Musings on Unschooling

I've read a great deal about a method of learning called unschooling. Like many homeschoolers who've gone with more traditional methods of teaching,I've had my reservations. We are not unschoolers, as we belong to a charter school. However, we have incorporated some of this philosophy into the way we now do things. I was unsure that, left to their own devices, my children would want to learn such essentials as reading, writing and math. And frankly, none of my girls would voluntarily decide to learn how to divide fractions. However, by allowing my girls to choose the topics they wish to research and write about, I've seen a drastic improvement not only in their desire to write, but in their writing skills. It is not unusual for one of my girls to decide to research and write a four page report on a topic she finds interesting. The first time it happened, I was beyond surprised. Now it is a common occurrence. Skylar's writing is surprisingly mature and descriptive. And Haley has lately started looking into using more "colorful" words to make her writing more interesting. In the past, I have chosen the books or materials I wished my girls to read. It was a struggle to get them to spend as little as ten minutes a day reading. Since I decided to let them choose what they wish to read, it's difficult to get them to do anything else! The girls each read a minimum of twenty books a month. Skylar currently loves to read fictional stories involving horses. She has just finished reading the Phantom Stallion series by Terri Farley and has been looking for similar books to read. Haley loves the American Girl History Mysteries and the fictional diaries from the My Dear America series. Pickle loves the Fancy Nancy books. Now, if I could just figure out how to get them to enjoy math just as much...