Having a child with a high need for autonomy can be quite a challenge, but this is one area where it's made life a lot easier. She never pretends to be into something just for my sake! 😂 She adores some of her online classes (all of which she has picked) and is confident to say "I didn't enjoy that one". I think I'm pretty good at guessing what will be interesting to her now too. Something from my own journey: when we first started home edding (before I knew what unschooling was) we started learning Spanish and I thought how amazing it would be to both take a qualification in it. As it happened, I enjoyed Spanish far more than she did and am still learning and loving it, using Comprehensible Input rather than studying grammar. Out of curiosity, I took a look at some past papers for the qualification and it was SO DULL. It was all very dry and out of context from real life. Something that seemed so important a few years ago now seemed like a total waste of time when I could keep watching videos in Spanish about interesting topics. Much like with a lot of subjects I picked in sixth form college and university. They were fascinating until they were made testable.
It is so interesting to see how dull they make learning something when it can be so fun!! And I love your child's confidence and inner knowing. So many adults don't have that!!!
I loved listening to all of your thoughts on this issue. My daughter is 16 and wants to take some college Credit classes but just for her interests not necessarily to proceed to college. She wants live learning instead of computer learning. She also wants to be around more kids. She is branching out after doing alot of deschooling. Thanks again for this conversation. She is finding out who she is based on her passion and not someone elses. I just have to get out of the way.
My son follows an interest of only video games and a dark bedroom which lead to physical/health issues. I had to intervene on that. There isn't much of a "stop" button even when it influences his health at 13.
It sounds like there is a lot going on. 13 is a tough age and while they will often pull away if not understood, we can keep showing up and support them as best we can. I know it can be hard! It involves a lot of listening without judgment so that we can learn what things might be bothering them, what they love and how to help them live the life they want.
🌺🌸Thank you for this podcast, thank you...🌸🌺
Having a child with a high need for autonomy can be quite a challenge, but this is one area where it's made life a lot easier. She never pretends to be into something just for my sake! 😂 She adores some of her online classes (all of which she has picked) and is confident to say "I didn't enjoy that one". I think I'm pretty good at guessing what will be interesting to her now too.
Something from my own journey: when we first started home edding (before I knew what unschooling was) we started learning Spanish and I thought how amazing it would be to both take a qualification in it. As it happened, I enjoyed Spanish far more than she did and am still learning and loving it, using Comprehensible Input rather than studying grammar. Out of curiosity, I took a look at some past papers for the qualification and it was SO DULL. It was all very dry and out of context from real life. Something that seemed so important a few years ago now seemed like a total waste of time when I could keep watching videos in Spanish about interesting topics. Much like with a lot of subjects I picked in sixth form college and university. They were fascinating until they were made testable.
It is so interesting to see how dull they make learning something when it can be so fun!! And I love your child's confidence and inner knowing. So many adults don't have that!!!
I don't use curriculum. My children love hands on learning.
I loved listening to all of your thoughts on this issue. My daughter is 16 and wants to take some college Credit classes but just for her interests not necessarily to proceed to college. She wants live learning instead of computer learning. She also wants to be around more kids. She is branching out after doing alot of deschooling. Thanks again for this conversation. She is finding out who she is based on her passion and not someone elses. I just have to get out of the way.
Yes! It's so amazing to watch them organically figure out what works for them!
My son follows an interest of only video games and a dark bedroom which lead to physical/health issues. I had to intervene on that. There isn't much of a "stop" button even when it influences his health at 13.
It sounds like there is a lot going on. 13 is a tough age and while they will often pull away if not understood, we can keep showing up and support them as best we can. I know it can be hard! It involves a lot of listening without judgment so that we can learn what things might be bothering them, what they love and how to help them live the life they want.