Forced Learning

 Worry weighs a person down, an encouraging word cheers a person up.  -Proverbs 12:25

Forced learning is not passion fueled, exciting pursuit to know and understand.  Forced learning is for someone else's benefit.  Joy, engagement, and interests spurs actual learning.  Each of us has experienced this.  (Some more than others.)  Just think about the last topic you were excited to learn more about recently.  This is where we become individuals instead of a conformed group.  Pause today and allow experiential, authentic learning to take over your homeschool, your life, your mindset. 

Alice in Wonderland Themed Murder Mystery Birthday

 What do a 13th year old birthday party and authentic learning have in common? 

A lot when you stumble up on an idea and develop it to capture all your passions and interests to form a fun celebration of turning 13.  Which is exactly what my daughter did recently.  

Today, I want to explore all the authentic learning that took place with the creation of this one event for 2 reasons.  First, because I love dissecting learning.  Second, in the past couple of months I have experienced many inquiries into unschooling and what that looks like in the day to day.  While as I have said several times, there is no average day, I believe a glimpse into how diving into one fantastical idea reveals how unschooling works for us.  

A couple months before her birthday, GM came to me with the idea of a murder mystery birthday party.  She LOVES to plan events and create, so I knew this was a path we must investigate.  Of course, I had seen pictures of friends and older kids having these types of parties but I was unfamiliar with the format.  I reached out to a friend for advice on how to begin planning one.  She pointed us to Etsy where you can buy a PDF with all the things needed.  So I sent GM to research and find what she could discover with the stipulation that we would need to set a budget for this party.  Not a problem.  She got right to work.  

Excitement filled our house when she uncovered a murder mystery party packet with an Alice in Wonderland theme.  GM loves fairytales (real not Disney) and stories so this was a perfect fit as it was designed for 14 and up participants.  Once this was purchased the wheels began turning.  She spent an entire weekend downloading and printing all the pieces she needed from the packet.  Hand scripting the printed invitations, addressing envelopes correctly, texting friends a month in advance to check availability, then communicating with friends to secure their choice of character about a month out from the day of the event.   Pause here to look at the learning taking place:  research, budgeting, communication, handwriting, spelling, planning, computer skills.

The next weekend, we spent time finding her outfit as this was a costume party.  Trying on at least 50 dresses, she finally settled on one that was perfect although we were unsure of its fit since this particular store did not allow the fitting room to be open.  (Thanks C-19).  More budgeting was factored in as we bought the dress and began to gather supplies for the party.   Another aspect of learning that took place is navigating as I had her locate and create directions to the stores we visited.    

The next week, we met for coffee where we mind-mapped the parts to the party.  This included the things that had been covered and those that still needed to be addressed.  Here she was able to set goals and express desires for things like a 12 cup tea set as well as menu adjustments.  

Down to the last week before the party, she had 2 guests back out from attending.  Facing a set back she rose to the challenge as I helped her problem solve what course of action to take next.  She ended up inviting 3 friends she had met over the past month and accommodating for an extra player.  Scrambling to get the invitations to them, have them choose their characters, as well as gather the food and last minute supplies, she worked well under a deadline.  Pause again to visit the learning: communication, goal setting, problem solving, budgeting, navigation, time management, writing. 

Now the day of the event was stressful.   With the menu set, she began cooking the 4 course meal that would be served.  Doubling and tripling the recipes to accommodate for the number of guests she would serve was an easy feat as GM has been baking for years and years.  She researched to find proper way to set the table for the meal and tea.  Then created the table and set up the decorations for the event.  

As guests arrived, she introduced them to each other as these were friends who may or may not have met before.  Everyone was pleasant and excited to participate in the party.  Reading through the rules and "acting" out the scenes kept everyone engaged.  All the girls (ages 12-15) were surprised when the 3 hour party and mystery came to an end.  An amazing time was had by everyone.  

Last time pause to look at the learning:  social communication, attention to detail, engagement, knowledge of event, math, reading, research. The best was GM found a way to tie her love of event planning, fairy tale stories, formal dress up, cooking, baking, and creating together for her friends and herself.  The awareness she possesses of herself and her preferences is beyond her 13 years.  

Water

 She is water

Soft enough to offer life

Tough enough drown it

-Rupi Kaur

Basically, be kind but remain strong.  

Experiential Learning

 

Experiential learning is my new lens for how we are homeschooling.  Borrowing on the unschooling philosophy of letting interest lead your learning, but adding the intentional hands-on approach of project learning to the mix is my goal for 2021.  

Both my 15 year old son and 13 (well almost 13) year old daughter are fully invested in experiential learning.  What does that mean?  

Well, for them it means running their own businesses focused on interests and services needed in our community.  With this businesses experience, we are reading business books, maintaining spreadsheets for costs and income, creating marketing ads, negotiating with clients, developing websites, setting prices.  Notice I say we.  This is because I am invested in helping them navigate these murky waters that many adults feel are intimidating.  

What an amazing opportunity to be learning by doing.  What a blessing they are not stuck in an old system of learning.  Instead they are each living, learning, creating, collaborating, and discussing within our family but also within our community (the real world).  How naturally they are drawn to the things that are important and key to their lives.  In turn flourishing into the individuals that God designed them to be.  Which fortunately allows each time and space to know themselves, their preferences, their desires, their likes and dislikes.  

I am thrilled to be the one on this path with them.  

Authentic

When you are open and honest about your life and pursuits things have a way of working out. My eyes have been opened to this recently and looking back at the past year, no matter how tough it was, there was so many silver linings to living authentically.  

My daughter who is a creative at heart, loves making any and everything.  Her Christmas gifts included baking tools, dress form with pattern paper and pins, specialty nail polish, monthly makeup subscription, as well as a monthly maker crate of crafts.  After mentioning her desire to begin sewing more and creating patterns in a yoga class, a couple ladies approached me.  One was a retired home economics teacher and the other a retired pattern designer.  Both expressed a desire to help her if she needed anything on her journey in sewing.  Then a couple nights ago, one of the ladies brought her 2 pattern and design books.  She was over the moon excited.  

My son had such a similar experience.  He and his fishing partner won the state bass fishing championship which qualifies them to compete at the national competition in the summer of 2021.  Wanting to earn money for the expenses, he offer to help families in the community with yard work and dump runs   Seeing his post, some nearby family friends offered to have him help with lawn work which kept him busy 1-3 days a week learning skills not only in lawn care, but communicating with others, and developing a strong work ethic.  Families in our community were also quick to request his dump run service, thus supporting his endeavors.  

These are just two examples of the heartwarming responses our family received by being authentic and open to others in our daily lives.  

What a great life.  Remember to sit back, enjoy some coffee as you ponder the blessings that have come into your life as you truly live.

New Year New Planner

 

Each year, I try to get a planner or planner system that will fit my goals and needs for the upcoming year.  In complete honesty 2020's planner was a hodgepodge of bullet journal, big planner, notes, and mess so fitting for the year.  This year with a little more clarity on where I want to focus and what my goals are I chose a traveler's notebook.  While, I have used this system in the past and even created my own (link to how to create), this is my first time with so many individual journals. 

This notebook contains a pouch for my pens, envelope for my notes or receipts, folder pockets, and slots for business cards. The best part is I am able to place 6 journals within this one notebook.  Narrowing my plans and notes down to 6 areas of my life was difficult being a multipotentialite.  (A multipotentialite is a person who has many different interests and creative pursuits in life. Multipotentialites have no “one true calling” the way specialists do.)   Somehow, I managed to do this.  The 6 journals include a calendar, notes on our homeschool/unschool, family resources, and then one for my son, my daughter, and myself.

I plan to use this accordingly.  A calendar is obviously for appointments, deadlines, activities, meeting, and all things scheduled. The journal on our homeschool/unschool is a landing place for ideas, games, books, interests, and activities we are or might enjoy together.  This also gives me space to record learning that is happening through notes, lists, or mind maps.  The family resource journal is a spot for sizes, needs, desires, favorites, subscriptions, goals, and doctor visit schedule (you know the dentist sneaks up on me every-time or I can't remember the date of the last yearly physical which can't be done twice in one year or insurance refuses to pay),  Then individual notebooks for each of my kids.  This, hopefully, will allow me a space to record classes, activities, involvement, business plans and ventures, contacts, individual mind maps, goals, and ideas. I find that our relaxed, unschool-y approach to high school will rely heavily on the notes I take on their individual and group learning.  I usually move this information to a spreadsheet for the transcript but until then I need the notes so I can capsulate all the learning that happens everyday for each teen.  Finally, the journal for myself holds goals, projects, homeschool support group leader notes, books read, tracking for personal goals, yoga schedule ideas, and work information for the part-time teaching I do to help homeschool families.  

I am very excited to begin this planner system and pray it host a organized, productive year after a year of slow time, mismatched activities, uncertainty, and perspective shifts.  

Perspective in Learning

 

Last week, I wrote about perspectives and how it makes a difference in the way you see things.  Homeschooling, learning, education also have an element of perspective.  

When I have my "school" glasses on, I see learning differently.  With "school" glasses, I mean visualizing the learning through subjects, memorization, and isolated understanding.  The perspective I have is one of lacking.  I see what my kids don't know, haven't learned, can't understand.  Yet when I remove the glasses, thus shifting my perspective, I move to abundance, seeing more knowing, learning, understanding.  Sitting with each of them,  I observe all they are truly accomplishing interconnected in everyday living.  This is true learning as they synthesize and grow, instead of performing rote tasks for some outside influence.  

What perspective do you have on learning today?