This blog is going to be an adventure, an unschooling adventure staring Emma. Emma and I (Emma's Mama) will be the main contributors, but we plan to rope in Da and Gramma to do some of the posts as well. After all, they play a big roll in her unschooling also.
Here is a little intro about each of us:
Emma (6)- "I like horses, and My Little Ponies, and unicorns, and Bella Sara stuff."
Mama (aka Tina)- I love my family, and crafting, and recycling, and reading, healthy cooking and horses.
Da (aka Jared)- "I like stuff."
Gramma (aka Karen)- I will leave this blank for Gramma to fill in :)
There are of course many other wonderful (and not so wonderful) people out there that have (and will) contribute to Emma's education, living is learning after all. I thought it best, however, if we stick with the three (well four because Emma teaches herself), of us for this page.
Why unschooling?
Jared and I decided to unschool Emma for many different reasons, the biggest being that I am selfish. I don't want anyone else spending all day with Emma, watching her learn and grow as a person.
Sure, we would get nights and weekends with her, but that isn't enough for me. I want to be the one to see her face light up as she realizes that she can indeed read, or that she can add 2+2, or any of the other wonderful things she will learn over the years.
There are other reasons, aside from my selfishness.
-We will be moving around every two years or so once Jared is back in the Air Force, and I think that it would be hard to adjust to all the different levels of education out there. If we are the ones to "teach" her, the lessons will always be on par with her capabilities. She won't be behind, or ahead, she will be right on.
-We like to travel and visit family. And we like to drive to do that. School vacations don't really fit into that way of life.
-We love that we can teach Emma based on what her interests are. Right now, her love is horses. Did you know that you can use horses to teach math, geography, biology, English, history, etc? It truly is amazing what a child can learn when the subject matter is something that interests them.
-If we decide to enroll her in a bunch of different activities (horse lessons, swimming, gymnastics, art, music, 4H), we don't have to cram her schedule full trying to fit them in around school. 4 or 5 activities for her will be much easier to manage compared to 4 or 5 activities for a child in school with homework every night.
Not everyone will agree with our decision, but thankfully, our family and those who matter to us do.
We hope you enjoy our unschooling adventure as much as we will!
Boppa (Warren), Gramma (Karen), Auntie Sara, Da, Emma, Mama
p.s. Emma came up with the name for the blog while her, Da, and I were brainstorming, and we loved it!
