Musings On Matters: Home Education

I will post my thoughts and our family adventures as I move inexorably towards our own version of unschooling... can't call ourselves unschooled right now b/c I intend to share what I consider to be very important  information about world history and a few other subjects. My friend uses the term Life Learner which is good but I'm still not sure that its what we do.
I will have to come up with my own name ... I found only one "published" home educator with thinking similar to mine and she seems to have disappeared off the internet but not before getting an awesome article out there where she called her version of homeschooling "Relaxed Homeschooling".

I really enjoyed the process of examining what is REAL and what matters... What is educated?, what is the benefit of an education? what is the best way to learn? what do the educational "experts" have to say on the subject?

I had a fun phone call from Dad today... he is so high on the whole home/unschool thing and is also in agreement with me about the vital importance of philosophy/world history.

Its cool that my Mom is supportive and nonjudgmental and interested, and even DH's Mom (a former teacher, we've seen that before!)

DH's focus is on problem solving and we are so excited to find fun ways to incorporate all these elements together.

At this point in time... just one month before we break for 2 months ...DS does a total of about 5-6 hours a week of World History, Science, Writing, Life Math, French (more on French later), Critical Thinking exercises,Computer Teaching and then each of these once a Month; Arts and Crafts, Art History , and Music Studies.

DS then spends the rest of the day life learning and pursuing his interests.
He is fiercely independent and resists teaching, but we are working on coming to a full understanding of WHY his father and I think these things are important, and how to come to a place where everyone's needs can be satisfied.

DD is the ultimate freeschooling pre-schooler She loves to explore her interests and, like her brother before her, taught herself to read. She spends lots of time on art, lifemath, story telling and reading. She also adores our science experiments. She does lots of workbooks, letters, numbers, dot-to-dot and so on, but MUST do them her way or not at all . Another fiercely independent one I can see!

Here are some of the topics I want to cover through this blog (better put it down "on paper" so I don't forget :-)

1. Analysis of "what matters" in education - Quotes, Holt, Gardner, Gatto, Dodd, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Self Cofidence, Scaffolding etc. etc.

2. Discussions of HOW we go about our life learning and education (schedule)

3. Discussions of how/if I want to move entirely to unschooling - esp. focus on Is that what John Holt really meant? (NO schooling at all)

4. Thoughts on starting an unschool facility / learning center/ resource room - see? lots of ideas :-)

5. Simplifying, Self Judgement, Wading out of the Mainstream, What Matters

6. Thoughts on being part of the formation of the Homednetaz.

7. Home Ed and Religion - Unschooling and Sanctimony (;-)

8. Whats in a name? Unschooling, Relaxed Homeschooling, Eclectic Homeschooling, Freeschooling, Radical Unschooling, Life Learning....

Lookin' forward to lots of Exploration!!!


Here's my Actual "Inaugeral Entry" copied and pasted from a previous bloghost.