Unschooling: DAY 3

Today, Andy and Lex were two peas in a pod. They played ALL day....

Today, I woke up at 5:30am and I finally WENT FOR A WALK!!!!!! For those of you that know me, you know how much I love exercise. Since my baby was born, I've had to push my ego aside and put exercise on the back burner.Andy woke up with me and went and it was so special to have that time with him, without anyone else. We saw two bunny rabbits, 4 cats and a snake!!!!!!! It was like going to the Junior Museum for free! This day started off so well that I am going to go to bed by 11:15 tonight and am doing it again tomorrow. Let me gently suggest waking up early and exercising. It really makes you feel alive and invigorated.

Now, onto our unschooling experiment...I have noticed that my 11 year old thrives in this environment.He learns for the sake of learning. He is constantly challenging himself and is thrilled when he grasps a concept that is exceedingly difficult for him! He has the ability to self regulate. He is also a "pleaser" and needs little correction from me. He simply does things out of love and mutual respect for me. Even if his hormones get the better of him, he quickly sees the error of his ways and will self correct. I think this has a lot to do with how much conversation he and I have. While our home is one that has rules like "be kind" with consequences for not doing so, I take an exorbitant amount of time explaining the reasoning behind my actions. I don't do this out of guilt. I believe rules help form expectations for our household. This helps it run smoothly. I explain because I want the kids to have the opportunity to see the logic behind the rules. Most of the time they do. Sometimes, they don't.

In contrast, my 10 year is thriving in this environment but, in a totally different way. He is not really concerned with learning new things right now. He will do a lesson on the computer if he is feeling internal pressure to learn( I am not suggesting that he do this. He just does it because he thinks he should. It's not because of any real need to learn something new). My 10 year old and his 6 year old sister have spent the better part of two days making up fictional worlds and playing make-believe. They have built forts under the kitchen table and dressed up in my husbands suits(as postmen...lol!). They have played "store" and "detective" and "war" and even "The Dog Whisperer". My natural inclination was to dismiss this as child's play but, I am realizing there is something more going on there. He needs this. After a very tumultuous school year last year, he needs some time to decompress and stretch reality. My daughter gets sucked right in because 6 is such a mystical age filled with wonder. She needs this too. They have become inseparable and it really is a special thing to witness. My oldest likes being on his own and independent. He gravitates towards me and his baby brother. Watching that interaction pulls at my heart-strings, as well.

While these all seem like normal everyday happenings, the mood and general feeling in our home makes me sense that there is more to it. I am not ready to give up my old ways of schooling just yet but, I am  having flickers of understanding of the beauty of this lifestyle. I am fighting off my need to make a schedule and a list and think sleep might come easy for the first time this week.  Finally, I am trusting what I feel even though I cannot see results....I know, with every fiber of my being that they are there.