Sorry, this is a long one, but I think I've well explained it, so bear with me! Spring has been slowly crawling in here. Mighty winter continues to push back, not willing to leave just yet. Outside today, it is blizzarding with fresh snow on the ground, but in between these days of snow, the spring sun has been gracing us with its warmth. We love this time of year, as the sun returns after a long, dark winter, and our ski schedule comes to an end. We can return to slow, uhurried weekend mornings and days of uniterrupted exploration, learning, and outdoor adventures. Our school rhythm naturally morphs along with the seasons, and come spring we are all craving a change, after a busy schedule and cabin fever has us all going a bit stir crazy. Last month we returned to our spring schedule of long, in depth studies. These are fun, hands on, explorations of whatever subjects we've chosen for the season. We all learn together, and we return to nature study and poetry teatimes and gameschooling and projects that all get replaced by skiing through the winter. I was just feeling like we were settling into our new rhythm, just taking that big breath of contenment, when Chase came to me and asked if he could return to self led learning instead of joining Lily and I for our studies. He actually asked if he could return to using some of our curriculums that we have long since abandoned. I was surprised by this, as he has always seemed to enjoy free learning more, but I understand that he likes being in control of his learning, he likes knowing just what and how much he has to do each day, and he likes working at his own pace, unhurried, so I can see how a curriculum would fullfill those desires for him. I know that his curriculum work will naturally morph into him creating his own studies, indepentdently, so if he wants curriculum for now, that's what we'll do.
Whenever the kids want to work independently, I embrace it. I'm always willing to try to make their wants work for us. My understanding of learrning has evolved so much over the years, I no longer worry as much about what we are or are not learning. For me, now, its more about the big picture of homeschooling vs. where we are right now in this moment. My main goals for homeschooling are for them to enjoy learning, know how to learn, have fun, and have all the basic knowledge they will need to succeed in life. Suddenly, with this outlook, real world understanding becomes more important than tradtional learning. So I no longer worry about where we are in grade levels or subjects. Anything you want to learn can be learned in a relatively short amount of time, on your own. I am confident that, if at any point in their future, should they want to, they will be able to learn anything we have skipped over through the years. Motivated learning takes so much less time than forced learning. There was a math group in a Sudsbury School that set out to learn all the elementary maths at once. It took them eight weeks to learn everything that is taught in 5 grades of maths. This story has completely changed my view of grade levels. Sometimes by waiting to approach a subject, the child is better suited to learn the material, and more motivated. We now think in terms of blocks, instead of grade levels and subjects. Instead of a math curriculum that takes you through math little by little through the years, we do a block of just one maths, setting out to understand fully and master each component of just that one math. In 3rd grade Chase and I approached Grammar. At that time, it was all abstract to him. He didn't see the point in learning it, and so wasn't interested. What work we did was not retained, and it was waisted time. In 5th grade we did a one month immersive block on grammar, setting out to solve the puzzle of grammar, and by the end of the month, he had grammar figured out. It has been these immersive blocks, the idea of setting out to understand and "solve" a topic, that has opened the door to independent learning for us.
Independent learning, for us, looks like this- Sunday we'll sit down for a short talk about what they have planned for school that week. This includes any curriculum or projects they want to do, any games or activities they want to do, it might include, for example, a building project, or a tinker box, or perler beads, or magic tricks, whatever. So, I will ask them which topics they are planning on learning about that week, what other things they want to do, and then we make up a little schedule of each day's work, that is just for them to use as a reminder. They might change or add to this schedule throughout the week. I put any actvities on their schedule that they want, as long as the morning is spent on actual learning and exploration studies. Then, each morning we meet and I ask what they have scheduled for the day. I listen to them tell me and then try to say something encouraging, like, "Wow! You're going to learn about Cuttlefish today? I've always wondered in what ways they were similar to squids. That sounds interesting. I can't wait to hear about what you learn." Or, "Oh, you're working on the weather section today. I wonder which weather you'll be learning about. Can you tell us what you learned about later today?" Then I leave them to work, at their own pace, which includes snack breaks, and playing with the pets, or staring off into space, and as long as those distractions are short lived, I will watch from afar and bite my tongue. If I see they are not coming back to their work, I will go over and ask about what they've done so far. I will do a little reading with them, or ask questions that helps them get going on their work again. Periodically through the morning, I will come by and check what they've done so far and praise their work. After they are done with something they are working on, I will have them show it to me. We will talk about if there is anything they want to continue the next day or anywhere else they want to take their study (reading about cuttlefish might spark an interest about eels and he'll decide he wants to find out about electric eels, so we'll add that to the schedule, or he'll decide he wants to make a diorama of an underwater scene, so i will help him gather the supplies he needs for that) or if he is done then I will ask him, on a scale of 1-5, how he would rate himself on things like effort, time management, how much was learned, or on his understanding of the topic. Sometimes this alone will lead to him going back and putting more effort into what he's done, or choosing to do a bit more. Once his morning of learning is done, he can go on to the other productive activities that he has chosen for that day. Some days, I will have some activities or invitations planned that I will see if they are interested in doing. For example, if I want to do a block on Ancient Rome with them, I will pull together some books on ancient rome and leave them on the table for them to notice, and then, after the morning, I will mention that I am planning on learning about Ancient Rome and ask if either of them wants to join me. If they do, we will pick an afternoon to add it in. Sometimes that expands to more days, or even becomes a block study on its own. Or it might be something that we barely touch before they lose interest.
We periodically get out our subject cards and I ask them if there is anything they are interested in that I could do with them. When they pick a topic, I will then go check out books, find activities, plan hands on projects, and pull together a block study that I will present to them, and they can pick and choose their way through it, doing what they want and skipping what they dont. We continue in this manner until they swing back towards wanting to do the studies, together, more than working alone. And so, we ebb and flow through these rhythms, and as long as I see them progessing and thriving, I follow their lead.
So, that's an overview of what independent learning looks like for us. Here's an example of a week done this way with Chase. Right now he is choosing to return to Trailguide To Learning (A wonderful open and go literature based, history centered curriculum that covers LA, SS, Science all in one great package that he can mostly do on his own) and his Key To Math workbooks (These are GREAT because they completely teach the math on their own in a progressive way that the child can do all by themselves, one maths at a time, similar to how we do our maths blocks.) So, here's his schedule for next week:
Monday-
Trailguide- Lesson 2, part 1
Key To Geometry (he doesn't assign pages because he enjoys these and works through many pages, just working until he feels like stopping, and then will pick up where he left off last time)
Samurai books and movie
Bike Ride
Making Bread
Chemistry Kit
Reading
Tuesday-
Trailguide- Lesson 2, part 2
Key to Geometry
Games
Logic Puzzles
Body Studies with Lily
Chemistry Kit
Wednesday-
Trailguide- Lesson 2, part 3
Key to Geometry
Wild Explorers Club
Math Play
Chemistry Kit
Thursday-
Trailguide- Lesson 2, part 4
Key to Geometry
Math Art
Chemistry Kit
Magic Box
Friday I pick the work. We do any projects that I've been wanting to do with them. So you can see how the schedule seems fun to them, because it has the activities they've chosen added on there, but they are still doing their work. Their daily activities after our morning learning often change from what they have scheduled, but it is helpful to have them listed on there, because it motivates their learning, getting to see that their afternoon is filled with their chosen activties, if they get through their morning, and if they have a moment when they're bored, they can refer to their schedule and see what they were wanting to do. If they have a day when they are no wanting to work, as long as they've been working well, we will make a deal that we can take the day off as long as they are ready and willing to return to their work the next day. If they start having multiple days of not wanting to work, we sit down and talk about what has changed for them. I reiterate that learning should be fun, so if they are not having fun, it means we must need to change things up, and we talk about what we will do instead. But they have to agree to putting full effort into whatever it is they decide. Sometimes, if needed, we will even sign a little agreement, that just states their goal of learning for that week, and they decide on a reward and a consqence of not fullfilling that goal.
Independent learning, unschooling, takes so much trust on our part, as parents. We are not true unschoolers, as radical as that term has become. I require learning and progression in their skills, they just get to choose what it is they are learning about, or how they learn. I put effort into creating learning opportunities, encouraging interests, nurturing their paths of work. If you are hesitant to take the leap into unschooling, I would suggest giving them the opportunity to free learn one day a week, or a couple afternoons a week. Ease into it, and remember that it will sometimes take some "training" for everyone involved to find your flow. But please remember, in the beginning, you HAVE TO keep it fun. If they write a page on lions all on their own, do not critisize their spelling or their handwriting, praise and celebrate their work. Then, later on, when it's not free learning time, you can go back and QUICKLY go over the mistakes, but making sure you add on double prise of it. If free learning time becomes a burdon because you have taken away the fun of it, it will quickly end their interest in self led learning. There are lots of great books, blogs, and instagram accounts on unschooling and project based learning. Start by increasing your knowledge. Take a good look at what your homeschool goals are. Really decide if you are wanting to let your kids free learn or if it is important to you that they know all the traditional knowledge that kids learn in schools. And then, just try it. Commit to trying it out for a time period, and during that time, be constantly assessing what is and isn't working, and then come up with ideas that might fix the problems, and celebrate the wins. you might find after that time period, that it is not a good fit for you. But, rememeber, that it takes time. You have to give it enough time to reap the rewards.
I will start posting on Fridays "Our Week of Learning" if you want to see, with pictures, what this actually looks like.
