What is Unschooling? (And what do you mean by Insideout?)

A friend recently asked for a basic explanation of Unschooling. There are loads of books, articles and websites, but “if you had to choose just one…” she said.

Since some of you schoolhousers are unschoolers and some are not, I thought I would share with you this article which is my favorite so far:

http://www.rethinkingeducation.com/unschooling.html

Here also, for the record, is Scott Noelle’s article about Insideout that I sent out the other day:

http://www.enjoyparenting.com/daily-groove/pleasure-priority

Schoolhouse grows

Welcome to our neighbors Elizabeth and Jamie, and to Sara, Nat and Lily who have joined us at the Schoolhouse. There are plans in the works for all of us to get together and meet each other. I’d really like to build in a way for all of us to share our interests, needs and hopes and see how we can grow together- stay tuned.

I added a few more photos to the photo page, including a couple from our visit to the water park with Sara and Lily and a visit to the beach for Santi’s birthday. Happy Birthday Santi!

I am grateful for the paths that have led each of us here and am curious to see where we will go from here. Gleefully, Kristen

Science and Art at the Schoolhouse

Well there have been a lot of inventions and experiments. And there are more in the works. A visit to the aviation museum in McMinnville, homemade rocketships, a disemboweled blender, chemistry experiments with baking soda and every liquid we have in the house.

I’m not sure whether it is that science lends itself so easily to documentation or something about my naive vision of the word “school” that brings so many of those photos to the site. Inventor Julian has taken the stage with such activity, but here there are other things going on that are not captured on camera or in brief snippets.

Julian, terrified at the prospect of going to jail after shoplifting a plastic toy from Goodwill, was in tears in the backseat. Eva turned gently and asked over and over ”Joowyian, are you ok?” There is also Eva’s exceptional sense of touch and space. She knows exactly what weight to throw herself so you can catch her and not fall, where to step around the toys on the floor. There are games of Down Down the Breakfast-side, the Feet Sticking Out Game, and a delightful game where Julian and Eva take turns telling some ridiculous story while the other laughs hysterically. There are spontaneous dance moves, and songs! Original narratives composed on the back of a bike, or renditions of the Pink Panther Theme, Hungarian Rhapsody or Smoke on the Water as they play with robot parts. There are short conversations of honesty (Mama: Julian, why don’t you get your hair cut? Julian: Cause when I look in the mirror I like what I see.) and unsolicited outbursts of love.

These things are not so easily recorded on a camera or in charts and graphs, and they don’t need to be, but in spite of limited documentation here, the Schoolhouse certainly sees more than simple science.

Check out the recent photos here, and for those of you who have not yet seen, here is the pilot of Chef Julian in the Big Kitchen with Food. There’s lots more brewing at the Schoolhouse, we’ll keep you posted…