What Canyon Taught Me Today!

(This is a double post from my "blessings" blog seen here: http://blessings4mama.blogspot.com/ )

What I learned from Canyon today is that I can slip deeper into my unschooling hat, and be comfortable.

We choose the unschooling way, and yes, we call ourselves "homeschoolers" as most people look at you like your a looney nut when you say the word "unschooler", like the deer in the headlight look, so it makes it easier in conversation. I started this fall by deciding that Canyon was of the preschool age, and that we would focus on preschool stuff to learn, as he leads it. I now understand, more than EVER, today, what unschooling really is about. Well, at least I'm partially half way there...:).

Canyon has quite a few learning software for his computer, and has been playing them since he was one year old. Starting with the baby/toddler Reader Rabbit, and then preschool and kindergarten Reader Rabbit, other preschool ones, various grade levels, and characters. I mostly let him play by himself, as it gives me a bit of time to myself to clean, and work...and even though he wants me to watch him play often, I like him to figure some of it out himself, and quite honestly, with my two year old, I just can't watch him ALL of the time! :O)

Anyway, If Canyon was to go to Public School, he would'nt even be in Kindergarten this year, as he turns 5 Nov 11, so blindly, I figured we'd keep with preschool stuff, and "venture" into Kindergarten stuff too. Really, with no set curricculum as our way, it's his computer learning games, video games, and worksheets and stuff I download of the internet (like mazes, his favorite right now), and our library that we rely on, and it's child led, which means when they want to know, we look it up and go with it, till they are interested in something else.

So this afternoon, Canyon wanted me to watch him play a new (old) game Dad found in the garage, Buzz Lightyears 2nd grade, something or the other, and since River was asleep, I watched him, and helped him through a few "problems" (math). He played this game last night for quite awhile by himself, and today a bit by himself, this was the first I'd seen of this game. I was SHOCKED! It has math, with double and triple digit equasions, I would say something like "ok, now you need to find 64, which number below is 64?", he would pick it out, and then we'd go on to 80, he'd pick the right number....I didn't know he could do that. I was just going through them saying "70 + 10 equals 80, so find the 80", and he'd have like 4 big numbers to choose from, and he'd pick it. Now, I've never taught him that, but he knew. A happy unschooling moment for mommy....

My blessing for today....When kid's WANT to know, they will find a way.

So now, I know that this unschool year, Canyon would be a kindergartner, easily! How do you define it really, though, when he knows some 1st and 2nd grade concepts? That's the beauty of homeschooling (unschooling), there are no lables!

Yeay Canyon!