Unschooled Figure Skating Family

Wrote this 3 years ago

I will never forget my family's first day as Unschoolers.

I drove away from the public school my son had been enrolled in for
Kindergarten and First Grade and felt so free!

It was if we were about to go on a vacation and I could not wait. I
could not wait to spend all my time with my children and teach them
everything!

My husband and I had been an infertile couple for fourteen years. We
were married in 1979, but no children arrived until 1993. Baby
Number One arrived in August of 1994. Baby Number Two followed in
1996, and Baby Number Three was born in 1999.

Our house was now full of joy and laughter, but we fell into the
"Day
Care Trap." We spent the early mornings and early evenings
taking
and picking up children to and from day care. We worked all day.

Something just didn't seem right to me. I had waited so long for
children and never saw them.

One day I was visiting the YMCA and observed some children in the
after school care. I looked at a young teen as she pulled out a book
to pass the time and knew inside that the child was so used to day
care, that it was her life. I knew I had to pull my children out of
that system that day.

And so, my children left the day care trap and I began to schedule my
activities around theirs.

I began to take my two older children to and from school. Still,
something was just not right. My children had little to do with one
another. My son's six hours away at school just seemed to not
fit in
with my commitment to be more involved with my children's lives.

The school told us our son had special needs. Why couldn't we be
the
ones who helped him learn? My husband and I finally decided we
would home school and decided to give the Unschooling style of home
schooling a try.

This decision has been the best decision. Our home is filled with
books. Our children are each other's best friends. We sing
together. We teach each other. We celebrate together.

Our days vary. Daily we do "Reading Tutoring" with a program
called
Funnix. Soon we will begin using a program called "Teach Your
Child
to Read Well." The program is great because it covers phonics,
sight
reading, spelling, handwriting, and comprehension. The children love
their time being "tutored" by either Mommy or Daddy!

We use Ray's Arithmetic, an arithmetic book for the 1870s! The
kids
love it. I believe the way math was done "back when" worked
and the
kids love doing math now. The kids find writing out math problems to
be a challenge and delight as they find math can be fun and a
challenge.

Sometimes we jump rope and do math problems! We listen to math music
in the car.

The kids learn handwriting with a program called Handwriting Without
Tears. The program is fun to use and they love to write neatly! My
son is very proud of his cursive handwriting skills now.

The children take formal piano lessons and are tutored in Hebrew.
The girls have ballet classes and my son loves his hockey class. I
take the children ice skating three times a week and we swim once a
week.

We are involved with a homeschooler's Co-Op, and there, my
children
take Drama. I teach sign language at the Co-Op.

There is even a Cooperative Pre-School at the Co-Op and my four year
old has no idea that moms and dads usually leave children at most pre-
schools. She gets a chance to play and explore and make friends
weekly while I visit with other parents.

Sometimes we do science experiments and sometimes we do arts and
crafts. Sometimes we draw as we learn about history. We visit drum
circles! We mix with people from various backgrounds. We go to the
library. Sometimes we watch educational videos. Sometimes we go on
hikes.

We go to museums, zoos, we ride bikes, we cook together, we eat out,
we go on picnics. We jump rope, roller skate, ride scooters, and
shoot baskets.

My children are probably the most social children on earth! They
play with all ages and talk to everyone.

We celebrate the Jewish holidays together. We laugh, we cry, we
hug. We love our life.

Unschooling is our life. It's about love. It's about
family. We
have made the best choice, I believe.

As my children grow, I believe they will want to learn and explore.
They may not know what it means to sit in an uncomfortable desk for
half the day and raise their hand at the right time or to stand in
line. They may not know that they were supposed to wear a name brand
piece of clothing. They may not know the terror of the peer pressure
I experienced in Junior High.

What they will know if that their parents loved them and gave them
all they had to give. I hope they can pass that love on to their own
families and to everyone they meet.

posted by JO ANN Schneider Farris @ 9:36 AM