OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

Sorry jumbled long winded post but with SOO much hope this time!!

Ive gone back and forth with the stuggles Ive had over the years with my oldest and schooling and her anxiety. Recently weve even faced the real possibility she was just going to drop out all together and us having to "allow it"... However I feel like we have hope and more importantly so does she..

SO (significant other) Ive spent I don't know how long in absolute tears with concerns to my oldest and her educational journey. SO (significant other) has she.. In past Ive just figured I needed to be firmer or give it time and things will come around but recently its felt hopeless..

I see her potential her abilities but yet always this wall.. I felt soo hopeless seeing her daily struggle and how it looked to the outside world. I must not be strict enough I need to "force things" etc...



My view of unschooling I'll admit hasn't been positive I really saw it more as a "get out of jail" sort of approach, Ohh like playing video games well that can be computer science or Graphic arts Etc.. or was only for the extremely bright self driven student. THe kid who takes apart the TV and learns each part and how to put it together again because its "fun".. THe idea that the average student could really unschool and have real "school skills" wasn't something I could wrap my head around..

But Ive been researching and reading and growing with an understanding and honestly I feel very different now. I now thing this will honestly be the BEST thing for my daughter..

We had a LOOOOOONG and honest conversation about this and for the FIRST time in a looong time she both didn't just goo ohh yes cool without thinking but really asked and asked and once she began to understand REALLY started to get excited. Oh and BTW her questions were of concern she wants to learn she doesn't want cake walk courses..

So were in the VERY VERY early stages I need to do a bit more reasearch both into whats legit in my state (how much in each area is required) we need to figure out exactly what and how we will accomplish the areas.. but I feel like YES we have something we can move forward on..

Immediate plans.

Between now and "Christmas" she is going to finish 1 of her Acellus courses her Language arts which will give her a 1 unit LA credit (freshman) we are dropping the rest, honestly if we decide yes she will finish any of the others her progress will be kept and she can continue where she left off..

She already has completion in Physical Science and Psychology through the program which I can count towards her diploma, plus at least 2 college Art Classes (drawing and painting)



Our plans for "Next semester"

6 "classes"

something in LA areas we are considering.

Short story authors, she likes works of Poe, O (ovulation) henry, Jack London etc

Something like we pick say 3 authors and do 5 short stories from each her goals for completion would include research on the lives of each, the 5 stories, open discussion of these, papers comparing and contrasting the different works, maybe seeing some movies or plays on some.. etc.. She would need to have 120 hours of work which we would keep logs of along with writing or some combo..

Our goal would be not just ticking off this but that she would feel confident that she could say Yes I know who Longfellow was, that she could step into a college class where his work would be studied and she could feel like yes she could contribute with some real degree of confidence.. not just Hey I took this quiz and got 89%...



Other thoughts or like taking her love of Manga and comparing works of say Shakespeare with examples of its Manga counterpart...

etc

Math

She thinks she wants to take the Acellus "personal Finance" course she going to look at the tutorial mode of the class a bit and see if its the right fit.. If not we will maybe figure out something..



Using like Khan academy for some areas is another choice we do want her to have understanding of certain math concepts (algebra etc) but we realize there are many ways those can be achieved..



History- She wants to do something concerning studying Japan and WW2 which their is PLENTY of we haven't decided on exactly what, DH (dear husband) will likely be able to help in this area..

I can find ways to incorporate her sewing lessons into credits even if "just" home ec..

SHe'll take a drivers Education course not sure if I can include that in some way but a necessity either way.

I told her this wont be a cake walk (and she doesn't want it to be) that it will take her out of her comfort in some areas but it will remove the fear of grades in most cases but it will mean her putting in the effort.

We are pretty excited.. Nervous and scared but excited..

Please tell me this will work and I'm not crazy
I'm going to need a LOT of support I'll be asking tons of questions I feel like Im starting back and step one of being a homeschool mom in many ways..
EEEEEK!!!

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

This all sounds very positive! It must be wonderful to see her feeling excited about the possibilities.

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

We unschooled for the early years and had our eldest start traditional homeschooling for high school. With a transition year for 8th grade. So, we did the opposite.

I think it can go really, really well. It just depends on a lot of factors. Keep in mind that traditional schooling, even for kids who go to a good school, not necessarily homeschool, can go very badly. It's not a proven method by any means. I used to teach public school and saw so many kids who were failed by the system--not the teachers, necessarily, or their parents, but just that the system of education did not help them.

It's out of print but if you can get your hands on a copy of "Homeschooling Our Children, Unschooling Ourselves" by Alison McKee it's a great read. She unschooled her 2 kid and the book is kind of like her memoirs of those years. They both went off to college. The book isn't all roses, she is very honest about some of their struggles and how they handled them. It's very encouraging that you CAN find a way that works for your family.

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

Sounds like you have hit upon the best learning style for your daughter. What woked well for one of my daughters in high school years is much what you described . Put together a LA type course using books of our choosing and reading comprehension worksheets for them. We also did Vocabulary words and definitions pulled from places like quizlet and one year a journalism course to cover that. Used a couple of courses from Easy Peasy each year like prsonal finance math and worl geography. She would work on any course type things in the mornings and afternoons were reading and electives which is where unschooling can really be fun and take off because possibilities are endless.

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

I'll look into that books as I could use all the guidance, in many ways I think she would do "best" in a more traditional school setting but lately her anxiety has gotten so bad it is crippling her.. Its not the work though its the constant feeling of judgement.. (in her mind) she loves exploring, learning things, figuring out different layers of things etc.. However the idea that if she is told (based on the more traditional approach to her current schooling program)
1) listen to this 6 minute "lecture" on the feeding habits Cats
2) answer these 5 questions on the feeding habits of Cats to see if you grasped the concept...
sends her into a panic

Suddenly a 6 minute "lecture" for her turns into a 197minute long panic a good hour of her being scared to start the lesson because of all the what ifs in her head.. Then her pausing the video every 12 seconds because she over thinks what she should write down as notes..
then panic sets in answering even the most basic questions what if I get it wrong what does that mean, if I get 100% does that really mean I know the material maybe its all dumbed down and everyone is secretly laughing at me...

However she will also be the one that says.. either on her own hey I want to learn about the feeding habits of domestic house cats :giggle .. or because I happen to say hey C can you tell be something about the feeding habits of domestic cats... and then suddenly she off to the internet reading, discussing then off the the library exploring more, making appointments with petsmart and the humane society.. on Cat chat rooms debating the issue.. Planning trips to Japanese Cat islands planning to spend the spring of 2021 observing.. ;) :lol

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

It sounds like the very best fit for her. Meeting their needs and learning is the goal.I have found you can still follow your stae requirement as far as subjects /credits for diploma requirements but they can look like a lot of things

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

whats great is I'm in Arizona so really I can basically do whatever..

In general the PS uses this as the basic graduation requirements which we will likely use as our overall guide..

She has completed a course in physical science which I can use, a psychology course and at least 2 art classes through the college. She wants to finish the LA course through her Acellus program which she can do before the holiday break.. SO that will at least give her credits in Science, LA, fine arts and an elective.. She is also intrested in Acellus personal finance course if she does that we can use it either as a possible math or even a history credit. (I think its like a civics credit)..

Math wise were considering going back to the Life of Fred books she did the really early ones but got tired of the silliness of them, However she things they might be a good fit now (she can just deal with the sillness part) basically starting with the prealgebra books and using practice with like Khan academy...

120hours would be one full credit so honestly Id just have her eventually complete 480 (or abouts) hours of math starting from where she needs and going forward as she feels she is comfortable (with me helping to guide her) If she just gets to say Early Algebra then OK if she finds she starts learning Differential Equations and Quantum Physics than well cool..

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

For states that require hours a lot of moms dont match up actual hours or try to make them actually work at something for those hours,because in schools and colleges credit hours do not work like that. There might be a 45 - 55 minute long "hour" for each course in high school but if they finish before that allotted time they do not have to do busywork at something else to be given credit for that hour? Likewise some students may not finish and have to do it as homework. So you can reframe it to provide number of hours for each subject they ask for each day but if she finishes in less time she still gets credit for that hour?

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

Yes for sure plus we can count so much more now towards that goal.

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

All kinds of real life stuff can be counted for sure. I just gave some suggestions this morning to a homeschooling mom who as amazed at how a mutual friend "worldschools" her teen son because she travels a lot for her work and she uses that for his schoolwork. They were more what unschooling can look like w/o the travels!

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

My dd1 was a mostly unschooled teen. We loved the book “the art of self directed learning”

We determined state requirements and I helped her w topics. Then she studied those areas. I helped w goals and ensured she finished her work for each credit. She chose some curriculum and did actually have an end date. When we got to second semester senior year she’d worked so hard she had very little left. Assigning more would’ve just been busy work.

For college we put together a typical transcript and she “studied” for her act’s using an app. “Studied” is in quotes because she used an app, for a good score and changed her mind abt taking it twice. .

She’s turned out to be intelligent, well read and knowledgeable. She’s getting two A’s in her 2 college classes while working and paying for school.

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

Yes sounds a lot like what we are trying for. Improbably have a lot of questions for you lol.

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

I’d be more open in the private forum. ;)

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

for sure ;)

Re: OH my I think we might become unschoolers
 

Have you listened to Julie Bogart’s podcast? I think you would really like it.