The Unschooling Experiment: Day 1

Three weeks in to our homeschool adventure, I realized that what I was doing was not working. I did lessons plans, but was only getting a few things done. One reason is a lack of time to prepare materials, but I felt like there was a bigger problem. Neither Raccoon nor I really wanted to do some of the things on the list and at the end of the week I felt like a failure because we had done so little of what I had planned. This week, I decided to change course and instead write down what we did afterwards.

I am going to focus on three areas: language, math, and science. For now, this means learning the letters of the alphabet (names, writing, and sounds), number concepts, and following our science book which Raccoon is enjoying. Today we played with a four pan balance, wrote letters in the dirt on our daily walk, and then played with alphabet fridge magnets in a rice sensory bin (that was Kitty's activity but Raccoon joined in). We did several other things as well, and when I looked at the list at the end of the day, I felt successful. It was fun for all of us, and it flowed much more naturally as part of our day.

Since this is our trial year (technically Raccoon misses the kindergarten cutoff this fall but I think he's ready), my hope is that Raccoon will learn to read, count, and have fun.