Makana's first chapter book - Pony Pals - No Ponies in the House! by Jeanne Belancourt

Makana occasionally picks up chapter books like the Happy Hollisters or Pony Pals or Santa Paws and brings them to bed with her.  Sometimes she takes them to the bathroom or in the car.  She doesn't usually finish the books, just kind of start them as she can't yet read all the words.  Sometimes she will spell out a word so we can tell her what it is.  Other times she does her best, likely skipping over words she doesn't know.

This past Thursday, she finished her first chapter book - Pony Pals "No Ponies in the House!"  She had been telling me different parts of the story as it unfolded for the past few days.  On Thursday, she brought it with her on our trip to Freeport and told me about what was going on every so often.  Towards the end she was hoping that Alfie the Teddy Bear hamster would be found (and he was!).

She still enjoys the Dr. Seuss and Little Golden books too and those are the ones she brings a pile of into the bathroom with her.

Makana reads Go Dog Go

This morning Makana (age 7) picked up Go Dog GO to read to Kanoa (age 3).  He lost interest, but she read it to me and herself aloud!  She was so surprised that suddenly she could do it!  I was excited for her!  Before she could only read some words.  This time, she got all the words except for two of them!  This is an example of her being able to read when she was ready.

Whenever she got in the mood for a book, Go Dog Go was the one she picked up to look through and "read" more than any other book and I know she really wanted to be able to read it word for word by herself.  She would say aloud (to herself, me or someone else) what she remembered on each page, coming up with similar sentences descriptive of the pictures, but not necessarily exactly what was written.  Most of the time she read it the way she could and got much enjoyment out of it.  When she was frustrated in the past at not being able to read the way Jim or I or Katie or Li did, I told her that she'd be able to read when She was ready and that people are ready at different times and it would happen.  We made a list of the words that she did knew and that seemed to please her.

I suspected that her ability to read it was coming as she's been writing alot over the past few months while gaming and skpying, asking me to spell or write for her when needed.  I noticed that she could write and spell more and more words and I noticed that she was able to read more words as well.  It was so exciting this morning to hear her read aloud and feel so happy about finally being able to do something she has been wanting to do for so long!  She said that I had always said it would happen when she was ready, and it did!   Awesome!

The Good Stuff

Someone posted this on a thread (titled "Are we stuck?") on the alwayslearning yahoo list and it resonated with me because it expresses the sentiments I feel ring true about unschooling: "In addition to this time being short, and precious - you are building the foundation of natural learning in your home. Learning flows when needs are met, connections are strong, and kids can absolutely trust their parents, and know their parents are there for them. Some of the core values of natural learning are trust, support, joy, and freedom. You are putting up scaffolding for years and years of learning by the choices you make now. "

Pam Sorooshian commented on the post and then wrote:
"The time spent mothering and playing is not time away from real learning -not to be rushed through to get to "the good stuff" as some may think of it. It is essential to allow real learning and, really, to allowing the child to grow up as a whole, integrated human being.

Homeschoolers think a lot about learning - but they often focus on learning to read, write, do math, or learning science or history, etc. Unschoolers tend to take that kind of learning for granted, it happens along the way. Instead, as we get more and more into unschooling, we tend to focus on things like kindness and creativity and honesty - all those character traits that will determine "how" their learning will be used in their lives."
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I loved what Pam wrote so much!  Her comments led me to think about various thoughts related to play in general and how play is connected to relationships, self-esteem and learning.

* Kids learn best when they are happy and engaged in something meaningful to them which is one reason why kids learn so much when they play. 

* If we truly believe that kids will learn from everything and learning is as natural as breathing, we can relax and enjoy ourselves even more without worrying if they are learning specifics that society thinks they should know by a certain age. (With homeschooling, people have the freedom to learn in their own time and way, like they did before school.)

* When kids grow up in a home where they feel good, they get used to "feeling good" as their norm. What a wonderful thing!  And having fun playing is a great way to feel good!

* Another thing that kids learn as we play with them is how relationships work. They get experience  figuring things out in the context of play between (parent and child and siblings). When we play with our kids, it builds positive connection, which is the most important thing to me!

*This brings me back to Pam's comments....when we care for, nurture and play with our children, we are building the foundation of a great relationship. We are in essence showing our kids that we care for them, they are worthy of our time, that they are loved, that we care to spend time with them and do things for them, that we care what they like to do and that what they want to do is important to us. All of this helps them feel like they are important to us. That makes them feel good and increases their self-esteem.

* And to go full circle again....when kids feel good in general, learning flows easier as they are not stressed or in a situation that requires their attention elsewhere and they can naturally focus on what it is they want to learn.

I know Pam alluded to "The good stuff" as being educational because that is what many homeschoolers or other people think (even though she thinks of it much differently).  To me, "the good stuff" is the loving and mothering and connections that forge a caring, trusting relationship. The educational stuff comes naturally and easily when all other needs are met as we follow our interests and doing educational things are part of our lives every day.  In addition, because I am around my children so much, converse with them throughout the day, know what they do and are interested in, notice many of the connections they make, and know them so well overall, I have an understanding of much of what they know (like most parents do of very young children who spend lots of time together).  

It is the time we choose to spend with our kids when they want and need us most that helps build a great foundation not only of love of each other, but of life and learning in general.  That good stuff helps build a good life!