"Mama, I'd like to do school", Mathilde said the other day. As an unschooling mom, I was a bit startled... School? But we live as if school does not exist! How can my child want to "do school"? I paused and wondered what she really was after. More structured days? Inspiration? Connexion?
After some questioning, I realized that for my girls, it meant beautiful stories illustrated with chalk drawings covered with a silk, to be revealed only after breakfast, learning a few more tunes of the recorder and doing more watercolor painting.
For me, unschooling is supporting our children in making their own choices. It is helping them follow their interests and passions. It is being present and listening to and even behind what they are saying. It is, I believe, the more involved type of education or parenting there is. I am involved all day, everyday with my girls. Their education and most importantly, their happiness, are at the forefront of my mind everyday.
:: I found a great story/legend of the Platypus and we went with that. We all learned a lot on this fascinating animal! :: 
chère catherine,
ReplyDeleteComme quoi la pédagogie steiner leur plait bien !
Savoure la liberté que tu as !
Ici suite à la pression de l'inspection académique qui nous visite tous les ans, nous voilà obligé de travailler plus les matières académiques sinon la pression qu'ils vont exercer sur nous sera pire (voir injonction de scolarisation...)c'est très très difficile pour moi et pour Adèle aussi et je n'ai que la solution des tribunaux ou de partir à l'étranger. Mais dans cette "épreuve" nous avons recentré nos besoins, nos choix et de me redire que ma priorité est pour qq années encore l'éducation de mes enfants, de leur offrir comme tu le dis le plus de liberté et d'envie de découvrir le monde et ce qu'ils sont aussi.
à bientôt
ciao Catherine,
ReplyDeleteti avevo scritto un paio d'anni fa. abito vicino a Varese, ricordi?!
Ho seguito la vostra avventura!
Ma hai abbondonato il modello waldorf di homeschooling e hai scelto l'unschooling? ricordo la tua discussione con Donna Simmons. Per me era stata una sorpresa perché eri così brava e preparata come "maestra" Waldorf.
ciao
Federica
Lucky little girls to have you as a mama :) PS Platypus are so cool!!
ReplyDeleteOui, Isabelle, certaines choses leur plaise et leur parle indéniablement. Je suis désolée d'entendre que vous avez de la pression à cause de l'inspection... La France est si belle, mais tellement en arrière à cet égard... c'est vraiment dommage. Je suis contente que vous ayez réussi à rester centrer sur vos besoins et vos choix. Bravo! Je vais aller visiter ton site pour m'inspirer et y trouver des histoires en français... c'est tout un travail de traduction sinon! N'hésite pas si tu as des textes à me faire parvenir. Je t'en serais gré. Donne-moi des nouvelles de toi aussi (cforest@hotmail.com)
ReplyDeleteFederica, si mi ricordo! Va bene se scrivo in inglese cosi tutti possono capire? Poi, il mio italiano non è più cosi buono...
To be honest with you, I really liked playing the Waldorf teacher, but my girls showed me that forced learning was not what they wanted. They were more and more reluctant to sit and do a lesson and I was doing exactly the opposite of what I had intended to do: I was making them dislike learning. I tried to be more relaxed about our homeschooling, but my attempts were still met with a lot of resistance (or their child desire to please me, so they played along sometimes...).
I read and read and stumbled across unschooling and it made so much sense. My girls have learn to read by themselves and are learning so much (and enjoying it). We are much more happy and there is more joy in our life!
Est-ce un retour à la pédagogie Steiner pour votre famille?
ReplyDeleteSarah, je me considère encore et toujours unschooler, mais il est clair que pour l'instant, je puise dans la pédagogie Steiner de belles histoires et des idées pour répondre aux demandes de mes filles. N'hésite pas à me partager des histoires traduites que tes filles ont aimé ou d'autres belles ressources. Il y a si peu de choses en français et les histoires sont de plus en plus longues à traduire...
ReplyDeleteCaterina,
ReplyDeleteti va bene se scrivo in italiano e tu rispondi in inglese?! Avevo capito il tuo cambiamento, ma la mia sorpresa era perché qui in Italia non praticando l'homeschooling è così difficile sapere e imparare la pedagogia Waldorf. Solo i maestri sanno come e cosa fare. Questo è acusato sia dal grande mistero che circonda tutto il metodo Waldorf in Italia (ed è qualcosa che proprio non mi piace), sia che non ci sono risorse per chi vuole formarsi/informarsi da solo. da qui la mia impressione su quanto tu fossi preparata, come una "vera" maestra. Non conosco mamma che qui riuscirebbe a prepararsi così tanto perché la pedagogia è "riservata" a chi lavora nella scuola Waldorf. Sul primo settennio è diverso, io ho fatto un corso sui primi 7 anni, Kindergarten, ecc. ma dopo non c'è più niente di acccessibile a tutti.
Buona giornata!
Federica
Federica, I see what you mean. Here too, there is only the training available for teachers, but there are many forums (in English) and some really great Waldorf curriculums in English (we used Christopherus homeschooling material, very well made and accesible). I think that the problem is that most Italian people don't know those ressources (most are American).
ReplyDeleteI have learned so much on the Waldorf homeschoolers yahoo groups, forums and through books...
I really like the Waldorf pedagogy and it is really a shame it is not more accessible in Italia.
Let me know if I can be of any help to you!
Take care,
Cat
Dear Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI gave up 2 years ago about the idea of homeschooling non solo per le risorse, ma per altri motivi. Avevo visto i materiali Christopherus ma tu immagina la fatica di "tradurre" tutto in italiano! A non è come apple in italiano! So even the alphabet suggestions are different. Not to mention the stories, history and so on. American an Italian are both "european" but our history couldn't be any different! Per cui le risorse americane sono utili, interessante ma dopo ci vorrebbe un grandissimo lavoro di adattamento culturale.
Inoltre gli steineriani (so are called Waldorf educators) sono terribili nel mantenere quest'aura di mistero, di conoscenze pedagogiche solo per pochi e sono abbastanza "contrari" all'homeschooling.
Comunque sei bravissima!
Thank you, Federica! Actually, I teach my girls in French, so I translate a lot of the material from Christopherus or try to find some good French equivalents. It's not perfect, but it works. When we did the alphabet, I came up with my own words for the letters and found some good Grimm tales in French that worked with it (sometimes it was a bit of a long shot!).
ReplyDeleteI go to the Waldorf school store in Quebec and find some good books that they read in the school... I totally understand how discouraging and overwhelming it feels, but I think that if one really wants to use Steiner ideas at home, there is a way. It's not going to be as easy as using a premade curriculum, but it also gives lots of freedom.