unschooling

So I guess we started unschooling a little early.

Today would have been our last day of my six week curriculum. But Z had science class early so we didn't get everything done. And I didn't really care about doing it.

Z usually has afternoons to herself. This afternoon she asked me to play a game with her so we played Cadoo, which is a really cool game!

When we finished she wandered into her room and then came out and ask "Mommy, can we do some math?"

I warily asked "What kind of math?"

'Like we did yesterday, geometry and measuring angles." she said.

So we played the next game in the geometry book that had you trying to draw angles certain with only a ruler.

I wonder if this is how unschooling is going to be. LOL

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Today I was talking to some homeschooling mom friends with gifted kids. I was talking with them about my unschooling experiment and some of them are going to try it over the holidays too. One mom said that it was normal for kids to just want to play but when they got to be eleven or twelve they would start asking for more formal work.

And I said "Z was asking me to teach her when she was really young."

Then I felt weird for saying that because I really wasn't trying to brag. I was just really caught off guard by the idea that kids didn't ask to be taught math or reading or science until they were eleven.

Is Z really that different?

I mean I kind of get it that it is unusual for a five year old to initiate measuring angles with a protractor but it doesn't seem totally unlikely to me.

The whole exchange left me really wondering if Z is unusual even amoung other gifted kids for being academically inclinded.