I am reading the bool "Homeschooling our children, Unschooling ourselves." I am not even halfway through it yet but it did give the a good idea that I can use during our five week unschooling experiment. The idea is to write down what they are learning instead of worrying about what subject matter they might be missing.
So it is 9:30 in the morning of our first day of unschooling and this is what we have done:
Talked about squirrels, watched them from the window, identified them as omnivores, identified that nuts grow in trees, hypothesized what the squirrel was looking at.
Saw two beagles, hypothesized they might be twins and because of pink leashes they might be girls. Saw a wild Siamese cat.
Looked up squirrels in Wikipedia and learned that they are in the
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata (they have a tail)
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Rodentia
Family:
Sciuridae (squirrels, woodchucks, others)
Then we also looked up Beagles and Siamese cats on Wikipedia.
Z decided that the animals she is most like (or her totem animal) is a cat and the cat she is most like is a Siamese cat because they have blue eyes. She read this about them:
“Siamese are affectionate and intelligent cats, renowned for their social nature. They enjoy being with people and are sometimes described as "extroverts." They are extremely vocal, with a loud, low-pitched voice that has been compared to the cries of a human baby, and persistent in demanding attention. They usually get on well with other cats, though they tend to be somewhat dominant, but they also have a great need for human companionship. Often they bond strongly to a single person. These cats are typically active and playful, even as adults.”
She decided that sounds even more like her.
She decided we should keep a log of all the animals seen this morning and she learned about making a tally (four marks and crossing off with the fifth.)
Her log: (with numbers instead of tallied)
Squirrles 2 (one named Squrriel Nutkin)
Little Birds ? 4
Doves - 9
Beagles - 2
Cats - 2
Siamese cat - 1
Watched an episode of Charlie and Lola to practice her British accent for her voice over class.
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2 comments:
It sounds like a day of wonder, exploration and natural learning
I am looking forward to reading more about this unschooling experiment. Two books about squirrels you might like. Chessie the Long Island Squirrel follows the seasons (which I love) and relates the story of a baby squirrel. The illustrations are enchanting. You never see baby suirrels and for some reason this fascinates me. Also I just picked up a copy of Ranger Rick March 2004. It has a four page spread about baby squirrels. Nutmeg and Barley: A Budding Friendship might be a bit too young for Z. I loved the book despite the fact that we have one huge loud squirrel in our attic!
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