Instead of doing the entire weekend in one post like last weekend, I’m going to do each day separately like I usually do. The reason is that it’s just a lot easier than trying to do the whole weekend in one shot.
Homeschooling Friends
Today was great because we met up with another homeschooler who Ethan is friends with. Ethan met the other boy at a class he was taking at the community centre but we had no idea he was a homeschooler. I had met his mom at an event and we finally ran into each other after the community centre class one day. Since then, we’ve met a few times and it’s been great because the boys enjoy playing with each other and we share similar values and perspectives on homeschooling.
The Only Worry
If there’s anything we’ve been worried about, it’s finding other families who look at homeschooling in the same way that we do, or that are unschooling for similar reasons as us. Those reasons are primarily about giving Ethan a richer, more suitable educational experience for how he likes to learn, which is more self directed, so that he has the freedom to learn and explore topics in as much depth as he wants. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s been so much easier than we thought to have him unschooling and he seems to be loving it, too. Anyway…
Morning
As we’ve been doing most of this past week, we went out early in the morning for jog/bike ride/walk along the beach. Ethan’s been enjoying the experience more and more each day, especially when he gets to ride his bike at the skate park with nobody else around.
He worked on posting to this website and has been practicing by playing with changing different things and writing short blog posts. The rest of the morning was spent having dim sum with my parents and grocery shopping.
Afternoon
Ethan got a plastic bag from the dim sum restaurant because he ate too much and felt like throwing up, which he didn’t, luckily. But he turned the bag into a parachute and experimented with how to attach string to it and what weights he would need to make the parachute fall slowly. It took several tries but he eventually figured it out.
We needed to wash our car, so Ethan came out to help. As usual, it was more fun to play with the water than to actually wash the car. He did find a ladybug so that was fun, too.
Ethan has been big into origami lately, so he spent some time making more origami fidget toys. Today was different, because he wanted to give one to his homeschooling friend, who I mentioned earlier, as we were going to meet up with him and his mom.
The boys played together at the beach playground for almost 2 ½ hours and had a blast making mud pies and some sort of a mountain.
Evening
Before dinner, Ethan learned how to make an origami flicker, which is a triangle shaped design that can fly if you flick it. He made several versions of the flicker and had a fun time flicking them around the living room.
After dinner, he watched more origami how-to videos. This time, it was how to make a pyramid that could be opened and closed. It was quite cool because when it closed, the sides of the pyramid would fold into each other.
He then did his observation and as soon as he was done his observation, he went back to the origami and made more pyramids and a box with a secret flap.
It seems like you were able to find several ways in which Ethan authentically enjoyed writing through typing on the blog, creating the bullet journal, writing adventure stories and creating comic books. These are wonderful!
I suggest you approach math in much the same way. look for ways for ways to authentically develop math skills on the road trip, figuring out mileage, planning routes on maps, calculating distances, making purchases of meals and handling the money etc.
As for the best way to report here on the Learning Platform, I am still thinking that through. You are the first family I have ever had who vlogs and blogs to such depth. Just one of your days entries would be more than sufficient for an observation for learning.
It helps me when you reflect on the week here in writing, pulling out the most significant learning events and reflecting on the process of Ethan’s leasrning. You could easily copy and paste some of the written reflections or photos from the blog which you would like a response from me to. Just a few thoughts at this point. I will consider this more deeply so I can be as best of a resource as possible.
In the meantime enjoy your tip! and here is a link to the games and puzzles section in the Learning Experience Library. I think there is some content and ideas there which Ethan would really enjoy.
https://selfdesign.learning.powerschool.com/selfdesignlearning/library/cms_page/view/29389648
I will not be making many comments on this week’s Observing for Learning; I will instead be completing the Learning Plan this week. I have read and approved the learning activities in this Observing for Learning entry as ones that fit with the Learning Plan for the year.
Natasha
Here’s the post for Sept. 16/17:
https://howtodostuffwithethan.com/home-learning-journal-september-16-2017-video/
Thank you.
We’re really enjoying the experience of home learning. We have been posting a video and written observations every single day on Ethan’s blog and YouTube Channel. Ethan has been practicing typing on the laptop so there are some posts on his blog that he’s written.
Here are links to this past week’s observations. Let me know if this is how you’d prefer us to show you what he’s been doing.
- https://howtodostuffwithethan.com/home-learning-journal-sept-9-10-2017-video/
- https://howtodostuffwithethan.com/home-learning-journal-september-11-2017-video/
- https://howtodostuffwithethan.com/home-learning-journal-september-12-2017-video/
- https://howtodostuffwithethan.com/home-learning-journal-september-13-2017-video/
- https://howtodostuffwithethan.com/home-learning-journal-september-14-2017-video/
- https://howtodostuffwithethan.com/home-learning-journal-september-15-2017-video/
The post for September 16 will be published later today, as I’m just working on it now.
One thing Ethan did this week is he wrote three more books in his Adventures of the Box series. We’re trying to encourage him to write more, so any ideas or suggestions would be great.
We are also trying to find more engaging ways for him to practice and learn math. We borrowed some fun math books from the library, such as “Bedtime Math” and “Sir Cumference.”
Thanks!
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