I want to discuss my personal views of "unschooling"...which I like to call Life Learning. I feel the need to do so as various family members and "real life" friends (as people who have actually been inside my home and have seen my children at their unbloggable worse) stop by my blog and might be aghast at the prospect that we aren't sitting within four walls day after day, strapped to a chair, with our noses literally in the books all day.
<GASP!>
My definition of "unschooling", whether right or wrong, but as I see it within my household and usage, is this:
"Learning that is found in the everyday events of life. Learning that is taken for granted. Learning that is woven naturally, almost invisably, into the fiber of our lives. Any learning that does not replicate the learning-style we remember so vividly from our own schoolhouse exposure. Learning we are exposed to via osmosis, natural inborn curiosity, and the world at large. Learning that takes place outside of books."
The last definition is for my personal benefit. You see, I learn a lot from books and I so believe in a good and true literary education. I am an advocate for reading, a proponent of literacy, a lover of the written word, a fan of Five in a Row , an author of a picture book study guide and a booklover's book, a children's book reviewer, the moderator of two literature forums (Literature Alive! and Living Literature), a student of fairy tales, and a literature editor.
Have I written my case in stone?
But, while literature is a valuable, priceless tool for learning, we must also take our children (and ourselves) outside the pages of a book into the "real world". I believe I even wrote a book about that: Literature Alive!
In my next post I hope to write about my views and ideas for using books this next school year. For now, let me dust off my barber cape as I suspect I'm beginning to split hairs over my main thesis.
As I was saying, while I hold a literary education in high esteem, I don't believe it to be the only education. I have to remember daily that these five people under my pointer are different from me. They learn differently, they react differently, they feel differently, they hear differently, they understand differently.
Note: (Forget the math. My children need their father or a tutor for this higher form of education. )
The only way I can cover all the different personalities and learning styles is to expose them to a variety of places, people, activities, and situations throughout the year. This helps build confident children. (Not that all my children are naturally confident, but that is what I have tried to encourage.)
Our life learning, unschooling, whatever you wish to call it is exploratory and lived out day to day.
Life Learning looks like this:
Learning a life time of culture lived by your grandparents and great-grandparents and forefathers before them: Cajun dancing, French words, and working with clay sculpting at the recent Art/Music Camp
Traveling into the heart of our country to see how other people lived, learned, and loved
Standing near the real-life well that gave the Ingalls family living water on the high prairies of Kansas while having the knowledge of how harsh and dangerous life was back then
Living history through living books
Tasting the sweetness of life with bees and honey
Cooking with the spice of life upon your tongue
Singing because you know Jesus loves you
Helping build a strong home with a loving family
Riding the rails towards a life time of different destinations and adventures
Researching a subject and giving a speech about those men and women who taught us a life lesson in freedom and life-giving sacrifice
Seeing nature up close
and personal
Playing the game of life fairly
Viewing life as one huge masterpiece instead of just one little corner display
Learning to look at life through other people's glasses
Learning that dirt hills provide very good lessons in problem solving
And sometimes life leaves you hanging and problem solving skills come in very handy
But family and friends are always there to catch your back and pull you up
I truly think that life learning is a sure fire way to equip our children and to spark their interests.
Now if I could only get my children to believe in their power to conquer and overcome all obstacles...
even dinosaurs
Life learning pictures! Love it!
Posted by: betty | July 17, 2007 at 08:22 PM
What a beautifully written and illustrated post. Thank you.
Posted by: Jennifer | July 17, 2007 at 09:54 PM
This post is beautiful - in word and picture! Thank you.
Posted by: Heather | July 17, 2007 at 11:59 PM
Bravo! Well said.
Posted by: MaryM | July 18, 2007 at 01:39 AM
Cay, your home and school are remarkable, like only a sweet Cajun girl could make it!! I am always inspired by you and your beautiful unschooly family!! Hugs and blessings!
Posted by: Meredith | July 18, 2007 at 06:47 PM
Life learning looks like tons of fun! Great photos, Cay! We want to come to Louisiana!
Posted by: Alice Gunther | July 18, 2007 at 07:26 PM
Cay I think your description of unschooling is one of the best I have heard. So many have such a misguided idea of unschooling. But I love your description and it would aptly apply to our home Clarice
Posted by: clarice | July 18, 2007 at 08:20 PM
What a beautiful post!!! It's nice when you have a clear vision. Thank you for sharing yours.
Posted by: Heather - NY | August 26, 2007 at 07:24 PM