Un-lesson un-plans

Things are feeling schooly around here in recent days, when we're not at the beach, fishing, or fighting giant beasts with our incredible weapons and magical powers.

Karl has taken an interest in math workbooks. He also loves to practice writing, so he has been burning through color markers writing anything we will spell for him. Karl's focus on his "schoolwork" gets the older boys interested, so quite often we have all three sitting at the dinette, bent over workbooks for roughly the duration of a class period.

Billy and Leo are practicing multiplication tables while taking walks. We've been watching Schoolhouse Rock. Okay, that probably doesn't seem schooly to schoolers, but when a week can go by without us doing anything that resembles a traditional lesson, Schoolhouse Rock is practically a lecture series.

Computer games are ever more popular. We don't have a gaming system, but we have PC, Mac, and iPhone platforms, with a fair number of free or cheap games for each. Chess is as popular as the fancy cinematic flying dinosaur (?) game. Specifically educational games are still in the mix, including a barebones typing tutor that they demand turns at -- it has no entertainment component, but they love it. Go figure.

The older boys are finally enjoying reading aloud and to themselves. This is huge for me. I was an early and eager reader. Joe was also a voracious reader as a child, but only after he learned to read fluently, which was "late" by the common standard. Although I am really happy with unschooling, I admit I've had some anxiety about reading acquisition.

Joe and I read plenty, for ourselves and aloud to the kids, but we don't insist that they do so. We keep books at all levels available to them. They read signs and cereal boxes. They navigate with the GPS and read instructions and backstory in their games. And we all listen to audiobooks.

Audiobooks are great because they allow them to hear language and story development that is beyond their reading level, building vocabulary and a natural sense of grammar and literary rhythm. We download audiobooks for free through the state library system. We also listen to podcasts, such as Stuff You Missed in History Class. There are also some excellent science podcasts out there.

But while listening builds some aspects of literacy, it doesn't replace reading and writing practice. So it's been fun to have them becoming more interested in reading the printed word. We have carefully selected books and random hand-me-downs in our tiny library. The ones they're currently excited about were gleaned from giveaways because I will never forget how much I loved Choose Your Own Adventure books (and similar series, like Twist-A-Plot).

The older two take turns reading and choosing, and they help each other with new or difficult words. They seem to process language in slightly different ways--Billy a bit more like Joe, Leo more like me, but not as far apart on the spectrum as Joe and I are. We all enjoy the anticipation and the discussion of the choices, and even Karl is consulted for his opinion as often as not.

It's really fun sharing their discovery of books with interactive plots. And it's kind of a relief to hear them read, to see that they love to read, and to know they will choose to read when there are other options available to them.

Finally, a shoutout to an unlikely unschooling tool: Google Voice Search (for iPhone). They are wild for it. The first thrill comes when they decide what words to use to search for something. The second comes from delivering the miniature "presentation" -- speaking clearly enough into the receiver to be properly interpreted. Then they get to read what Google "thought" they said (many, many giggles start here), and to view the pages or videos that their search turned up. This game requires close parental monitoring, which is fun and educational for us -- what would our 9-year-old selves have asked the global computer index?

Home, sweet Florida!

For the first time since choosing this as our state of legal domicile, we are here in Florida. We have registered our vehicles and picked up new drivers' licenses. We still need to transfer our health insurance, register as voters, and enroll in our chosen umbrella school for homeschooling. A few more hoops, but nothing difficult.

We spent the first nights in our new home state at Fort Clinch State Park, which is just across an inlet from Georgia. Our campsite was just a few feet from a beach with shells, nifty marine life (we found a tiny pipefish!), and a long fishing pier. A dredging operation was setting up and moving up and down the beach, and fishing boats motored by, dropping and hauling nets. For kids who love Dirty Jobs, dredging prep and fishing are good entertainment!

We didn't go see the fort, but there is one. And we also didn't take a native's suggestion to visit Big Talbot Island State Park on the way south. And that's okay. We're not out to "do it all" or to see everything possible -- we're just living.

After a few days there, we had to move on, as Fort Clinch had a full dance card for the weekend. We moved south to Faver-Dykes State Park where we booked a full two weeks. So far, we've spent time canoeing, playing computer games, bicycling, practicing math and reading, walking the nature trail, and "just" playing. We drove to Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, and enjoyed the contrast of planned rose gardens and spring-fed carp ponds with nature trails through the wild hammock.

We've enjoyed learning the history of the parks we visit. I'll post a bit about that soon.

Approaching the holidays

So it's officially Christmas shopping season, and everyone is talking about how far along they are in their shopping and wrapping, what the kids want for Christmas, how this year's haul or celebration will size up to prior years, and the (choose one) moral repugnance or innocent thrill of the Black Friday greed stampede.

I'm feeling my inner humbug stir.

Joe and I have never celebrated Christmas in our shared home, though we appreciate the heartfelt presents that find their way to the kids, and we sometimes join our larger families when they're convened for the holidays. This year we'll be on our own through December.

I've tamed the inner humbug somewhat, and I'm planning to give a nod to the evergreen-and-eggnog days of winter (though we'll be in Florida). We might break out my foot-tall Christmas tree (complete with tiny gingerbread men!) and a wooden train. We might do some baking and crafts to invite in the warmth and celebrate the passing of midwinter. But the 25th won't be our holiday, and (as usual) we won't buy gifts.

Our kids don't salivate over annual goodie lists, and we prefer to avoid the prezzie frenzy of family celebrations. It's not just consumerism and its effect on society that bug me, it's much more the elevation of material goods to such importance in one's life, and the effect of that stuff-centricity on the self. There's something unsavory about the focus on quantity, on checklist motivation, on token presentation for the fulfillment of hollow expectation. We don't want our kids to experience any of that, or to see us modeling it.

We love nice things. But even nice things don't deserve their own holiday in our life, to be shared with the destructive pressure to buy, give, and be of good cheer even if the season puts you in debt. Or more deeply in debt.

We opted out of Christmas long before going on the road, but this new lifestyle certainly discourages the accumulation of stuff. If you got rid of almost everything and took your family on the road, what would change in your approach to the holidays? Would those changes be for the better?

South Carolina

The state parks in South Carolina have been a good value for the money. We started out at Sesquicentennial State Park in Columbia, where the campsites were laid deep with fragrant pinestraw, and there was a pretty lake with good trails. The rangers in this park were always about and were uniformly friendly.

Next we moved to Givhans Ferry State Park, which is on the Edisto River (the longest freeflowing blackwater river in North America). We had family join us there for some weekend camping and visiting. Givhans has nice trails, but Joe and the boys (and their uncles and cousins) spent more time just off trail collecting firewood than doing anything else.

Edisto Beach State Park is in a higher fee tier, but still only $25/night with standard hookups. The water has been warm enough for my polar bears, who enjoyed their first taste of ocean since February in Southern California. The beach is a short hike or ride from the inland (Live Oak) campground, through quickly changing live oak forest, palmetto hammock, and reedy salt marsh habitats. Joe was scouting for firewood when he surprised a venomous snake, so we stuck to the path after the first day.

Almost as good as the scenery in the park was the beauty of the drive to get there. Ancient live oaks reaching out across the road turned some bits of highway into romantic tunnels, with dramatic curtains of Spanish moss.

And now we're tucked in at my brother's for Thanksgiving week. The weather has gone from sunny and warm (shorts and sunblock) to grey and just chilly enough to enjoy a fire in the fireplace. It's a pleasant time of year to be here, and the South has its own special loveliness. Happy holidays, everyone!

North Carolina

In North Carolina we stayed in the driveway at Donna and Stony's house and played lots of video games, table games, and Legos! Donna made spider shirts with the boys. Aunt Jean was also visiting, and we took daytrips to Hanging Rock State Park, Sciworks (with our ASTC passport), and Pilot Mountain State Park. Here are some photos:

Hanging Rock State Park -- see if you can spot the northern water snake we saw!

SciWorks: Karl with the Van de Graaf generator, Billy and Karl getting hands-on with an argon tube, Leo in the air chair, and me inside a Kaleidoscope.