Eclectic misfits check in here ...

I thought there needed to be a thread for those of who are somewhere in the middle...

You're not an unschooler, and you really aren't a school-at-homer. You have a basic plan for your child's education, and you do use a mixed bag of curriculum custom picked for your kids needs and abilities... You are flexible and not afraid to change plans when illnesses or "life" interferes in your school day, or your child wants to spend the day helping Daddy remodel the kitchen... You don't have a real "schedule" you start your day when you are good and ready. Generally in a good week you manage to cover all subjects sufficiently, and do a load or two of laundry...

[erinee]

Well, I checked in under "relaxed/unschooler", but I think I fit in better here. I'm using so many things. It's been so much fun looking at everything and deciding on the best plan for us.

Actually this DOES sound like "unschooling", or "relaxed" schooling! Doing wht works best for the family!

[BluegrassMama]

that's our description!

I think I'm kinda here too. LOL!!

Our mornings are so flexible right now and I have the afternoon set aside for school time. I do keep a structured time for school each day. That's where we fit in the "school-at-home" group b/c I do use curriculums/worksheets. However, if something comes up and we need to take the afternoon off, I've FINALLY learned to relax and go with the flow.

[ArmsOfLove]

I guess I think of unschoolers as those who intentionally embrace unschooling, not people like me who end up being unschoolers by default on busy days Now, I totally believe thatc children can learn great with unschooling--and the last 8 months of my life hold that up to be true! But my style of homeschooling is normally a bit more structured than that

So I'll check in here

I'm also sort of an "unintentional unschooler", but I like having some sort of curriculum/plan to help keep ME on-track. That's one reason I'm really leaning towards a unit study based curriculum next year so I don't wind up beating myself up every day when I don't get Points 1, 2 and 3 covered on the "right" day.

Compared to my SIL, who is a very strict school-at-home Abeka user, we're probably totally truant!

[CelticJourney]

Eclectic misfits describes us pretty well

Ah, this thread fits me well! I checked in under the school-at-home thread, but that doesn't fit me quite as well because we aren't super-structured. We use a combination of resources for learning and we are definitely not afraid to stray from a schedule. And dd is very likely to do several weeks worth of math, just as an example, in a very short amount of time (like a few days) and then not want to look at math again for a month and I'm very okay with that approach to learning.

[Teribear]

Well if you read my intro in the unschoolers thread you probably already know that I really do belong here. LOL! I agree philosophically with unschooling not because I had any great faith in it to begin with but because I saw how well she was doing in spite of me.

So here's to "misfits"

Originally Posted by Chris3jam

Actually this DOES sound like "unschooling", or "relaxed" schooling! Doing wht works best for the family!

But some families do very well with a structured "school-at-home" approach. You wouldn't call this unschooling, would you?

LOL! I guess I'm in this category too. We loosely follow the Well Trained Mind and other classical models, but use a variety of resources.

Originally Posted by Cindy

But some families do very well with a structured "school-at-home" approach. You wouldn't call this unschooling, would you?

I consider homeschooling "doing what's best for the family". Then under that broad category, you have the different "hows" of homeschooling -- school-at-home, relaxed schooling and unschooling. I think, technically, "eclectic" homeschooling could fall under any of those 3 sub-categories...even school-at-home... because it's possible for people to do that but not use one curriculum exclusively, KWIM?

But some families do very well with a structured "school-at-home" approach. You wouldn't call this unschooling, would you?

Actually, I kind of would, in my own *personal* dictionary of terms. "Schooling", to me, is institutionalizing the children to be programmed to be a cog in the great machinery of commerce and finance of the world system (which is sort of what I got from reading Gatto). That is not to say that some children do very well within those parameters (but that's another discussion). So, therefore, to me, "unschooling" is NOT institutionalizing the children to be programmed to be a cog in the great machinery of commerce and finance. If doing worksheets floats your boat, by all means, use 'em! My son has asked for worksheets. No problem. Some children need more structure. That's not a problem. Some children need less. The more we, as a family, do this, the more I see that my children need freedom within boundaries. Structure? Hmmmmm. I don't know. And the parameters change as they grow and learn. But, as I put in my post in "Unschooling", are we "unschoolers"? Or aren't we? The lines are blurry, and whatever works for the family, to me, is "unschooling". I just, personally, equate government run institutions (public schools) with schooling. Anything else is "unschooling". In my mind. Weelll, ok, and maybe following someone else's curriculum so strictly as to not allow for anything else whatsoever (even if it's not working for the child), too. But, then again, I am probably not the sharpest tool in the toolbox, either! (oh, my poor kids!) Maybe it's wrong, but it's what got stuck in my mind (kinda like gum at the bottom of a shoe).

Sounds like "homeschooling" to me!