A Day in the Life of a Radical Unschooling Family

As we are getting much more serious about being complete unschoolers and continuing with peaceful parenting, I felt like documenting an entire day would help Nate and I see exactly how much our kids are learning through the day. Yesterday was a pretty typical day off with Nate, minus the birthday stuff of course. We had so much fun. Our family gets along so well and its just a blast to live a relaxed and happy life. Each day is different and new things come along. Today, Tanner and Kayla went grocery shopping with me. They each got a list and were responsible for getting the items on it including price checking, weighing and measuring fruits and veggies and checking ounces and pounds for the best bargains. They have been begging to "help" me shop like this and I was excited to actually put it into action. It took a tad longer than normal, but so what, it turned a CHORE(I am not a grocery shopping fan haha) into a ton of fun and learning. What math curriculum teaches comparison shopping?

We started the day with Tanner waking up to his birthday gifts from Nate and I. He got a big boy booster seat now that he has reached 4 and 40 pounds as well as some lincoln logs because Tanner loves building toys.
Kayla, Tanner and Everett building the log house
And WALA they did it. How brilliant
They followed the plans exactly and it turned out just right.

Everett helping me cook Tanner's birthday breakfast(sausages in biscuits) to dip in apple butter. This is an old family favorite.

After breakfast, Wyatt asked me to help read a bunch of his Spongebob books to him.

Next Wyatt and I measured out the 2 teaspoons of Motrin he needed for pain relief from his ear ache. Poor boy hasnt been feeling so hot.

They all decided to watch some PBS kids(free tv lol) while I worked out. Note the closed captioning we have on. They actually love it and I swear the boys are picking up reading in just the week we have had it on. They are suddenly accidently spelling and reading signs and other strange things that I never expected. Its funny and they are really excited and asked me to always leave CC on.

Me getting in my morning work out. (no, my Pj's arent modest, just ignore them)

Wyatt decided to go shoot some hoops since the motrin kicked in and he was feeling a little better.

I peaceful parent yes, but we do this weekly and the kids love it and do it joyfully because they know mommy needs some help and can't clean everything alone. I dont specifically make them do it at any certain time. They just seem to do it when it works for them which usually falls in late afternoon when I am cleaning. They are such sweet kids though, they will always lend me a hand when I need other things during the day as well.

Kayla is my animal lover, she enjoys checking the chickens each morning to collect the eggs and her and Everett help each other feed and water them. This is something I have never ever asked them to do. Those two just adopted this as something they love and they do it. I beleive they do it joyfully because they were never forced.

Everett decided to grab his books we got from the library the other day and read and check out the cool pictures of dinosaurs, his latest love.

Everett found the rock making kit in the fun closet and told me he wanted to do them so he grabbed the picnic table and he worked smarter, not harder lol. He put it on the trike and drug it to the perfect spot.

The kids doing their rock art. Wyatt went inside to watch TV and rest because of his ear.

Everett's

Tanner's

Kayla's(she found a heart shaped rock, very cool)

Everett then ran off to go on webkinz. They all love Webkinz and we own too many to count. I actually really love Webkinz too. They learn so much about consumer math, taking care of a pet, reading, typing, etc.

Here is Wyatt resting, watching TV

It was a cute show about recycling. The CC says, "they picked up your trash and dropped it off." This show actually tied in so well with them just having gone to the dump a few days ago, it was kinda funny that it ended up what he watched.

On our way to go hiking and fishing. We stopped at the grocery store and while Nate ran in to buy Cheese puffs and waters to go with our picnic lunch, we read from Farmer Boy.

The view in the car, driving the long dirt road to the new spot Nate found to fish, hike and shoot.

Having our dirt picnic before our hiking/biking. We sat and just listened to all the birds and enjoyed the quiet and desolation.

The kids riding their bikes to the big damn to go fish.

We made it to the dam. It was such a sight. It struck up lots of conversation about dams and how they are built from different materials. I think the kids will probably even want to try making their own.

Nate Shooting the BB gun

Checking out the river that flows into the damn

Nate trying to catch a fishy, but the kids kept wading in the water(yes, it was that warm! I LOVE CA in the winter)

Kayla is getting a really good aim, she shot the water bottle that Nate hung from a tree branch almost every time.

Even Tanner hit the target a few times.

Everett begs to shoot constantly, its definately a passion of his.

Nate helping Wyatt

The entire way along this dirt road, we saw random balloons and we were all laughing about it being a balloon graveyard. The mountains is where all those balloons go that get let go of ya know so hang on to your balloons so you dont pollute! This one was a "Happy New Years" one. We collected the trash and took it home to the garbage.

We got home and ate some pizza and then family came to celebrate Tanner's 4th birthday!

My mother in law made this tasty cake.

I guess Kayla snuck off later in a spare moment during the day and made this rock pal for Tanner's birthday. I thought that was so thoughtful and sweet of her.

Grandpa and Nana got him a really cool truck

and movie

Tanner making his wishIt was his idea to shove his face in the cake haha.

He also got this really awesome Matchbox car pop up station. It folds into a book size case.

Then everyone took baths

After baths, everyone layed down on the couches to veg and watch a little TV before drowsily heading off to bed. I dont impose a bedtime, they just sorta go around 7:30-8:30ish.

I hope you enjoyed living a day in our lives. I know we sure did!

A Checklist

http://lifewithoutschool.typepad.com/lifewithoutschool/2008/10/checklist-for-t.html This is the coolest checklist for unschoolers that I have run across so I just wanted to share.

Unschooling Books

I am currently finished reading volume 1 of Charlotte Mason's Homeschooling series. While I like/liked it, I certainly don't agree 100% with what she has to say and some of her habit ideas are good, but require too much nagging(though she claims it isnt nagging....in my humble opinion, it is) for peaceful parenting. After finishing that volume, I skimmed the other 5 volumes and liked what I saw in those even less. Many things she suggests will seem contrived to the kids and annoy them. Her education ideas are good and many of her outdoor ideas and other things are great, but as with anything, you take what is good and leave the rest. I am not sure I want to read the other volumes at this point. For now, they will set on the bookshelf until I feel like reading them.

It inspired me to go digging and find my unschooling books and to actually slowly and carefully reread them. I am reading Unschooling, How the Use the World as Your Child's Classroom right now and it is so much better 2 years later with 2 years more experience and fresh eyes. Having read many other theories and continually trying them out, I know that after unschooling for a few years, I freaked out and decided I could be doing my kids a disservice and I ordered Sonlight, only to be utterly burned out by week 7 so we sent that packing. The last 3+ months, we have been using the Charlotte Mason method loosely, only to be finding once again, some burn out. Not sure if other homeschoolers suffer constant burnout and keep changing programs, but we tend to do that unless we are unschooling in which everything is just changing constantly with life/seasons so nothing gets burnt out. One way I think I have found the key to eliminating the nerves next time they arise is to alway be reading a new book on the subject of unschooling to keep inspired. Its very similar to the gospel, if you quite reading your scriptures, you feel less and less spiritually inspired right? I feel reignited to unschool, only this time differently as this time my kids are in a different place where I feel more confident in their learning abilities. As they get older, I am realizing a lot of learning is taking place via osmosis and nothing to do with my doing it. In fact, the things they choose to read and study are things they actually remember. Anything I try to cram in them seems to be a waste. We read together for enjoyment and that doesn't seem a waste at all as we all pick the books together and read some each day. Its become a huge treat that we all look forward to. I guess I am also more confident than ever in unschooling having the dish turned off because I KNOW they are really learning now by not sitting around watching tv all day long. They are always doing something inventive and fun.

Some of the things I have read about that never occurred to me or stood out to me last time I read this book was for begining readers, when they do watch tv/movies to turn on the closed captioning. What a brilliant idea! Why didn't I think of that. So, I turned it on so that when and if they turn tv on to watch anything or if they watch a movie, it will automatically be subconsciously helping my early readers as well as Kayla who is quite proficient. I am learning also that no matter how hard I push or don't push reading, some kids do naturally come to it much younger. I swear I never taught Kayla to read. I don't even know how she learned. It just sorta accidentally happened as at the time I didn't have any program to teach it to her. I just read to her a lot and told her the sounds letters make and wala. Wyatt, I have tried so tirelessly to teach reading to via Hooked on Phonics last year(while we were unschooling everything else), Sonlight, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons to no avail. He can read very short, little books with 3 words or so per page, but he is almost 7 years old and no where near proficient. Everett is almost 6 and can't read more than a few select words and you know what, he is brilliant and I am not worried in the slightest. I know it will come to Wyatt and Everett, but I need to allow it to come in their time which means backing off. It hilarious because we did nothing formal for December, just read, watched movies, baked, played games, and did all sorts of things for Christmas festivities and when we sat down the day after Christmas to do some formal schooling, their reading and writing was better than it has ever been....why? Because they weren't being pushed to do anything during December, they were able to relax and be themselves and learn the way kids learn best, through osmosis, through life.....it just happened, it was unintentional. Now in our third week back to "semi formal" schooling, Charlotte Mason style of course(which is very unschoolerish in most areas(it lacks unschooling quality though as you are the one suggesting, forcing and making it happen, not the kids), I see the kids already looking bummed when I pull our basket of books/workbooks out each day. Today was supposed to be week 3, day 2 back since Christmas, but I just couldn't bear to see their disappointed faces once again when I pulled out "the basket" so I called off formal schoolwork. Nate had to go to the dump this morning with his dad to help him unload a bunch of old stuff and we had stuff that needed to go as well since we are clearing everything out for the move soon so I asked him to take the boys. He seemed puzzled and asked about "school." I told him, "Where in a book are they going to experience the nasty odors, the ants, the bugs, the weighing of the trailer, the money exchange, the oil bins, the consumerism that fills the earth up with garbage, the land movers burying, the recycling area, the old appliances that no longer work........where could I give them that?" He looked at me and said, "hmm good point, get ready boys." The boys of course had a blast. Kayla had no desire to go as she went with Daddy once before and that was enough for her so she stayed home with me and Kenna and finished knitting a scarf while I read.

I then got a brilliant idea to take the weekly grocery store mailer and have the kids help me, when they got back of course, to create a 1 week meal plan based on things that were on sale this week in the mailer and what they like. I told them the budget was 80 dollars and we all worked together and they came close, reaching 90 dollars, but I of course had to add toilet paper and a few non edible items, bringing our total to 100 with tax. We talked about weight of apples and oranges and about how many pounds we would want. Kayla added .69 four times to get the total that 4 lbs of apples were going to want for the week. Not that I need to categorize everything, but I feel a need usually for outside skeptics(another hurdle of unschooling for me that maybe one day I will get over) so if you look at that planning, it entailed, health/nutrition(I reminded them that each meal needed to be balanced and told them what balance was), math, price comparison, and reading to see amounts and what brands were on sale. Each week, I will be taking 2 kids to the store with me. I will separate my list in half and each child will be responsible to find everything on their own list as we walk through together. They will have to weigh the fruits and veggies, price comparison shop and check amounts per pound and estimate costs(keeping within our assigned amounts). This in itself is like a game to them. They don't realize how much they are learning by doing this and it really eliminates the need for math workbooks in my opinion. Real math in real life is so much more meaningful. Between this activity, baking, cooking, measuring, playing Chutes and Ladders/Connect Four/Dominoes/Monopoly Jr/Checkers, and so many other things they encounter, what good reason is there to force them to sit mindlessly working on math problems that make them all want to cry? Everett actually enjoys his math workbook and they will always be able to access these workbooks if they want them and my bet is that Everett will finish his off even faster now that there wont be a limit. I actually have to stop him most days because he wants to do too much math and we need to "move on" to the next subject. This lifestyle is so freeing. I just had to write about it as I am so passionately reinspired to unschool.

My next read is Christian Unschooling and then I filled my Amazon cart up for my upcoming birthday with a few others that I want to read/own; Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves: Transforming Parent-child Relationships from Reaction And Struggle to Freedom, Power And Joy, Learning All The Time, The Unschooling Unmanual, and lastly Homeschooling Our Children Unschooling Ourselves.

Lastly, here is a blog about Radical Christian Unschooling that I like and this post especially really says it beautiful about how and why, if done correctly, radical unschooling can be a part of a Christian home. http://radchristianunschooler.homeschooljournal.net/2006/04/27/what-is-christian-unschooling/

Sledding

Rick and Nate doing their tough guy poses haha

Nicole, Kenna and I

Kayla lol Weeee
Tanner is crazy!

Tryin to walk in the snow

She kept eating it

Nate and Nicole shooting air pellet guns

Wyatt wiping out

Adeline and Wyatt

Kayla and Abbey

Everett digging a ramp on their path

Charlotte Mason is a big outdoor enthusiast and I know why. Nothing livens the spirit like some fresh sunshine and fresh air. The mountain air was the best. We went to the mountains a few days ago with our friends from church to spend a day doing something fun and free. Nate and the kids sledded for 3 hours. We also all took turns shooting the air pellet guns which is great fun and gun safety as well as training. How else would you want to learn about speed, velocity, snow, and gun safety......from a textbook? I think not!

OH AND IF YOUR WONDERING WHY A HOMESCHOOLING POST IS HERE, I HAVE DECIDED TO STOP POSTING TO MY HOMESCHOOL BLOG AND POST EVERYTHING HERE SO THIS WILL BE THE NEW HOME OF MY HOMESCHOOL POSTS AS WELL. YOU CAN FIND THE NEW HOMESCHOOL POSTS IN THE HOMESCHOOL/UNSCHOOL TAB.

25 Weeks

Its getting bigger--11 weeks left!

Happy New Years!

I wanted to say that my goals this year are

• Going to the Temple and being sealed
• Reading through my Bible OT and NT using this plan. I started today http://www.heartlight.org/devotionals/reading_plans/straightthrough.pdf.
• Getting at least 10,000 in savings by years end
• Getting a new mattress for my bed because ours is 8 years old and was very cheap and its killing our backs
• Replacing couches/end tables via cheap stuff from craiglist because our couches have a hole and are just nasty from drool/kid accidents during naps/etc. Not to mention even when clean, the fabric is beat up and worn down.
• Replacing the boys' beds for a bunk bed with trundle as they take up literally the space of just one bed
• Getting Kayla and Kenna a bunk bed so that Kenna can move out of our bed sometime this year hopefully
• Moving out and getting settled into a new place.
• Keeping our food bill less than 500 a month
• NOT swearing! (yes, *blushes* I sometimes do this and need to quit it)
• Being outdoors much more myself as well as the kids(they are already outside about 4 hours a day in decent to good weather, but I think we could increase it by homeschooling outdoors more often). I want to do this because being outdoors serves so many purposes. It is healthier air than indoors, the sunshine repels depression and anxiety, when outdoors you are generally much more active and mostly, it keeps everyone off the computer.

I will update every few months to see what goals I have accomplished and what is still waiting to be done.