Let's post what a typical unschooling day looks like in your home. Here's mine.
I got up a 7:30am and started in on some fruit. The kids play first thing in the morning until about 9. I get my housework and any planning-prep needed done before 9.
At nine Emily, age 7, starts in on her self-written schedule. She starts with Geography so we go into the boys' room where the walls are plastered with maps and she gets out her magic wand and I ask her to point out specific locations. Her new ones today were the Baltic Sea, the Straight of Gilbralter and Taiwan. After about a half hour (while I suck down a smoothie) we get into a conversation about the biggest states and we download a list of US states by size. We had recently learned that China has 90 cities that have over a million people and we all guessed how many the US had. We googled and found out we only have 8 which really puts things in perspective. For her writing she wrote thank you notes to her relatives for Christmas presents and then she read to me One Fish Two Fish, the whole book. Then she asked for a math quiz and she did multiples of 2 and 3. Meanwhile the boys are building with legos but listening in as well.
Lucas, age 7, goes next. He has wanted to learn multiplication so we practiced some of that and then he read to me, Green Eggs and Ham the whole book. Someone dug out all the old Dr. Suess books so that's the new rave. He did his thank you notes and that was it for him today. During his time Emily and Shane are knitting, Shane is making a long rope with white yarn and Emily just likes casting on and then taking it apart again.
Shane, age 10 and I started out working on building a website for him and his lego creations. He wants his own lego universe for him and his friends. We worked on that for a while and then we did some Khan's Academy, a talk about the Mona Lisa and some exponents for math. Later he read to me out of his Ninjago book. 10 sentences without help which is great for him, he's dyslexic. He actually asked me today if he can practice reading every day which was trully a highlight of the day. I also read to him an article from the New Yorker about shipping from Russia to China in the arctic and about how in about 40 years you wil be able to canoe over the north pole, its warming so fast. He did his thank-yous after. Emily and Lucas are busy playing some adventure game with capes and suitcases downstairs during most of this time.
Next lunch and then 'clubbing' - my kids love to blast music and dance while I make lunch. After lunch we go ice skating in the back yard - it is sunny and about 32F, just perfect and we stay out for over an hour.
Emily has computer time this afternoon and she has 10-15 sites she can go and do learning activities and games - I'm struggling with this because one is really just a video game which I've always said 'no' to. But I sway with this because all their friends are into mindcraft etc. But I've haven't swayed too far yet. Later Emily and Shane both practiced piano and Lucas went to hockey practice. This is one of three home days per week for us where we don't have to go anywhere (except hockey 5-6pm).
I guess it doesn't seem like much. The kids all get read to each night before bed, they're all into the Lord of the RIngs right now. They get about 11 hours of sleep each night and lots of free play time.
It was a nice day. Later after they're in bed I will go for a walk. I also am going down now to workout before supper. It's a wonderful lifestyle but the only way I can keep up enough patience and creativity is to stay hcrv.
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It looks perfect but it is not. Like everybody we have some ups and downs. We are lucky that we have this neighbor's girl with whom Natalia can play but there is a downside to it too. Even though the girl is eating raw she is not vegan and not 80 10 10. These do not bother me so much. The worst is that she constantly eats or eats at different hours. My daughter sees that and come for food to me not because she is hungry but because the other girl eats. If the girl is not there Natalia never does that, many times she is even not able to eat what she asks for. This is very frustrating. But I guess I need to get used to it.
Happy Unschooling Day:)
My daughter Natalia is 3.5. We live in Costa Rica so we get up early. Today we got up at 5:30 am. Natalia was breastfeeding for about 20 minutes then she got her two drinking coconuts. She chose what to wear and dressed herself. After that we went to the garden when we planted some tomatoes, peppers, loroco flower, ocra, malabar spinach, pacific spinach because it is a planting time. Natalia helped me to put all seeds and transplants and she named all the plants name and color in Spanish, English and Polish (we are Polish). At about 7:30 we did some yoga exercises and after that about 8:30 Natalia had her breakfast, she ate some kaymitos and sugar cane and another drinking coconut. Then she went to play with her best friend who live next door. At about 11 we will eat lunch together some fruit of choice (papaya, guanabana, banana). Then she will play with her friend again, we will read some books together and maybe play some table games (her favorite is domino with fruit pictures) or she will watch Spanish or English language courses or maybe we will go to the beach. In-between Natalia will have her afternoon nap with breastfeeding and about 3 pm we will make a dinner salad. Natalia will cut some veggies. After a salad she will eat some fatty fruits (avocado, akee) or very young coconut meat or some seeds (chia, flax or hemp). After the diner Natalia will help me with washing the dishes. She washes and I dry them. At about 4:30 pm her father will take her for a walk. After that she will take a bath and about 6 pm we will go to bad with reading books and breastfeeding. During the day she will drink a lot of coconuts (about 5-8). That is our everyday routine. It does varies but in general it looks like that. Me in the spare time either work in the garden or work on the computer or read a book or exercise. For me it is a perfect balance and perfect routine which makes everybody happy:)
If only every child grew up with days like this!