Water Slide

Well, I did it tonight - the water slide I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. Before we left the water park this evening, Taliesin and I went down the slide. Taliesin went underwater and popped right back up. I went down and up and down and up and down and up. Finally, I made my way to the edge and walked to the steps. It was fun and exciting and terrifying to someone who has never done it before and is just learning to swim. Yeah, I will do it again next time.

Kandy

Christian Unschoolers Group!

I am so excited to be a part of this group! Thank you, Lauren!

Kandy

What Is Unschooling?

There are so many different definitions of unschooling out there. And when one puts the adjective "Christian" in front of "unschooling," the definition becomes even more varied. There are those who believe that only radical unschoolers are true unschoolers. There are those who believe that relaxed homeschoolers are unschoolers. Then there are those who question how unschooling can be Christian at all.

Not to complicate matters more, but I am going to throw in "my" definition of Christian unschooling - or, in reality, what our Christian unschooling adventures "feel" like.

We began our homeschooling adventure four and a half years ago. Taliesin was three and was, at that time, receiving speech therapy through the public school system (home visits). This speech therapy kind of threw us into homeschooling sooner than we planned, because those from the public school system did not agree with homeschooling a child with special needs. So we began homeschooling in the only way I was familiar with - a traditional preschool program. We knew within a couple of months that this was not working, so I began exploring other options. Thanks to Home Education Magazine and some online groups; we began implementing child-directed methods.

Throughout the past four and a half years, we have implemented unschooling more and more. I have tried the radical approach - unschooling parenting approaches as well. While I totally respect parents who follow this approach; I have found that this was not the best approach for my family - especially after starting a childcare. I have to have rules set. Yes, children should help set those rules and should know the "whys" behind those rules. However, we do have rules, nonetheless. I have seen children in traditional systems that have no rules. I do not want that for my sons. I believe radical unschooling works for many because they are completely natural learners. When we decided to begin a childcare, socialization kicked in. There are children in childcare from all different environments. I naively thought respect comes naturally for everyone. In so many cases, it does not. It not only has to be modeled, it often has to be taught... and taught. When young children see others who do not have that respect, they will try themselves and, all too often, will copy - socialization at its worst. That is when I decided that I have to make rules of respect and require that they be followed. I guess that means I'm no longer a radical unschooler.

There are those who believe if a parent uses any type of "curriculum," this parent is no longer an unschooler. This type of belief works well for Nathanael. He prefers nature-based learning, building with Legos, making inventions, and conducting his own science experiments. However, for children like Taliesin, this is far from the case. Taliesin enjoys some structure. He loves the same things that Nathanael does; but he also enjoys unit studies and lapbooking. He loves Five in a Row and In the Hands of a Child. He even loves trying out the lesson plans I write for college. This is his choice, not something that I require. Am I, therefore, no longer unschooling because of Taliesin's growing into more structured learning? He has been bugging me all day to finish a mosquito lapbook he's been working on this week. Should I not allow him to do this because it is too "traditional"? Whatever the label or lack thereof, I cannot deny him his own way of learning.

Lastly, something that I have been struggling with is the idea that children should be allowed to develop their own spirituality - free from interference of the parents. I firmly believe that children will grow into their own spirituality. However, this does not mean that I will not teach them Christian beliefs and character education. There are fun ways to incorporate spiritual formation into children's lives. One of Nathanael's favorites is the Resurrection Eggs, often used at Easter time. Taliesin enjoys these as well, but he also loves - again - more traditional methods, including memorizing Scripture. Veggie Tales DVDs and cartoons on the life of Christ are also always hits here. As a Christian, I cannot allow an unschooling label to interfere with my Christian beliefs.

I have been reading a book called Christian Unschooling by Teri J. Brown. I am really enjoying it, because I can see myself in a lot of the stories. I believe in unschooling because I believe God created all of us with our own unique talents and interests (I, all too often, see children who have lost that God-given gift because of forced educational methods). I believe that children can direct their own learning. I also believe that we are to train our children in the ways of the Lord. I also believe that respect is essential - from both the parent and the child. Sometimes this can be taught by modeling alone. Sometimes it cannot.

As you can tell, I have been thinking a lot. I have a lot of mixed emotions. I just wanted to share some of those thoughts. Do I still consider us unschoolers? You can bet I do. I firmly believe in child-directed, natural, organic learning - whichever way a child chooses to learn.

Kandy

Freedom

This week, we have been discussing freedom a lot. We have discussed the importance of the words of the Declaration of Independence. We have discussed how so many people have been willing to die to ensure that we keep our freedom; and that these people deserve our thanks and respect. We have discussed what it really means when we salute the flag or sing our national anthem.

On Wednesday of this week, we did something unique for our freedom study for the 4th of July. We discussed that one God-given freedom that we all have is the freedom to be different than one another. We completed a fun activity from the In the Hands of a Child project pack "Everyone Has Different Abilities" that presented the idea that all of us do have different talents and interests.

This summer, I have quite a few children in childcare that are from public schools. And, as is natural, sometimes they do not understand the way Taliesin and Nathanael do things. They do not have to learn anything by a certain time. They do not have to memorize sight words or multiplication tables or feel pressured to learn in ways that do not fit their learning styles. And sometimes, despite my best explanations, Taliesin, especially feels different than the others. He does not want to change the way we do things. He has just the amount of structure he wants with using Five in a Row and lapbooks, plus our unschooling learning activities. He does not want to attend a traditional co-op. And he definitely does not want to go to a public school. (He considers them boring from what the other children have told him). But sometimes it is just so obvious that he feels different. When the others begin discussing what they "had" to do at school at one time or another, he has nothing to add to the conversation and usually goes off to play by himself. Not only this, but Taliesin does still have an imagination - something that many of the boys in my childcare that are his age do not use anymore. I, personally, believe that is a direct result of too much testing in schools - forcing children to take on stress and worry that they should not have to. But I could be wrong. But sometimes others do not know how to take the way Taliesin plays imaginatively.

Yesterday evening, something wonderful happened. There is a new city art program in Salina - Arty the art van travels from park to park, place to place, showing children how to do art projects other than drawing or paiting. Well, any readers know, this is right up Taliesin's alley. He loves art, and he loves to use his imagination. So we went to one of the events. Taliesin started a weaving project, and one of the organizers of the event (an art student at a local college) complimented him on his work. I had to brag a little on my little artist. I told her he started drawing when he was two - he drew a picture of a person and put on eyes and a nose and ears. He hasn't stopped since then. She looked at Taliesin and said, "You're a lot like me, then." Taliesin asked her how. She told him she started doing art when she was little, too, just like he had been doing. And now she is studying art in college and working as an artist. Then she started playing and using her imagination. She took pipe cleaners and showed him how to make a mustache. They made mustaches and used different voices for each mustache for quite some time. I have not seen Taliesin so happy in a long time. He literally began skipping around the park shelter. He would make something unique and run over and show it to this lady. She would compliment him, and he would skip around again. Once I even told him to settle down a little; and he informed me, "But mom, I am having fun." No matter how much Kelsey or I would tell him that it's okay to use his imagination or encourage his creativity, even if others do not understand; I think what he really needed was a stranger to tell him, to show him.

Before Taliesin and Nathanael left, the organizer took a picture of them with their artwork. I think she gained a life-long friend, and Taliesin gained his freedom - the freedom of truly being able to be different and knowing that it's okay.

Kandy

Fears

I am believing more and more that the way we rear our children can cause fears and phobias. I have never liked the term "free range children," because it sounds too cattle-like to me. But I am coming to understand that term more and more.

When I was a child, I was never allowed to do certain things - do things that would cause me to get dirty, go places that could be less safe than others, etc. I was never allowed to go hiking, for instance, for fear of snakes and insects. I was never allowed to go to a lake because the water would be dirty. I was never even allowed play in the dirt. Believe it or not, I never even finger painted until I was in sixth grade. I was always pushed toward academics. Now, don't get me wrong, I have always enjoyed academics; but, to this day, there are some phobias that I have.

A good example happened on Friday evening. Kelsey and I took Taliesin and Nathanael to Salina's new water park. Now, you have to remember, I had not been in water other than the bathtub or sprinkler park since I was eight years old when I took two swimming lessons before I quit for various reasons. I am now thirty-five. Taliesin and Nathanael had a blast; and, I admit, I did, too. It was so nice letting go and just having fun. I think what really made it sink in was when Taliesin went down a small water slide, and I could not bring myself to. I have told myself, when we go back, I am going to go down that slide.

Since we have started unschooling (back when Taliesin was three years old), I have done things that I have never done before - hiking in the hills, finding rocks at the lake, playing at the water park. I think what I see is that I do not want Taliesin and Nathanael to allow fear to hold them back. I see children whose parents are afraid, much like my mom was, to allow their children to be children. I know what that feels like as an adult. I do not want Taliesin and Nathanael to grow up with those fears. I want them to be adults who aren't afraid to swim in the ocean or climb a mountain or fly an airplane or travel around the world (Taliesin's goal).

So does that make me a believer in "free range children"? I still do not like that label. And I still exercise caution with my sons. I'm not going to let them roam around anywhere they want to go alone. I do believe in adult supervision. But I also believe that children should be given the opportunity to try new things, even if that means scrapes, bruises, dirt, and bug bites.

Kandy

Weather

A couple of days ago when we went to visit my dad, he had the weather channel on his television. (For those that do not know, we do not have cable). This weather channel fascinated Taliesin. He questioned what each color stood for on the weather map and watched the videos of tornadoes that were being shown. When we got home, he recorded everything he had seen on his own weather map. Needless to day, he is very much in a weather-studying mood now. He loves the weather channel's website now. Last night, when we went to visit my dad again, he turned the TV to the weather channel just so he could talk with Taliesin about it. :^)

Kandy

Recently

Things have been crazy for the past few weeks. Three and a half weeks ago, my dad had a heart, a stroke, and was hospitalized for double pneumonia. He was in the hospital for over a week and has been under the care of full-time nurses since then. He is doing better. The pneumonia is better at least.

On top of that, I just finished up the two college classes I have been working on for this past eight weeks and started my first summer class of the year. I'm glad I picked an easy one - Evangelism 101. After this summer, I only have eight classes left before graduating with my double major. I am excited about that.

I have so many things to share that Taliesin and Nathanael have been working on - insect studies (including finding and providing habitats for live insects to observe them), creation astronomy studies, dance recitals, karate tournaments, project fairs, bubbleology studies, a new volume of Five in a Row, lots of art and science projects, penpals, the list could go on. I really need to get the pictures downloaded and posted.

Lastly, aside from my work with the childcare; I am also back to working on my books. I have just really felt that I need to get these written and published (either traditionally or through self-publishing). They really are a calling for me.

I am going to try to get everything caught up on my blog - again. I hope this time I actually can!

God bless.

Kandy