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I agree. Many four year olds teach themselves to read, count, etc. It's a long way from shooting arrows to e=mc2 in physics. There was an article in some scientific magazine recently about how athletes judge how to catch the ball, and how that really isn't physics, per se.
Well, yes, I'd agree with the above, but I never called it "unschooling". I guess there's a name for everything.
So, someone bumped a thread that has been ignored for almost 6 months, to brag about how awesome her 4-year-old PRESCHOOL child is, under the guise of "unschooling?"
Your 4-year-old not going to school isn't unschooling. That's a 4-year-old kid who isn't old enough for school yet anyway. Unschooling is an actual term, for an actual thing. While I question the ethics and validity of unschooling, at least I have some idea of what it means.
I remember how excited I was to find unschooling - it was exactly what I'd been looking for!! I do reserve the term for school-age kids, because *so many* people who are delighted with "unschooling" their preschooler put their kids in school once they reach 6, or 7. It's more of an effort, and conscious choice, once the kids are school-age. BUT, as the pressure is on to have kids perform and conform earlier & earlier, I can understand why someone would say they were unschooling their 4 year old. And it is an entire lifestyle choice, if you're doing whole-life unschooling.
I remember how excited I was to find unschooling - it was exactly what I'd been looking for!! I do reserve the term for school-age kids, because *so many* people who are delighted with "unschooling" their preschooler put their kids in school once they reach 6, or 7. It's more of an effort, and conscious choice, once the kids are school-age. BUT, as the pressure is on to have kids perform and conform earlier & earlier, I can understand why someone would say they were unschooling their 4 year old. And it is an entire lifestyle choice, if you're doing whole-life unschooling.
Good point about the pressure on kids at very young ages; there certainly has been an increase in "academic" preschools, and pressure to attempt to push "academics" on very young children. That said, I think the parents who claim to be "unschooling" their young children are contributing to the problem, albeit unintentionally; it seems to further frame the issue at the pre-school age level as being one of two extremes. I think most people would think that the "unschooling" approach to young kids is the norm. Obviously there are those out there working to change it, but throwing around terms like "unschooling" for 4 year olds makes it seem that the "unschooling" approach is the alternative, while "academics"-based preschool activities now the default. It's not that way -- yet.
Once a child has hit true school age THEN it's appropriate to discuss their education with terminology like "unschooling," as it really is then an "un" something (traditional school).
itsrtimedownhere...that was a beautiful post!!2 of my children started in public schools, then came home for 5 years, then back to public...1 of my children went from grades 1-12 homeschooled, he has a great job..my youngest(still at home) went to school for 9 years and is now schooling at home....she asks her pub school buddies what they're doing and quite often they'll come over for her help.....The day of the schoolhouse is over!!!Less stress, less negative peer pressure, less exposure to poor teachers,....more peace, more fine learning, more time for homelife, and just as much time interacting with friends. I've never heard it called "unschooling" though......
itsrtimedownhere...that was a beautiful post!!2 of my children started in public schools, then came home for 5 years, then back to public...1 of my children went from grades 1-12 homeschooled, he has a great job..my youngest(still at home) went to school for 9 years and is now schooling at home....she asks her pub school buddies what they're doing and quite often they'll come over for her help.....The day of the schoolhouse is over!!!Less stress, less negative peer pressure, less exposure to poor teachers,....more peace, more fine learning, more time for homelife, and just as much time interacting with friends. I've never heard it called "unschooling" though......
That's because most homeschooling is *not* unschooling. It is traditionally school at home. Often parents buy curriculum. They may have a *schoolroom* in their house. They may have certain times when they teach.
Unschooling is an entirely different way of learning. Kids choose their own activities and may even play video games all day for a while.
I have only met one child who has been 'unschooled'. I hadn't heard of it before meeting her.
It was last fall, at our church. She was 11, same as my ds. Very nice girl, well mannered. Her grandmother brought her along to our sewing meeting - putting school bags together for some 3rd world country. This little girl sat with me (as we were the only women there under 60 - no kidding) at the "strap" table. It was our job to turn the straps right side out, then pin them to the bags 2" from either side.
She didn't know how to use a ruler. I'm not kidding. She had no interest in it either. She haphazardly pinned a few straps to a bag, ignoring the little "cheat" square I made for her out of cardboard before wandering off to play in the nursery room. She'd come back every once in awhile to chat. She told me about unschooling and how she learned 'naturally'. But she couldn't read some of the signs, asked me what they said, couldn't measure - seriously - how is that child EVER going to be able to do ANYTHING in this life?
I know that this was just one child. But I was NOT impressed. I felt really sorry for her. When she showed up at the next sewing meeting and her grandma sat her next to me, I suggested right off that she go play with the kids in the nursery, which she did willingly. I did not want to have to redo everything she played with or attempt yet again to teach her that 'measurements mattered'.
She didn't know how to use a ruler. I'm not kidding. She had no interest in it either. She haphazardly pinned a few straps to a bag, ignoring the little "cheat" square I made for her out of cardboard before wandering off to play in the nursery room. She'd come back every once in awhile to chat. She told me about unschooling and how she learned 'naturally'. But she couldn't read some of the signs, asked me what they said, couldn't measure - seriously - how is that child EVER going to be able to do ANYTHING in this life?
I know that this was just one child. But I was NOT impressed. I felt really sorry for her. When she showed up at the next sewing meeting and her grandma sat her next to me, I suggested right off that she go play with the kids in the nursery, which she did willingly. I did not want to have to redo everything she played with or attempt yet again to teach her that 'measurements mattered'.
That sounds like less a matter of unschooling, than the personality and quirks of the child herself. I don't see how a child - unless she had been neglected and locked away in a barren house - wouldn't have been introduced to the idea of measuring things before 11. I'm guessing she had some type of learning disorder, if she truly *couldn't* do it. It's possible she just didn't want to.
As far as the reading goes, natural reading "clicks" at different ages - most kids learn to read by 11, but the range I've seen goes from 3 - 13, with the majority learning around ages 7 - 8. If she did, indeed, have a disability, that could cause her to be a later reader.
That sounds like less a matter of unschooling, than the personality and quirks of the child herself. I don't see how a child - unless she had been neglected and locked away in a barren house - wouldn't have been introduced to the idea of measuring things before 11. I'm guessing she had some type of learning disorder, if she truly *couldn't* do it. It's possible she just didn't want to.
As far as the reading goes, natural reading "clicks" at different ages - most kids learn to read by 11, but the range I've seen goes from 3 - 13, with the majority learning around ages 7 - 8. If she did, indeed, have a disability, that could cause her to be a later reader.
Learn to read by 11??????? 11????? Are you serious?
Learn to read by 11??????? 11????? Are you serious?
Mine were reading at 4 1/2.
Can you tell which adults learned to read at 4, and which learned to read at 10? My son learned to read at almost 8, and now, two years later, he can read on a high school level. Once they learn how to read, they know how to read.
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