Unschooling Voices (main page)

Unschooling Voices is a monthly collection of writings (mainly from blogs) on the topic of unschooling.

Details:
You can submit up as many posts as you'd like.
They can be old or new posts.
You can even submit a post that you read on someone’s else’s blog (don't forget to ask their permission).
While most of the submissions are from blogs, Unschooling Voices welcomes all kind of information of interest to the unschooling community such as web pages, press releases, news stories, interviews, etc.
We'd also love to hear from the unschoolers themselves. Share your children's stories, pictures, art work or web sites.
Submissions from new and seasoned unschoolers are equally welcomed!

FYI:
Your blog doesn't have to be an "unschooling blog" to participate...just the post you sent in. Not every blogger who unschools has unschooling as the main focus of their blog.

I’ll suggest a topic question each month (if someone else is hosting, they can use their own question) for those who may like a specific topic to write about but you don’t have to use it. Or you can, and also send in something else. We're real flexible...when in doubt, send it in. :-) You can also answer questions from past months at any time. Just jump right in.

Just in case it comes up, anti-unschooling (is that even a word?) posts will not get through. Someone who is trying to understand unschooling and wanting advice on their doubts is fine. This is also not the place for posts about curriculim, unit studies, lesson plans or "making" children learn.

If you can link to this post somewhere on your blog or website or it would help to get the word out and be very appreciated by all of us who participate.

If you've participated before and would like to host an edition of Unschooling Voices on your blog or website, please leave a comment here.

Send It In:
Unschooling Voices comes out the first of each month. Please have your submission in in at least a couple of days before the 1st, so I have time to get it together. Posts submitted up to that day may still be added but if it doesn't make it in, it'll be included in the following month.

E-mail your submission to unschoolingvoicesATyahoo.com.
Be sure to write "unschooling voices", "submission" or something like that, in the heading so I know it's not spam or it will be deleted.

Information to send: (this is what I’ll use when I put it together)

1) Your name (or name you want to go by).
2) Your submission, in the form of a link.
3) A short (2-3 sentences is fine) description of your submission. I prefer to use your own description, rather than mine.

If your familiar with technorati tags, you can get some extra exposure by using the technorati unschooling voices tag in your post. Here's the link to a tag generator that I use. If your submission includes photos, add them to our Unschooling Voices Flickr Group.

Editions:

Issue #1 July '06
How did you and your family come to unschooling?
On podcast

Issue #2 August '06
Do you extend the principles of unschooling (trust, freedom, etc) into any other areas of your child's life?

Issue #3 September '06
(submitted by Laurie) "I would love to hear other unschoolers thoughts regarding allowance or payment for odd jobs or whatever you want to call it. I see a major benefit from the kids managing their own money but I’m not sure that I want to pay an “allowance” to the kids every week. But if I pay per job, do I pay to have them clean their room or do I only pay for odd jobs? Anyway, I’d love to hear the other thoughts/ideas/methods other unschoolers incorporate".

Issue #4 October '06
Unschooling Math: If you’re like me and went to public school, you grew up being taught math from a text book. Now, as an unschooling parent, how do you live math when you’ve been conditioned to think of math in school terms. How do you go from one to the other?

Issue #5 November '06
On the topic of support in unschooling...how much do you have from family & friends? Are there other unschoolers near you or do you belong to an offline unschooling group? How important is having that support?

Issue #6 December '06
What interesting activites, projects or experiments have your kids done this past year? We've gotten some really cool ideas from other unschoolers so tell us what you've done in 2006! (Please remember this is an unschooling carnival.....don't submit something that smells like school. LOL)

Issue #7 February '07
The topic is deschooling…either yours, your child’s or both. Tell us about it. What is/was it like? Personally, I found that I needed to deschool more than my kids. Do you find that to be true?

Issue #8 April '07:
There are two topics this month. Answer both, one...or neither and blog about something else (#1) Use the letters U-N-S-C-H-O-O-L to write about unschooling. Use what ever method you want, for example you can use each letter like "U is for..., N is for..". Or you can have each letter start a new sentence or paragraph or try writing an acronym. (#2) A topic that comes up on the unschooling e-mail groups a lot is TV/computer/video games and how hard it is for parents to let go of control in those areas. What has been your experience?

Issue #9 June '07:
How has unschooling changed YOU? Yes, it’s about the kids, but is it ONLY about the kids? I sometimes think unschooling has changed me more than them. What are your thoughts? Also, here another short, just-for-fun question this month; share two photos that show what unschooling currently looks like in your house at this time.

Issue #10 November '07
Two questions again - please remember they're always optional. First, what advice would you have given to yourself early in your unschooling journey? Second, ask your kids to take pictures of their favorite ________ (favorite whatever; person, place, thing, etc). Don't forget to share them on our flickr group.

Issue #11 January '08
Unschooling through the ages: How, if at all, does unschooling look different as your child ages and grows. Is it different now than it was a few years back? What role does age play in unschooling?

Issue #12 Feb. '08
This months two questions were submitted by Kim at Relaxed Homeskool, where issue #12 will be hosted. Answer both, one or neither.
1)Write the unschooling manual for a newbie in 400 words or less- have fun!
2)Take the Unschooling Images challenge and describe your unschooling experience using pictures. Here's the questions but you can add more or change them at will:
*Your favorite resource
*One field trip they loved and learned on
*The game they love so much they don’t realize it is educational
*What you’ve “strewn” lately
*Everyday task where they pick up lots of info
* A resource you have always wanted to purchase for the children but keep putting off
*What your kids think school is really like
* Best place to unschool

Issue #13: March '08
Silvia at Po Moyemu hosted this edition and has submitted this question: What do you do, as an unschooling parent, when your child expresses an interest in a particular topic and you don't know how to help them in a way that doesn't involve lesson plans and curriculum?

Issue #14: Submissions being accepted now
Summer at Wired For Noise is hosting this issue and her question for the month is " What unexpected benefits did you gain from unschooling?"

Related Tags: unschooling voices, unschooling carnival, unschooling blogs, unschooling, unschool, unschooled, unschoolers