Our Classrooms

As natural learners we understand that the whole world is a classroom ;) Here are some of Harriet's recent personal learning spaces.

The bathroom sink

Train table

Floor at friend's house

The bottom of a tree

Mummy's arm

A kitchen wall

Hallway window

Bathroom drawer

Window sill

in a little blue chair

herself

If you share pics of your childrens' classrooms this week, be sure to leave a link in the comments section so we can come check it out and say hi :)

When Wednesday

When the three year old "writes" the lesson plan...

Earlier this month we held a Naming Day for our new family member, to formally recognise her place in our world with friends and family. We decorated our lounge room with helium balloons. So many things were learned because of these balloons.

We learned about helium gas, silly voices, rising balloons, escaping balloons, and sinking balloons. Even now the balloons live on (albeit rather small and soft), continuing to provide stimulation to little minds.

One "lesson plan" Harriet created with the deflating helium balloons was a family tree. She assembled the balloons in an order that made sense to her, on the bathroom floor, and assigned familial titles to each balloon. It never would have occurred to me to carry out such an exercise. It thrills me how much more creative my unschooled three year old can be than her parents.

It was interesting trying to guess what it was about each balloon Harriet felt earned it the particular title it received. Also, rather amusing to discover the toilet as pictured above one evening. A close call for that particular family member!

Our Classrooms

As natural learners we understand that the whole world is a classroom ;) Here are some of the spaces Harriet transformed into her personal classrooms this week.

The lounge room mat

Mum's back

The park

Toy room

Daddy's arms

Herself

A cluster of balloons

The garden

The fridge

If you share pics of your childrens' classrooms this week, be sure to leave a link in the comments section so we can come check it out and say hi :)

Unschool Monday: It Really Works!

The past couple of weeks we have had the joy of seeing traditionally-defined "success" in our daughter's learning. Proof that unschooling works. This week, out of nowhere Harriet has started writing and identifying colours.

One afternoon she announced to her Dad that she had "done a H" while she was drawing in chalk on the driveway. We were amazed to find that she had indeed drawn the letter H. Since then she has been spotting H's wherever she goes. One day she saw a sign that said "Healthy" and announced "A H! 1, 2! 2 H." Counting and the alphabet, with no worksheets or flashcards, simply through engaging with the world everyday.

For years Harri has spoken about colours but not truly understood what colours are or been able to correctly identify a colour. Blue and purple were adjectives for a long time. We didn't feel the need to correct her, we trusted she would learn for herself (and also I wondered what I might say if I corrected her only to be met with "why?" or "what's purple?" LOL). Last week she tugged at my jumper, stopped to share her observations: "Brown and soft!" I had not been aware that "soft" was a word in her vocabularly, but there it was, being used correctly, along with the colour brown.

Our family loves the unschooling life. The theory fits our family well. To see the practical results in action is a thrilling cherry on top to our way of life/learning.

I'm joining in with Owlet's Unschool Monday.

Our Classrooms

As natural learners we understand that the whole world is a classroom ;) Here are some of the spaces Harriet transformed into her personal classrooms this week.

Lounge room floor

Supermarket

Kitchen bench

Daddy's shoulders

Playground ground

Baby sister's head

If you share pics of your childrens' classrooms this week, be sure to leave a link in the comments section so we can come check it out and say hi :)