unschooling family to learn from and with.
We live in Burien, WA.

Heather - posted on 12/09/2008

welcome Marie!

Marie - posted on 12/08/2008

We are unschoolers and pretty much started out that way. My son is a "loves to learn, hates to be taught" kid. My dau finds it fun for me to do math worksheets with her and likes life with a bit more of a pattern.

We live in the Ohio Valley, on the Ohio River.

Heather - posted on 12/03/2008

My family started out with a full scheduled curriculim, my husband was serious that my oldest son get the best academics. Very expensive and intensive and we fought our way through it. Well I knew that homeschooling shouldn't be about a battle but I hadn't heard of unschooling besides a few moms in a playgroup that I heard bashing workbooks...i thought they just did nothing with their children...boy was i wrong! Anyway it took some time but I looked into unschooling and fell in love with the child-led, world learning style. My son is thriving! We went from thinking he had dyslexia to watching him write his own books. It has been cool! I still stumble into old ideas but for the most part each day is fun and full of adventure.I have two other kids and who knows what style they will need as they grow.I am just staying open and providing an enriching environment and excited to see what happens!We are in Minnesota-south of the river:)