Copasetic Flow

Unschoolers love to say they don't follow curricula.  I've noticed though, that you can define an unschooling curriculum backwards in time by what the gang, (three year-old No. 3, five year-old No. 2, and seven year-old No. 1), has accomplished in the last week.  It's kind of awesome, going in, we had no goals, nor any idea any of this would happen! 3 developed a love of cooking! 3 asked to attend a pick-up cooking class for kids at the Noe Valley Rec Center.   (I love that San Francisco kids can drop into Parks & Rec classes if there's room.)    She had a blast!  About four days later, when she and I went to the red-hat for our weekly meat and egg shopping, she insisted that we get squid.  She asked to hold the bag while I levered the squid into it.  (This led to an amusing confusion.;  unable to see 3 below the seafood ice tray, one of the workers was concerned I was dumping squid onto the floor.)  When I was ready to...

I had a great remembering a few days ago.  For me, it was a breakthrough moment, for the kids, well, the kids just did what they were capable of doing long before my 'awakening'.  We've tried to set things up so that the gang, 7 year-old No. 1, five year-old No. 2, and three year-old No. 3 are always encouraged to be independent.  When we were grad students, that meant hanging out at campus quads where the kids could wander a hundred yards away or more exploring the area and interacting with people.  As they grew, this emphasis on independence meant trusting that they could successfully and safely range further and further ahead of me.  The whole thing involved  learning to focus on each other, and mutually trust each other.  As the kids learned to listen for me to occasionally holler directions, they got to range out further and further, and explore more and more.  Ironically, (with respect to my 'awakening'), we started this in the somewhat c...

We unschool.  This blog talks all about what our unschooling family does on a day to day basis, but rarely, (at least recently), mentions unschooling.  But, a really cool thing happened last week, so here goes.  Five year-old No. 2 said he wanted to learn to read! Before I get into 2 and his desire to learn to read, I should perhaps point out what unschooling is, as well as what it is to us.  Unschooling is a schooling methodology wherein the curriculum is based on what the learner wants to learn.  The general idea is that kid’s live life, and as they express an interest in a subject, they’re assisted, (if they need assistance), in finding material with which to learn, and perhaps encouraged, (it depends on the particular interpretation of unschooling), and perhaps taught when and if they ask for help. While it might sound as if unschooling kids are dropped into an educational void, and told to swim, that’s not the case.  Parents ‘strew’ educational m...

 On our recent trip to New Mexico, seven year old No. 1 and I got to stop at Blake’s, a favorite of almost all New Mexicans!  The place was clean, well lit, and the help was friendly.  At Blakes, they actually cook your burger after you order it.  Since I didn’t feel like waiting, I called our order in from our hotel before we headed out.  1 tore through 7/8s of her adult-sized Lotaburger with cheese, and declared it the best burger she’d ever had.  (If you’re looking for the kid’s size, that’s called an Itsaburger.)  We ordered fries with one burger, and onion rings with the other so we could try both.  Much to her surprise, 1 discovered that she was quite enamored of onion rings, even if they are kind of hard to eat when you’ve recently sold both of your front incisors to the tooth fairy.  I had the green chile cheeseburger!  I add the exclamation point because one simply cannot get green chile on one’s cheeseburger in San Francisc...

Seven year old No. 1 and I got to visit Petroglyph National Monument last week.  The monument’s a short drive from Albuquerques airport, and having nothing better to do, a hike seemed like a great way to spend our late afternoon, so we headed straight there after picking up our rental car.  Having never been before, (even though I grew up in New Mexico), our first stop was the Visitor Center. There are two things you should know about the visitor center.  First, it’s nowhere near any of the monuments hiking trails.  Second, while the rangers are ultimately very helpful, and truly very nice people, they do seem to enjoy talking some Park Service smack on the way to helping you.  1 and I inquired as to what would be the best trail for a short afternoon hike. “Well, you could go to Rinconada Canyon… but are you prepared for a hike?” The kid and I have literally been on hundreds of hikes. "I think so?" was my humble but confused reply. "Do you have water?" T...

Recently a question came up  (if you haven't checked out Winnie yet you should, it's kinda awesome!)  If you hang out with two toddlers is it worth getting a double strollers, and at what age are kids done with strollers?  I love having never had a stroller, so I was of no use on the two-seat vs. single seat part of the question. As for the 'when are kids done with strollers?' part, I think the age for being done with the stroller for good largely depends on what the parent and the kid want to do.  My really short answer is the kids here were done with the wrap when they turned two.  Between two and three I occasionally had to hip carry or put them on my shoulders while I had the younger kid in the wrap, but for the most part they were down on the ground, and walking with the rest of the gang. Now for the longer answer just because I’ve had so much fun not having a stroller and walking around with the kids.  :) As each of the kids learned to walk, I...

In a nutshell the  proposed bill AB-2756  could result in every homeschooling family in the state of California could being visited on a yearly basis by their local fire chief who would in fact be required to do so.  The bill really has nothing to do with the authors' concerns for your fire safety, it was inspired by an awful incident of child abuse that occurred in Perris, CA  (this was an awful read for me, I'm putting it here for informational purposes, but be warned.).  The Homeschool Association of California has written up their thoughts on the bill .  If you'd like to contact your assemblymember regarding the bill, you can find their contact information here .  If you'd like to contact the authors' of the proposed bill their contact information is listed below. Medina, Jose 61 Democrat Contact Assembly Member Jose Medina Capitol Office, Room 2141 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0061; (916) 319-2061 District Office 1223 Univer...