Posts in Category Parenting
5 More Lessons Kids Can Learn From Pets
When my daughter was four years old, I wrote this blog post about all of the different kinds of things children learn from having a pet. Now that she is six and we have been unschooling since, I have been able to witness several other ways pets have helped to enrich her life. 5. Compassion
Animals, including humans, will do what comes natural to them; when you have cats and a mouse (I know, who thought of that?), your cats are going to try to eat your mouse! Our cats got a hold of our little mouse, Blue, two times; the second time was fatal. My daughter took the news hard, but when we talked about how it was in River's nature to eat mice and he couldn't really help it, she approached him...
Posted on May 30, 2012 - 09:15 PM by Sara Schmidt
The Stirrings of Subversion
It's that time of year again. All of the Christmas decorations are hitting the store shelves way too early; people are propping up trees before the turkey is even killed, let alone cooked; and children are running around after school, sporting their pilgrim hats and "Indian" feathers. War paint, garb, and lines to the latest "First Thanksgiving" play may also be prominently featured during play or bus stop chat.If there was one single thing that poked the speck of homeschooling sand beneath my wholly public-schooled shell prior to its pearled status in my heart, it was the way we learn about the first Thanksgiving in schools. I can remember the shock and outrage I experienced when I...
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 - 11:29 PM by Sara Schmidt
Relevant Education
I had a good turnout at Parent Teacher Conferences this year. As always, the parents of the “A” kids showed up in droves. I had a parent whose students have been to class only three times this semester come see me as well. Students who are earning C’s and D's in my class are rarely represented at conferences; their parents just don't seem to show up.
Most of the kids earning less than seventy five percent in my class don’t want to be in class with me. It could be me, or maybe the subject, that they are not interested in. They make up about thirty five percent of my total student load. They show up, but they are not interested in learning the subject matter. They go...
Posted on Nov 02, 2011 - 11:56 AM by Alison Bagg Brink
What Back to School is Like for An Unschooler
For unschoolers like us, there is no back to school. There is continual learning, all of the time. We don't buy a bunch of supplies (unless we find something incredible on sale, like my new $4 planner), we don't buy school clothes (we tend to get messy in whatever we wear, to be honest with you), and we definitely don't need Kindermats or other special, expensive items. I always have to laugh at the people who tell me that homeschooling must be expensive; most of what we do is free, save for special classes like taekwondo, which kids in school do, too.I've been finding myself in rather hostile territory--or, perhaps, I am just hostile. All of these parents are posting pictures of their...
Posted on Aug 21, 2011 - 05:07 PM by Sara Schmidt
Coming Out of the Unschooling Closet
Throughout December, I've been participating in the Reverb 2010 challenge, which includes a daily prompt designed to help one reflect over 2010 and plan for 2011. It's been a fun, enlightening, and sometimes painful process that I'm truly grateful for. When I answered today's prompt, which was to discuss a defining moment in your life this year, I found myself recalling some ugliness directed at unschoolers earlier in the year and my own reaction to it:
Until the reaction that people had over that piece made the hair on me bristle, I didn't really want to claim that word. I'm still not a huge fan of it, as I don't think it truly describes what we do, and I hate labels anyway; I like...
Posted on Dec 29, 2010 - 12:38 AM by Sara Schmidt
10 Keys to Real Education Reform
In honor of the National Day of Blogging for Real Education Reform, I thought I'd write a bit about what I'd like to see done in public schools if real reform were enacted. I've already written about what education for the whole child might look like, but I thought I'd touch on ten specific, major things that I'd love to see either added or subtracted from public schools as they are. Of course, there are dozens of things I'd love to see changed in schools as they are. I'm only writing about the top ten on my own list that pertain to kids. Plenty of other issues, from teacher variables to school bus safety to administrative checks and balances, are also on my radar, but I feel that factors...
Posted on Nov 22, 2010 - 07:19 AM by Sara Schmidt
Sometimes You Have to Just Sit Back…
...and watch the destruction.If we want our kids to be autonomous, we can't expect them to want everything we want, or be the same as we are. This means that their goals may be different from ours--from the smallest things to the larger ones. I'm thankful that I'm learning this early on as my five-year-old expresses herself and often has different ideas about things than I do.
One thing that she's been surprising me with lately is her arts and crafts projects. She comes up with some pretty amazing uses for our projects, and while sometimes I am just astounded by how cool they are, sometimes I am... less than enthused. Still, I have to maintain my neutrality and let her use her creativity...
Posted on Nov 09, 2010 - 01:28 PM by Sara Schmidt
10 Essentials for Democratic Homeschooling
I don't, of course, mean for this list to be some sort of authoritative guide for all unschooling or homeschooling parents; there is no such thing! But here are ten things that we've found to be vital and necessary in our daily learning. Hint: workbooks are not included!Though this list is of intangible items, I felt that another list of intangible things that we've found helpful in homeschooling would also be helpful to share. Here are 10 additional essentials in the intangible realm.
10. Flexibility
While many homeschoolers do adhere to a strict schedule, many democratic homeschoolers create a fluid, daily agenda that changes in accordance with the whole family's input. Many...
Posted on Nov 04, 2010 - 03:34 AM by Sara Schmidt
A Parent’s Take on Alternative Education
When I talk about my issues with the public school system, many people counter my comments with, "Well, what kind of education do you support?" The short answer is whole child education--education that supports the whole child. Of course, I could go on and on about how the education I want for my daughter is holistic and healthy, relevant and meaningful, play-based, nature-based, and real-life based, with goals and a definition of success that are meaningful to her and not randomly appointed (or elected) officials who deem it necessary for her.But people generally are interested in other forms of education that are possible, which is fantastic. I think a lot of people simply don't know...
Posted on Oct 28, 2010 - 09:46 AM by Sara Schmidt
The Homeschooling Disclaimer
Why is it that when we criticize the government or welfare programs, immigration policies, health care, or any of its other arms, it's considered valid--but when we move toward criticizing education, it's either A. taboo, something that's too sacred to dissect, or B. something that should be blamed on the children and their "lack of motivation"?Each time I criticize the American public school paradigm or talk about homeschooling, I always feel like I have to preface it with a disclaimer about how much I support teachers, public schools that work, etc. But this little disclaimer feels so hollow; I've encountered just as many awful teachers as I've encountered amazing ones, when I add them...
Posted on Oct 22, 2010 - 07:08 AM by Sara Schmidt
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