There are just a few hours left to get discounted tickets for the Delaware Home Education Convention.
Delaware Home Education Convention
On Worksheets and Unschooling Being “Easy”
For a four-year-old, you’ll see that you’ve already been unschooling for four years, it’s less a change and more of an evolution of your current path.
We need to see our children as distict individuals. Many (most?) kids don’t like worksheets. Zero adults, who aren’t teachers, use worksheets.
I don’t play an instrument, but without coercion, my sons play multiple. If I projected my difficulty with playing on them, they may not have seen their own abilities.
Mandatory kindergarten (which I believe is only meant to train kids to sit still and listen to arbitrary authority), doesn’t start until age 5. You are in a beautiful phase of life. You can enjoy it without the pressures of performance.
Unschooling is not easy. You will always worry about whether you are doing enough. You will be upset when a school friend quizzes them and they don’t have the answer. You will be embarrassed at a family gathering when your child says something stupid.
You will often be put on the spot to explain your choices. You will be unsure.
Confidence and bravery grow along the journey, but it is a difficult process to let go of worksheets and all the schoolish things.
A Bubbling Fountain
In a recent Bible class, the leader explained God’s Infinite Love as a bubbling fountain that overflowed to become the Creation we inhabit.
I’ve been caught up in that living water since Christ began to heal my heart.
As His little creators, I believe we are meant to channel His love into the world through our thoughts, words, and actions. We are His tiny fractal fountains in a reality founded on love.
As we devote ourselves to a lifetime of union, Kristen and I are building a fountain together. Our love has already bubbled into a home, a family, and a business, but there is so much more we are destined to create.
Teachers Turned Unschoolers
Escaping the schoolish mindset is a challenge for anyone raised with institutionalized learning.
Hearing the stories of those who chose to reject that system after investing themselves in a career is inspirational.
How Children Learn
I’m delivering a talk on unschooling in March and *gasp* I’ve never read a book on the subject. I’m going to change that with John Holt’s How Children Learn.
At the moment, I’m tackling a plumbing problem at home, so I’m warming up by listening to a discussion with Pat Farenga, who worked with Holt.
Chaos in Kennett
New Bio
I’ve been invited to speak on unschooling at an upcoming homeschool convention and I’m looking to grab some attention with this bio:
Jason started homeschooling his sons 11 years ago. He grew from a school-at-home model to one that eschews the concept of being a “teacher” at all. That journey led him to find Christ in his heart, become a political anarchist, and evangelize for the unschooling method.
Jason credits unschooling with carrying him through widowhood, healing his alcoholism, and inspiring him to open a tattoo studio with his new fiance.
Where to Start?
Your child is learning more than you could imagine every day. You are being way too hard on yourself.
This age is the perfect time to step back and observe. Your child will teach you so much as you watch him/her grow and learn with little guidance.
Take this time to enjoy your child and learn about the unschooling method. While most don’t pursue a lifetime of unstructured learning, everyone embraces it early in life.
The Left Can’t Meme?
A fundamental difference between the left/right mindsets is explained through the ought/is dichotomy. The left is more likely to say, “Thing X ought to be different.” The right, “Thing X is what it is.”
If your assumption is that reality is fundamentally lacking, it’s hard to see the absurdity or humor in it. Once you accept the seemingly random tragedies of life, you start to laugh a lot more.
Bad Leadership Memes
Most coaches are shit. Arbitrary authority should be challenged, but kids aren’t well versed in how to go about that peacefully and most adults have been trained to accept unimpressive teachers and employers.
Be ungovernable. Authority is earned, not granted by a title.