Monkeying around...

Unschooling once again proves itself!!!

We are still on vaction but I thought I would post about unschooling this time. My youngest daughter has been learning to read out of a book I bought years ago called Learn to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I am always pleasantly surprised to see unplanned or pressured learning of what most people would consider schoolish subjects that need to be "taught" to children by a certain appointed age. It also always reassures me when I lose focus or have a panic attack (which are fewer and a lot farther between anymore)about my responsibility in my children's learning and growth. Anyway, way M has been practicing out of this book for a few weeks now. She showed immediately that she was determined to do this reading thing. She has carried the book just about everywhere (stores, to pick up Daddy, and the park to name a few). She asks for help every so often and of course I am quick to respond because she is impatient when she is on a roll so to speak, however for the rest of the time she is all on her own.

Well this morning she came up to me as I was crocheting a scarf without the book and she said "Mommy I can spell see me read!" And true to her word she stood there before me and remember no book, she spelled see me read! She has never had a traditional lesson nor been pressured in any way to read, but of her own accord in her own time she has taught herself to read. And the critics in my life might say well she had the book to learn from, and I respond yes she did, but my responsibility to all my children is to provide them with a rich environment to learn which may or may not include text or schoolish books and then to sit back and wait until they want my help and then be readily available for them when they are ready.

My children that are readers right now are never forced, bribed or any other such means of coercion in order to get them to do any academic activities. Out of my 5 children Z learned to read at 9/10, B learned at 4, P learned 9/10 (and took 2 weeks) F is 8 and isn't reading yet, and M who just turned 7 is reading now! My own children have proven to me that the only "right" time to learn something is when they are ready not when society or family/friends think they should.

I hear people all around me say that the school requires so many number of books in a school year or I also hear how parents bribe with money or treats of some sort in order to get the child to do a school activity most often I hear about reading. Some people may not understand or don't have faith in their children, but if given a chance children will learn and grow all on their own. No one has to tell them or teach them or pressure them because of the worry of where other children are at educationally either. Comparisons can never be healthy for any child and I believe will/can cause undue and always unneccesary stress for parent and child.

Maybe I will write about the ever so common concern what about math or what about social skills??? Reading, math and social skills seem to be the concerns I am approached with most often. But I think that I will leave this post entirely to reading today. One chunk at a time is about all most people can deal with at a time.

I love that my children love to learn because they don't even know that they are learning, they are simply doing what makes them happy for the moment. I am so grateful to be an unschooling family and to have happy children who by the way learn something new almost every day that passes and are very bright, intelligent and from birth have been social creatures. Okay I am off my soapbox for now, but be ready I am most certain that there will be more to come because, well, I just can't seem to help myself even when I try really hard not to be preachy about it.