There's more to un-schooling than the lack of school

I was thinking about my recent rants on un-schooling and wondering how many of you now see me as deprived. I wanted to share with you some of the things that we've replaced school with. I'd love to hear your comments, as usual. This isn't meant to be a Christmas letter of accomplishments of my family (not at all!) but an example of all of the fun and educational things that un-schoolers can have the opportunity to do.

Reading:
My mother is always reading us a book. We all listen. For many years, Joey, Sabrina, Birdie and I would all listen. When Joey moved out, he'd only listen some of the time (whenever he was around.) We've had several non-Pleasants listen in to several books. My mother is good at reading aloud and picks good books. Children who are read aloud to never grow out of enjoying it. See my "books my mother read to me" page for a complete archive.


Traveling:
One of the very best things about unschooling is our ability to travel. Traveling has taught me more than I can measure and I'm not even sure how. It has certainly given or increased my love for people, geography, language and dialect, transportation, museums, historical landmarks, nature and cuisine. The first thing traveling taught me was how to get along with your family in close quarters (knowledge I've been able to use many times since!) My favorites are probably those we went to during the school year. :)
We've lived in Manchester Connecticut, two towns in Haiti and lots of different towns in Texas.
We have visited approximately thirty of the fifty states.

Working together:
Most children today grow up with experiences of working together with other school students on assigned projects, but very little experience working with their family and people of other ages. We were always quite the opposite, and I am very thankful for the time I've spent helping my parents and siblings. I have moved nine times (if I've kept track correctly) and we have done major remodeling to almost every house we've lived in, plus houses of family and friends who need help. Moving in and of itself is a big opportunity to work together! Construction has given me many happy childhood memories and I love the smell of sawdust! We have also done a whole lot of landscaping over the years. My mother is a miracle worker in this area and has transformed many ugly yards into beautiful paradises. Over the past few years we have also done lots of gardening. We participated in a protest in Washington DC together, first traveling all over the country collecting teddy bears that represented children in the adoption process in Haiti. We cook, clean and learn together every day. We have taken care of our younger siblings, learning how to change diapers, feed infants, entertain small children etc. One of the most important things I think we ever did together was mission work in Haiti. We've even co-written books and plays!


Playing together:
Playing together and working together often overlap. When we're together, we usually have fun no matter what. But of course, we do do things just for fun. When we were younger, this involved a lot of make-believe. A whole lot! Also, making movies and putting on plays (one of my very favorite things we ever did!) And exploring woods and creeks, hiking. Building forts, playing games. Throwing parties, tea-parties, slumber parties, having poetry-readings and late-night "kitchen adventures." Writing letters to each other! Reading to each other (yay for The Series of Unfortunate Events!) Playing dress up, even today for photo shoots. Taking lots of walks together. Playing in the canoe. Doing many crafts together, making lots of messes. Randomly doing science experiments in the kitchen. Shopping together. Sitting around, drinking tea and philosophizing together. Debating, lots of debating and teasing. Watching many movies together both at the theater and at home. Going to see plays, visiting museums.

Taking up hobbies:
The hobbies we have all taken up individually are a really interesting way to learn about each of my siblings. Some of them have been writing novels, poetry, plays and non-fiction, photography, painting, pottery, ballroom dance, ballet, gymnastics, soccer, basketball, flag football, cheer-leading, gardening, cooking, baking, drawing, reading, carpentry, exploration, acting, filming and editing movies, babysitting, tennis, photoshop, sewing, book binding, candle making, starting our own blogs (obviously) and ministries, participating in church, bible studies, youth group etc, volunteering in childrens' ministry and nursery at church, swimming (for fun, in lessons and on a swim team,) plus all of the other things I've mentioned in "work" and "play." Don't let anyone tell you that if you don't go to school, you'll miss out on opportunities or have no opportunities for social interaction! The world is at your fingertips, O fellow home-educated ones!

Basically, our lives consist of eating together, working together, learning together, growing together, sharpening one another, loving each other.
Un-schooling is about living life and loving ones family. It is a goal: to live a full of life, learning as much as you can along the way.

Everly
photo credit to Birdie