We’ve been “unschooling” for a couple of months now, and I’m embarrassed to admit that my boys are still obsessed with their video games. I even hesitate to share this news with you, but in the fairness of full disclosure I want other parents to know that the road to …
Faithful readers of my blog might be aware of the plight of the environmental activist in central Maine–which is that the clubs and programs to encourage participation and education among the community are all but non-existent in this area. This is true of the Maine State Beekeeper’s Association as well. …
Now that the first day of winter is just around the corner, I have found myself standing at my picture window gazing longingly outside and wondering what I can do to encourage participation with nature despite the cold. And how can I stimulate inquiry into the science of winter? What …
Why is it that science intimidates us? I’ve heard it more than once–I even used to feel that way! That science was just too hard to teach, since I really didn’t understand it myself. Science is so all-encompassing, and so critically important–as homeschoolers it’s daunting to think about teaching our …
It’s mid-November and I’m feeling an increased sense of urgency to finish my winter preparations. So after nearly a week of rain and drizzle, wind and cold, I’ve enjoyed this weekend’s golden autumn sunshine and the opportunity to work outside. I’ve been focused on tucking my gardens in for their …
As the Scientific Homeschool we love our science channels. We watch Mythbusters, How It’s Made, Planet Earth, Destroyed in Seconds (is that really science? or just the male desire for destruction?), Dirty Jobs, Bugging Out, Head Rush, Meteorite Men, Through the Wormhole, even “Punkin Chunkin” and more. I even consider …
I’ve been looking forward to watching this particular film for a long time, unfortunately in our area there’s not much in the way of video rentals, so we wait for movies and documentaries to be available to us online. Finally today, I found Darwin’s Darkest Hour at the NOVA website. …
With Halloween upon us and Thanksgiving on the horizon, I find myself looking ahead to the winter holiday season with much excitement. I’m like this every year, but seemingly more-so this year. This will be our second year observing the Winter Solstice rather than the traditional Christmas. Now that we’ve …
Now that we’re practicing unschooling, I’ve been consciously making an effort to say yes more often. We’ve done no formal sit-at-the-table school work this week. Basically it feels as though we’re on vacation, enjoying the New England autumn–and working through our screen-obsession. As we adjust to the unschooling lifestyle, I’m …
Homeschooling is becoming more mainstream, but secular homeschooling, particularly secular homeschooling without religion, remains a lonely endeavor in central Maine. We live in an area the locals refer to as the Foothills Region, which seems to be a no-man’s land for organizations and groups. On the coast we have the …
