Comments on: Hey… Look at that Dog!

By: gunta

gunta — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:50:29 +0000

well, i just showed my 2 yo the picture and asked her what did she see. after a while she said, “Doggy!”
just to let you know that you are not alone

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:20:16 +0000

As a former public school teacher, I get a LOT of “You can homeschool because you were a teacher.” I try to explain why that’s more of a hindrance than a help (or at least was in the beginning), but it doesn’t usually sink in. I usually find that unschooling is as much - if not more - a gift for me as for the kids. It means *I* get to pursue *my* interests along with the kids, and I get to be open to all the great things they expose me to, and I get to find the wholeness that eluded me during all my school years for some time after.

Your child’s choice to roll in the grass reminds me of last night when my now-in-high-school (his choice to try) son stopped studying for his finals and instead composed two new songs on his electric guitar, recorded them on his computer, and burned CDs for his bandmate to use to write lyrics. At one point he said, “I’m feeling so inspired right now.”

By: arun

arun — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:00:59 +0000

we are so disappointed to not catch up with you jenny… we tried to catch up with some unschoolers in hobart but got wires crossed and were communicating with unschoolers in sydney by mistake! (hard to tel with email sometime)

thanks for the additional asimov quote Frank, I had not come accross that one before… he does sound quite unschooly. He wrote a great guide to science which covers all the mistakes and failures that led to discoveries.

And Ronnie, Im glad you enjoyed this post but dont worry i can guarantee that i will have many more future opportunities to reflect on my limited brain power

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:08:12 +0000

Ahhh, I’d love it if s-f trivia became somehow significant or even just “in fashion.” As Asimov also said, “Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.” Sounds like an unschooler to me.

By: Ronnie

Ronnie — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 04:54:49 +0000

You know, I check here most every day and “Look at that dog!” cracks me up every time. I wish it could stay near the top (but I definitely don’t wish you would stop writing!).

By: Jenny

Jenny — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:50:55 +0000

I wish I’d known you were in Launceston, that’s where I live along with my husband and 6 year old son. We started homeschooling back in August not long after I’d read your article from Kindred Magazine. If you decide to come again I would love to meet you all.

By: kim

kim — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:38:57 +0000

That’s okay about the llama! One of the best teaching techniques is feigned ignorance because kids get such a kick out of proving us wrong, teaching us something and sharing what they learned, right? Your kids will probably grow up convinced you were a genius unschooler, trading in formal learning for more casual exchanges!

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:59:08 +0000

Rolling down a hill in the dark under the stars can be a valuable life skill! It sounds like M is very wise.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 18:12:12 +0000

It sounds like M could teach us all a thing or two.

By: Marijo

Marijo — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 07:55:27 +0000

Thanks for this post. I am a beginner in all of this and really appreciate the reassurance I get from these posts…