Unschooling NYC

“Of course, a child may not know what he may need to know in ten years (who does?), but he knows, and much better than anyone else, what he wants and needs to know right now, what his mind is ready and hungry for. If we help him, or just allow him, to learn that, he will remember it, use it, build on it. If we try to make him learn something else, that we think is more important, the chances are that he won’t learn it, or will learn very little of it, that he will soon forget most … Read more

One of my early posts talked about Laura Bennett’s book, “Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday?”, all about her and her 5 boys and how they live their lives.  In case you missed it, it’s a great read.   I’m coming back to it tonight because at one point she talks about hyper-controlling parents who won’t let their kids near anything resembling junk food, fast food or processed sugar.   She tells a hilarious story about a woman who was so appalled that her estranged husband packed their childrens’ lunches with white bread and bologna that she was sure she could get full … Read more

Before I get into this topic, I have to mention that behind me, right now on my couch, sit three kids crocheting.  They are crocheting because I was making a hat, and Ben came out and said he wanted to learn how.  So I taught him how to do a chain stitch, and he’s been working on it ever since.  (I think it’s about 6 feet long now.)  Then Maya and Greta, who is spending the evening with us, came out and also wanted to learn.  So I showed them and then excused myself to write this blog entry.   And … Read more

Maya and her friend Greta have decided to cook together on Sundays, so today they picked out a recipe for a yellow cake with butter cream frosting.   I made myself scarce from the kitchen, going in only to check on the cake while they were in the midst of making the frosting, and then to help clean up.   The rest of it was them on their own.    The recipe they used made enough batter for two cakes, so they had to figure out how to halve all the measurements.   And they did a great job with it.    I have to … Read more

Sometimes, just to be my own devil’s advocate, I go on line and do searches for articles on education.   It’s useful to know what the prevailing theories are if you want to debunk them. 🙂   What is very interesting is that in every search for education articles you will come upon pages and pages of articles on childhood ‘disorders’ that supposedly hinder a child’s ability to be educated.   The articles on how to spot, treat, and deal with the disorders far outweigh articles on actual learning or education, even on so-called ‘education’ websites.

Today I kept seeing references to ‘conduct … Read more

Perhaps I have mentioned before that I love movies.   For years Joshua and I would go to a movie every weekend.  We saw it all – the good, the bad, the ugly – and with very few exceptions, I enjoyed it all.   (One of the exceptions?  The Thin Red Line.   With all due respect to Terence Malick, someone should have smacked him up side the head and screamed ‘No more panning into the trees with voiceover! Show a little restraint!!’ Never have so many great actors been in such a bad movie.)   This summer due to Joshua’s unreliable work schedule, … Read more

When I was in school I remember despising story problems in math.   My lowest math scores always involved story problems.   But when math is not a ‘subject’ to be studied, but just part of like, then lots of it is a ‘story problem’ of sorts.   Today we were waiting for the elevator and Ben was talking about get presents on your birthday.   I have no idea what brought it on,  but suddenly he said  “If you had 10 friends that gave you a present on every birthday, and you lived to be 90, you would get…”  he thought for a … Read more

We spent the afternoon at Riverside Park today, at the usual Wednesday gathering of home and unschoolers.   One of the women there, mother of four kids, looked over at me and said, “Do you ever get tired of reading about education?”   I laughed.  Yes, absolutely.  “I mean,” she went on, “I got to a point yesterday where I just thought I never want to see another book or article on how the brain works, or how people learn.”      And I had to agree.  Sometimes it seems that when you have kids, particularly when they are not in school, you attract … Read more

It’s Election Day.   I voted.  I hope everyone else did too.   Tomorrow the results will be in the paper and on line.   Tonight I stay as far away from the TV as possible.   The politics of the media has completely eclipsed the politics of the politicians themselves, and it is to our detriment.   As Jon Stewart so aptly put it on Saturday, “If you amplify everything, you hear nothing.”   Nothing but insults.    When we were kids, we thought election night tremendously boring, and so would turn on Channel 4 and watch Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, which for some … Read more

When Maya was 4 or 5 years old, she took tap classes at Steps.   On the first day of class, she showed up wearing a blue leotard and pink tights.   All the other little girls were in black leotards and white tights.   During the class, one of the other mothers asked my which child was mine, and I smiled and said, “The one in blue.”   “Ohhh,” she said, “Just wait till next week.   She’ll want to be in black just like all the others.”   My response was something like, “I’m not so sure about that,”  and indeed, Maya happily wore … Read more