This Education Week article on unschooling and this Teacher Magazine article, Don’t Call It School are both really good. You'll have to register to read the Education Week one, and maybe the Teacher Magazine one also. The first one is a very descriptive and positive article on unschooling and include a 15 minute audio interview with an unschooling mom. The second one is about North Star: Self-Directed Learning for Teens, a center in Massachusetts.
Stories like these help me resist the curriculum and structure urges that I get sometimes.
At bed tonight, DS1 explained to me that he wasn't going to tell me what he got me for Christmas because it's a secret and he's keeping it. He also explained to his cousin today that an x-ray lets you see pictures of your bones. DS2 was playing with a puzzle yesterday that had 9 pieces and he said "3 threes is 9". Who needs "school?"
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
Painting, Oil and Water, and Concrete
Today at playgroup both boys painted pictures. This is the first time since September, when we started going regularly, that either of them was interested in the paints. DS2 was first. His creative time lasted about 3 seconds and covered about 6 square inches. DS1 took more time, used all 3 colors, and covered every inch of the paper.
After showing Daddy, I am going to suggest that we could use it for Christmas wrapping paper. The red, green, and yellow (which was sort of orange due to a previous child's wrong dip) paint has glitter in it and is very pretty.
When we got home I made an oil and water bottle. The oil is slightly yellow, so I added a few drops of blue food coloring. When shaken, it takes on a nice aqua color. As it separates the bottom turns a very pretty deep blue and the top gets lighter. DS1 is really enjoying watching it change and then shaking it again.
We also watched our neighbor's sidewalk and driveway concrete get poured today. I enjoyed it more than the boys did, but they liked it when the workers smoothed the sidewalk because that wasn't as noisy as the cement truck. Because of the noisy trucks, we watched through our living room windows more than from the front porch, but it was still a very good view.
After showing Daddy, I am going to suggest that we could use it for Christmas wrapping paper. The red, green, and yellow (which was sort of orange due to a previous child's wrong dip) paint has glitter in it and is very pretty.
When we got home I made an oil and water bottle. The oil is slightly yellow, so I added a few drops of blue food coloring. When shaken, it takes on a nice aqua color. As it separates the bottom turns a very pretty deep blue and the top gets lighter. DS1 is really enjoying watching it change and then shaking it again.
We also watched our neighbor's sidewalk and driveway concrete get poured today. I enjoyed it more than the boys did, but they liked it when the workers smoothed the sidewalk because that wasn't as noisy as the cement truck. Because of the noisy trucks, we watched through our living room windows more than from the front porch, but it was still a very good view.
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