Unschooling James and Adam

It was just a fun idea to take our lunch under the trees and spend some family time (as if we don't have enough!). Daddy cooked some pasta made special with our homegrown basil, packed it with some bowls and forks in a basket, got our mat in the attic and walked a few meters from our doorsteps.

This is the childhood of my dreams and it feels surreal to witness it unfold right before my eyes. While the sun sets, I am filled with pure joy seeing James and Adam with the other children just being kids. “For a child, it is in the simplicity of play that the complexity of life is sorted like puzzle pieces joined together to make sense of the world.”  ―  L.R. Knost ,  Two Thousand Kisses a Day: Gentle Parenting Through the Ages 

"Education is a lifelong journey whose destination expands as you travel." -Jim Stovall

     If you tell people who are unfamiliar with unschooling how it is done and that parents allow the kids to have the freedom to shape their days, choose activities or topics to explore, they seem to almost always instantly imagine children stuck in front of the computer or TV. Maybe that's what they'll do if they were not given the freedom or only allowed restricted number of minutes a day or a week to use the technology for a long time that they have developed cravings for them and now they are on a binge. Also, it is possible that technology has provided them great resources that are interesting and entertaining and they find that it's worthwhile to spend a day or days just learning from them, which is actually not a problem at all. On the other hand, if you let your kids just do whatever they want, they might also... do this and this yeah, this one too and this! ...which is not bad at all.

"To see a world in a grain of sand, And heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, An eternity in an hour." -William Blake

     I recently joined an online group of Filipino unschoolers and independent homeschoolers, those who homeschool without a provider and tailor-fit their own curricula. One of the questions raised was about language learning, specifically learning Filipino as a subject. For Filipinos, it is very understandable because heck, Filipino as a subject in school was more about grammar! We've been drilled and lectured about pandiwa, pang-uri, pangngalan, (isn't that double N G the most intimidating combination of letters you've ever encountered in your life?) etc. (or should I write atbp.?) and yet lacked the exposure to rich Filipino literature oozing with great Filipino characters, relevant and engaging plots, diverse Filipino values, and captivating illustrations. I believe this misplaced focus created a gap between the learners and the Filipino literature, the distance between Filipinos and our own culture.      The discussion brought three language acquisit...

One of the greatest teachers we've ever met, Jude.  He's James and Adam's bestfriend, or should I say little brother?