I dunno where she got that....

I thought, when I started this blog, that I'd be writing more often about our actual unschooling experiences, about teaching and learning. The thing is, I don't feel like I'm really doing much, and what I am doing is so scattered it's difficult to summarize.

Phonics lessons occur about 30 times daily for 30-90 seconds each, and use, for materials: street signs, letter blocks, the TV show Between the Lions, the signs or letters or menus Anya is writing that day, the LeapPad, her software games, boring car rides, one reading primer, food packages, and refrigerator magnets.

Arithmetic is a little tough, because Anya does not like to be quizzed, nor to be taught in a really obviously educational way. We play the game Sorry! in which you can split up a "7" between two of your pawns, and I'm thinking maybe we'll introduce "house rules" that let you split 10's one game, 12's another time, etc. It seems to be one way to get addition into our daily lives. I should perhaps just buy one of those commercial arithmetic card games.

Speaking of Sorry!, I've been surprised how strategic Anya can be. We both think out loud while playing, and she's getting positively devious, I tell you. Similarly she is getting the strategy of Uno, pointing out, for instance, that she knows I don't have any green cards because I had to draw a card last time a green card was up. This isn't something they test in school, but learning "strategery" (to use the president's word) seems very important to me. It teaches you how to think ahead, make educated guesses, weigh the chances of future events, consider what someone else may be thinking, and make plans. It's incredibly useful, and yet no one will ever ask me, "So what grade level do you think Anya's at as far as strategizing?" Homeschooled kids probably learn loads of stuff that no one outside the close circle of friends and family would ever think to ask about, let alone give credit for.

I'm thinking that for "phys ed," in addition to occasional gymnastics lessons, membership at our rec center (for the pool), and backyard games, it would be cool to take up yoga, qi gong, tai chi, or similar with my kids. For me the point of phys ed is not to learn sports, it's to learn to use your body. Personally I think yoga teaches you far more control, balance, breathing, posture, and so on than standing by the wall praying you don't get slammed with the dodgeball (whoever invented that game must have been a miserable, bitter person). Of course we'll also be playing catch and badminton (although not with rules) to develop reflexes. I worry a little about the physical side because I am so sports-phobic myself.

Oh, and as for the title of this post-- a couple of days ago Anya was rolling a basketball around, and she put her finger about 3/4 of the way to the top and said "This is where we live," and then, moving her finger south a couple of inches, "...and this is Florida." We discussed where Santa Claus, penguins, and red-eyed tree frogs live, and that it is always summer at the equator. The thing is, I have no clue where she learned about the globe. I tried to explain it to her a few times when she was too young to really understand, and it made her mad. She claims she's known about the planet being round and where we live on this sphere "for years, Mom!" She hasn't, but naturally I didn't argue. It's yet another mystery.

She's quite interested in weather, which is great because I like being an amateur meteorologist and my dad actually took a training session so he could send in storm reports. (One time the National Weather Service even called him up to ask about a squall line that had passed through nearby... we were all geeked.) Anya and I sit down in front of the Weather Channel or the Weather Underground website fairly often, and Anya is learning the symbols, such as the tropical storm symbol vs. the hurricane symbol. We did not discuss Katrina, though. There is no way to explain an F-3 tornado 200 miles wide without inducing nightmares.

Anyway, if anyone has suggestions for strategy games you think a 5-year-old might be able to play, please drop me a comment! Chinese checkers is next on my list, we'll see how that goes.