Rays of Light

Such a cool game! I picked it up at a thrift store for all of 20c. It teaches about primary/secondary colors as well as angles of reflection, and sure gives those critical thinking skills a workout. I know it’s a hit when big bro R joins in.

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A World in Miniature

Tee and Jay were inspired today by a fantastic, intricate, detailed city made out of plasticine. It’s a magic land we were told. Anything grows, and anything can happen. There were rivers, mountains, gardens, trees, houses and forts, a coliseum, an obelisk, and a chocolate factory.

Now Tee wants to build an Aztec city. Jay wants a regular sort of city. Both of them were spouting creative ideas non-stop the whole car ride home.

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He’s the Boss

Veddy interesting.

What do you think Tee did first thing this morning? Given all of the choices available to him on this, the first day of “unschooling”?

He set up his own little work space, and spent the first half hour making up a timetable for his days.

From 9:00 to 9:15 timestable practice/ 9:15-9:30 map work/ 9:30-10:00 reading………and so on. He inspired Jay, who insisted on making her own chart, and they both taped their charts in prominent positions in the homeschool room.

I find this terribly amusing. Did lack of structure leave him feeling a little unmoored?

 

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Unschooling?

I feel like I’m always flipping and flopping when it comes to my approach to homeschooling. I guess you could say that I try to be flexible.

Case in point. Young Tee.

He really, really, really does not respond to didactic sorts of teaching. Or workbooks. Or writing of any kind. Motivational challenges work for a very short time, but he quickly tires of anything too clearly meant to teach him something. He’d rather forgo the chocolate chips than make big words out of letters.

He likes to read. A LOT. All sorts of books. And for hours at a time. He likes to play on the computer. He draws a fair bit, but not anything you would recognize. Mostly elaborate mazes and 3-D game ideas translated onto a flat page. They look like gibberish, but he can explain their fascinating details at length. If one were interested enough to listen, that is. He’s got a huge imagination, and can spend a lot of time playing happily by himself. Unless of course, he can’t. Then he flops about, moaning and carrying on.

He genuinely wants to please, but only if it’s not too onerous. He’s terribly independent, but also very sensitive. He’s a great friend to all of his pals, and they play complicated games that Tee invents, usually involving feats of great imaginary strength and cunning. He gets frustrated easily, loves starting projects but hates finishing them, and is well known for wandering off halfway through whatever boardgame he insisted on playing.

I find him ever so hard to figure out.

So here’s my new plan.

I’ve decided to let him choose what he wants to do for school every day. The only rules are that he has to be productive, he can’t play computer, and he’s not allowed to read fiction.

It’s a little scary, letting him do this, but I just don’t want to get into a power struggle with him. He’s just so resistant to being directed. Maybe if he feels in complete control, he’ll be happier. Maybe he needs a little space.

He’s clearly a very bright kid, well ahead of grade level in reading and math, so I’m not concerned about him “falling behind” academically. More concerned that he find himself, regain his excitement about learning, and begin to feel some sense of mastery around school. I hope that by my easing off, he’ll feel “heard” and understood. I don’t want to get stuck in the roles of ogre teacher and maligned student.  I want him to feel like the “boss of  himself” and in charge of his own learning.

Unschooling, here we come……well, except for Jay, of course, who, upon hearing about my grand plan, said worriedly “but we’ll still have spelling tests, right?” Completely different kettle of fish, that one.

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