Unschooling

While we normally use the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling, now and then we take a week off from that and do a week of unschooling. If you don't know what unschooling is, look at this website, or Google it to find lots more information. But basically it's learning that's completely child-directed. The parent functions primarily as a facilitator, helping the child to find things related to their interests.

I'm always amazed by how much Lucy learns during these unschooling weeks. Here's an example of what she did during a recent week off:

1. Read two classic books: Cinderella, and The BFG, by Roald Dahl
2. Created a Vivaldi notebook page
3. Made a garden in the driveway, which involved dumping a bunch of dirt in the driveway and planting weeds and nuts in it.
4. Played with Legos a lot
5. Made a pioneer journal
6. Invented a game which involved me hiding addition flashcards and her answering them when she found them.
7. Figured out that she already new her times 10 and times 11 facts