Two Favorites

I was just working on a list of books that concern homeschooling in one way (how they influenced the development of my philosophy) or another (that they are actual homeschooling books) but the list was growing far too long to finish all the explanations that have to go with each of them. So real quick, here are two of my favorites that don't really apply to the other list.

I love this puzzle! They've got one for a girl, boy, frog, duck, butterfly, what appears to be various ages and stages of human development, and apparently since I last visited the site pizza, cheese, honey, chocolate (have got to get that one!) wool, and the 4 seasons. They're layer puzzles, five layers each, and I just think it's the most ingenious thing. It's interactive learning because the puzzle tells a story, but to get the story you have to actually do the puzzle...I'm sure there's a much more intellectual way of putting that! We have the boy puzzle, and it's very anatomically correct, complete with all the inner-workings of one's body. This is one of the few things I have purchased full-price. I think it was $25 dollars but it is European made and a very high quality so it was well worth it.

I love this book! So much so that, like the puzzle, it is one of the very few books I paid full-price for. It's called Diary of a Worm, by Doreen Cronin. I first saw this book in Marisa's pre-school when Jacob and I were visiting there one day and I was just tickled by it. I'm all about different perspectives and surrounding Jacob with materials that are going to help him to become a fully-conscious, open-minded person and this books fits the bill. I was at the library yesterday, trying to do a search for books on foxes and books on dragons because that's what Jacob was asking to learn about. All I could come up with was stupid fiction books with a fox as the title character who goes to a party or flies a plane or some completely unrealistic plot line that has nothing to do with what a fox is. I get so sick of anthropomorphism in children's books, but this book is a refreshing change. Sure, the characters sometimes don baseball caps, hair bows or glasses, as well as writing in English, but they live in appropriate places, eat appropriate things and the story has just enough human in it so that we can we relate to the worms but not too much that you lose the perspective of the worm.

Happy Half Birthday!

When I was very new to motherhood, I felt the need to categorize myself and I wanted to identify with a 'type' of parenting. I layed down roots in attachment parenting and got the bumper stickers to prove it. It's only recently that I've realized somewhere along the way I gained the confidence to set out on my own, with my own brand of instinctual parenting. For the most part I think I still fit the mold, but I no longer strongly identify with attachment parenting. I've come to think of it as natural parenting and that makes sense considering my overall philosophy about child rearing in general. I don't care if you parent the way I do or if you do things completely opposite, all I care about is that there is a reason behind your decisions, that they are thought out, and that you're decisions are based in what is best for your family, NOT what society or the norm dictates. I can't stand it when someone weans their child at a certain age because they think that's what you're supposed to do. However, if you never breastfed your child at all, yet your decision was firmly based in the knowledge that it would be a bad situation for you and your child, then I can respect that.

And so, homeschooling is for us. More specifically, unschooling, although I'm sure I'll come to think of it as organic learning. I don't have anything against public school or the people who send their kids there. It's just not for my family. I figured that out halfway through college when I was training to become an elementary school teacher. Lots of people tell me that they think it's great and they wish they could do it. I'm thrilled to at least have the support that other people see it as a viable method. I don't mind that those people say they couldn't do it. The biggest factor is that I want to do this. Not everyone's motivation points in that direction.

Jacob is 3 1/2 today. A lot of his friends are starting pre-school and even though this isn't going to affect us directly, I think it's going to be a part of the natural progression in our homeschooling experience. I think it will force me to get out there and start exploring the options for Jacob. For now I'm just doing the things that other parents of three year-olds do, but the difference is I'm doing it with the consciousness that it will continue into the traditional school-age years. It's really just an extension of the natural parenting.

I want Jacob to have the freedom to learn what he wants, when he wants, and in the way he wants. I want to get out there in the world and experience it first-hand. Books will certainly be a huge part of his learning, but I don't plan to use textbooks, or a curriculum. Rather, I'd like to find people who have something to share and let the learning take place from interacting with those people. I realize I'm saying 'I' a lot. I hope that doesn't sound selfish...yes, I plan to be learning things too, but that's part of it anyway. When Jacob is ready to take the lead, that's what I'll let him do.

For now I'm getting excited about the endless possibilities: Learning chess and at the same time getting exposure to a type of person he might never have the opportunity to interact with in a school setting; having science 'class' in the backyard; day trips to working farms and nature preserves. I'd like this blog to be a place where I can record what we've been doing, what we are planning to do and what we hope to do.