My daughter is five years old, and on this day of homeschooling, we did mostly “unschooling” (basically teaching through life experiences instead of having a set curriculum).
Here is a list of things we did in one day:
- Electric cars – we talked about electric cars as we walked by them at Whole Foods in the parking lot. The discussion was why they can be important, how they work, and benefits to drivers of electric cars.
- Barrett Jackson Auto Show – this is an annual event in Scottsdale and when it’s here we frequently drive by it, which brought it up for discussion. On this day we discussed what it was, why, and antique cars.
- Colony Collapse Disorder – After seeing a bumble bee on a reusable shopping bag we discussed colony collapse disorder which involved what it is, theories about why it’s happening, and what we might do to help.
- Reading – She read words on signs at Whole Foods.
- Omega Fatty Acids – I’ve been diving deep into learning about omega fatty acids. While reading about them, Kamea asked me to tell her about them. So, we talked about the differences in them (n-6 vs n-3), their importance and health implications, and what foods have which.
- Physical movement – We climbed our stairs for 15 minutes, up and down.
- Rebounding – (more physical movement) rebounding on the Bellicon rebounder is a daily event when the TV is on. Bellicon is the BEST. (We get a lot of movement daily since we threw our couch away)
- Reading – She read a beginner book to me and did a math worksheet (we wouldn’t usually use a math worksheet with unschooling, but on occasion I like to check in with what she knows.
- Games (to learn math) – We played Yahtzee Jr, Monopoly Jr., and Play Nine where she practiced math without realizing it. Now, that’s unschooling.
- Art – She did a lot of art (that’s daily). She loves painting, drawing, stamps, and this DohVinci is a new fascination.
- Dolls – She played dolls with Greg, where used the opportunity to teach while playing.
That’s not all we did but that’s off the top of my head.
Oh: Here’s a great buy: I recently bought these refrigerator magnets to make reading and sentence formation way more fun than worksheets.
