Full Steam Ahead!

Wow, here we are officially (or have offically planned to stay) a school-free family! And I'm happy to be jumping on the blogging bandwagon at last, posting about one of my favourite topics- learning. Oh woops, before I get carried away, I had better introduce the afforementioned family (members) to you :) I'm Blogmum, solo parent to Mr Four and Ms One.

After thoughtfully investigating many avenues of education for Mr Four since his birth, I'm confident unschooling is the best way to go, not only for Mr Four but for our entire family. It's a relief to have made the commitment, now I feel I can relax and enjoy the continuum of our family life. Looking forward to the continuing opportunities for fun, interest and adventure... as I'm sure loads more await us!

I use the term unschooling because ''homeschooling'' and ''home education''' implies that all learning happens at home, that it happens via a teacher/student dynamic, and that it's like school-like in structure. None of the above are true for us. What we do together doesn't replicate school in any way.

Human beings are learning at every moment, and I believe learning happens naturally, so with that in mind I see my role as a facilitator or guide rather than a teacher. It's humbling to say to my kids openly and honestly ''I don't know the answer to that question, but how about we find out together?'' Choosing life learning doesn't mean I perceive myself to be ''above'' university-trained teachers. It means that I trust my kids to learn at their own pace, and in their own ways, and I think it's ok for them to know that no one person has all the skills or answers. We live in a country where we are lucky to have access to excellent resources- individuals, libraries, the internet, nature reserves, education centres, museums, dvds, television programs, workshops and more, so we make great use of these and will continue to do so.

By chosing life learning for our family, I want my children to be able to experience as much of their world as possible. There's a common misconception that most home educating families do so for religious reasons, or to control their child. I certainly don't, nor do the local families I know who have decided to unschool. I feel that by having the freedom to learn from many different people, and in many places, my children will have richer lives.

I think unschooling is especially optimal for Mr Four who is shy and intimidated by group situations. He takes quite a while to warm up and feel comfortable with new people, and that's with me there supporting him. I believe sending him to school alone, for 5 days per week at this time, would be ultimately damaging. His independence is growing slowly, but I see my role as nurturing that in a gentle way, rather than pushing him into frightening experiences.

I learn alongside my kids because I'm inspired to do so, and in turn, our experiences inspire me to continue. I look forward to blogging about our lives and reading about the lives of others, to keep record of the wonderful things we get up to (for personal and registration purposes) but also to help build a strong, supportive network of unschoolers in Australia, and even world wide.

Until next time, wishing you all joyous learning with your families!

Blogmum.