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  As an artist I'm very much a create-as-I-go kinda gal. Where my
more linear husband and daughter plan, make lists and check off tasks as they go, I flow
with my moods, inspirations and the direction of the wind and sun. My eldest son tends
toward my brain patterns taking life and learning where he finds them, my youngest is a
merry mix of both his father and me.
 I often sit in awe of the variety found in just the five of us,
three with a similar mix of genes, and wonder how anyone ever thought success could be
found in trying to teach a roomful of thirty strangers as if they were all the same. Just
the brains in our house can make for sometimes chaotic, sometimes humorous, always
interesting avenues of homeschooling.
 unschooling support
 Our
children have been homeschooled since birth, though since I think of life as learning it
often seems silly to me to label what we do as schooling. I lean very much toward what is
commonly termed unschooling, taking proof of what my children know in the amazing people
they are growing into; my husband tends more toward an eclectic combination of schooling
methods with an interest in seeing tangible evidence that they are gaining necessary
school-type skills. We're constantly fine-tuning our methods to find that happy balance of
proof for each of us.
One method I frequently use in guiding/teaching involves
doing something I enjoy and pulling the children into the activity along with me. One such
passion for me is gardening. My children have seen me garden for as long as they can
remember. For many years they have chosen seeds to start and have reveled right along with
me as their "babies" matured and gave them bright-colored flowers and tasty
vegetables.
 In
recent years I've taken the opportunity of our gardening to spin off into various parcels
of learning. For instance, we've learned about cross-pollination: discovering one year
that a usually sweet bell pepper was hotter than the jalapenos because of where we planted
it; observing a crop of yearly-mutating sunflowers that had cross-pollinated with the red
variety next to them creating a special crop of volunteers the following year; and
watching hopefully as our crop of gourds this year entwine around each other and wondering
if we'll end up with some new varieties.
 We've also learned just how many tomatoes can come
from twenty-five plants during a good year (answer: a LOT!); how much salsa can be
produced from those tomatoes (my kids have been on a salsa-making strike for the past two
years, I'm thinking that's time enough-which may well lead us into a few lessons on
mediation and labor relations!); and how the hard work of making, canning and labeling
with consumers in mind can turn into money when the salsa is sold in a local shop.
 Our
current gardening project can be viewed at our website. As you cruise these pages, you'll
see that there are many directions into which learning can 'grow' from a garden! Our
gourds have seeded projects in music, history, art, science, marketing, and more. In
addition, we can brush up on literature as we find references to gourds in books, and
research ways to use our bounty. My eldest son has also started building his own webpages
(though he didn't create the ones mentioned above), which is enabling him to improve his
writing skills. Learning is everywhere in daily life, whether it's divided into subjects
or not.
Whether you are more comfortable following a set curricula or
adventuring in the unschooling realm, it's valuable to remember that following a passion
can provide unique avenues of exploration for the whole family.
See my website
The
Gourdeous World of Gourden Gourds
 Faces of Homeschooling
 Unschooling
Sunflowers
by Evamarie Spataro
  I
love taking pictures.
Recently I started taking pictures with a digital camera. I can take as many pictures as I
want and don't have to worry about film. What I really like about my camera is that you
can store the pictures on regular floppy disks. My dad had a lot of extra disks he doesn't
use anymore, so I can take as many pictures as I want. I took some pictures in the garden
of the sunflowers in my garden. Also, you can learn how to make a sunflower seed necklace,
too!
"Why Do You Homeschool"
by Blythe
Pelham
 A friend and fellow
homeschooler asked recently what my answer was when people inquired why I homeschool. I
replied that it depended on who was asking and what I thought their motivation might be.
Even when I thought I could trust the question and the questioner, I didn't have a neat
little response to pull from my pocket. My friend's query did get me thinking . . . and
thinking quite a bit. I know the pieces I write for the newsletter help me to clarify my
own reasons for homeschooling.
Let me tell you more...
Unschooling - Learning Through Everyday Life
by Suzannah
Harris, editor of "The Unschooler" e-zine
 Children are better off learning at home, away from the
traditional teaching techniques offered by public and private schools. Unschoolers contend
that none of us excels at everything, and to expect children to excel in all subjects is
unrealistic and harmful to a child's self esteem, drawing children away from feeling
useful, productive and involved in the mainstream of the community and society in general.
Unschooling parents discover that there are many ways that different children learn the
same things, that each child's view of the world is unique, and that choice of methods,
tools, etc., can be in constant change. Find out more. |
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books
FREE Flower Crafts
FREE Garden Ideas
click here
to find out more
see Emma,
the original "Doggie Diva" in Seventeen Magazine
more Pet Pics
 
 
Homeschoolers'
Success Stories
Interview with author
Linda Dobson
 
Home
Learning: Year by Year
Home
learning Sourcebook
Meet the author
Rebecca Rupp
"The Truth About Curricula"
more
Curriculum Guides
more homeschooling books
Frequently Asked Questions
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