Posted in Critical Thinking
We all know that there are many different ways to homeschool; some choose to homeschool the way they do, due to state restrictions; some choose to homeschool the way they do because they like structure and schedules; and some choose to homeschool the way they do because they like the freedom of being able to go on unscheduled trips, etc, at the drop of a pin. The point is, we all have differing reasons as to why we do it the way we do. This is a story about why we choose to unschool.Contrary to popular belief, unschooling is anything but the lazy person's version of homeschooling. In fact, not to disparage those who homeschool in a more classical sense, but I honestly believe unschooling is more difficult. I do not have a curriculum that tells me what to teach my wee one, when. Nor do I have the printables already created for me, and so forth. Again, I am not disparaging classical homeschoolers...this is the way we choose to homeschool...and the following is but one of the many reasons.
I had been trying for weeks to teach my wee one multiplication, beyond the simple basics. He understood the concept behind basic multiplication, but beyond that, zilch. There were days that we both felt frustration, and had to walk away from it for the rest of the day. Yesterday, I decided to print out some multiplication worksheets, and hoped for the best. We were both full of sunshine, so surely it would be a good day, right?
Well....it didn't take long before the frustrations began. The last thing I wanted to do, was to fight, so I offered him the only other worksheet I had printed out...division. I didn't expect him to even understand it, but I thought it would at least introduce him to the concept. I left him so I could go switch out some laundry, and received quite a shock, when I came back to check on him. Not only did he understand the concept, he got every problem correct! I was beyond shocked! I truly never expected that he would "get it". I decided that since he seemed to understand it, we would come into the computer room, and do some division problems on the easel. He answered those problems correctly too! At that point, I decided I would see if he still understood the concept, when doing mental math. So, I began asking him division equations. He ticked off the correct answer, every time. I just cannot begin to convey how astounded I was.
Since it was very apparent that he understood division, and well, I thought I would have him attempt to do the multiplication worksheets again. BINGO! He understood it completely! I don't know what happened, or what we did, that he so easily understood division, while struggling with multiplication, but it worked! I am guessing that in his understanding the division concept so clearly, he was able to apply it to the multiplication, making it where he finally understood it well. Today we have been doing division/multiplication mental math, as well as on the chalkboard. We even did "fast" math, going between addition, subtraction, multiplication & division. Of 30 problems, he only missed two.
Not bad, for a just turned 7 year old.
And this is why we unschool. Classically, he should have been taught multiplication first, and not until he had that concept down well, should he have even been introduced to division. I can only imagine how much, and for how long, he would have struggled, had we gone about it classically. Unschooling allows us the freedom to "do it backwards"...and sometimes, as evidenced here...it works!
Posted by 
