Why I Will Never Call Myself an Unschooler

Why are people so critical of other people's parenting without having clue one as to why what works for them may not work for others?

I just read a blog post by an unschooler about how parents these days are unnecessarily micromanaging their children's water consumption, which posits that doing so will result in kids divorced from their own thirst cues. This post, which probably had the vast majority of readers nodding in agreement, annoyed me no end because it assumes all kids and all families are best served by laissez faire, restriction or direction free parenting. But like everything else, parenting is not One Size (or Method) Fits All.

I am one of the horrid hydration haranguers that the abovementioned post despises.

You wanna know why?

My kid has sensory processing disorder. He *never* feels thirsty, and, left to his own devices, would pass out from dehydration before he voluntarily drank a sip.

I spend far more time than any same person would want to concerned about someone else's fluid intake, and I do it because the alternative is watching my kid pass out, throw up, or develop heat exhaustion.

So, if my nagging about water offends the unschoolers I come into contact with, sorry, but I just don't care. Because my kid's health and safety mean far more to me that your acceptance, or being able to assume the cool parent label.

I *do not* and *will not* call myself an unschooler precisely because of the narrow minded sanctimonious harping on other people's parenting found one one particular unschooling list, where people with kids with anaphylactic allergies were lambasted as horrid parents and failures as unschoolers for restricting their kids from imbibing their allergens. OK, so hate me for that too. I care more about my kid not ceasing to breathe after ingesting gluten or dairy than I do about my unschooling badge of coolness.

If allowing your kids unfettered freedom to choose their diets and control their fluid intake works for you, then realize you are in the extremely lucky majority who have kids for whom diet and drink are inherently not hazardous. Do your thing, be happy, and don't pass judgment on people whose situation you know *nothing* about.

Just one more reason I refer to us as eclectic, even though a good percentage of what we do is interest based, child directed learning...

A Day at the Park

Firsts: sliding down on his belly, backwards; climbing a tree (not a very difficult tree, but for a kid with sensory issues who doesn't enjoy being off the ground or off balance, this is progress, woo hoo!). And, to top off the day, there were bubbles!

At Nature Class

Today's class took us into a swampy area to study the vegetation and critters there. The kids also collected insects and snails. Afterwards, we had picnic lunch and playtime at the park.











We saw an American Kestrel hovering over the meadow and diving for prey.





I was exhausted, but Mikro was ready to romp in the yard when we got home.







Rolling on a ball like this is a good sensory diet activity. He doesn't know that. He just thinks it's fun.

Happy New Year!

Wishing us all joy, health and peace in 2008!









Signs of progress: first time my noise sensitive SPD kid relished making earsplitting noise.

Making Clay

Our nearby county park has a wonderful Nature Center which runs free educational programs on the weekends. They also host the Homeschool Nature Class that Mikro attends. Today, we went to this:

THE CLAY OF CROTON

Details: Native American residents of Croton Point made pots from the abundant clay beds of Croton Point. Follow in their footsteps by learning about Native American pottery traditions.

We started off by harvesting fragments of oyster shells near the river.



Then we ground them into powder with a rock.



Next, we ground lumps of clay into powder. (It was too cold today to go dig it out, unfortunately... so we used some that Scott had on hand.)



Then we mixed the powdered clay and shells with some Hudson River sand, added water, and made clay. Messy, but so much fun!

We got to make something with our clay-- Kev did a pinch pot, and I did a little bird, which park naturalist Scott tells me looks like a whippoorwill. Mikro Mr. Sensory chose to watch rather than get his hands all goopy.





Next Thursday is our last Homeschool Nature Class until mid-January, and the kids are going to get to do this clay project. Hopefully Mikro will be more willing to participate then, since he seems bound and determined to keep up with the other kids...