Unschooling Kindergarten
Doing some reading and research again and happened upon this site, which I’m definitely going to visit again and again – LeapingFromTheBox.com
Here is an excerpt from an article on unschooling and kindergarten, I found it resonated perfectly with my thoughts on the matter and happily post a link to the full article.
“The truth is I do not believe that a curriculum is necessary for Kindergarten, but that usually is not the answer parents are looking for or expect. They are certain that Kindergarten is that magical time when suddenly what was “life” must become “education” and therefore needs to include workbooks, textbooks, and organized lessons.”
….
“A primary goal of kindergarten is to make good little soldiers/workers out of children. Their most important lessons include learning that they must ask permission before doing anything (including bathroom privileges). They are trained to follow the schedule at all costs. They learn to eat, play, learn, and even nap according to schedule with no consideration given to the individual child’s needs or requirements. They learn to follow directions, stand in line quietly, and get along with other children and the teacher without resorting to violence. And probably the most important lesson is to break the emotional bonds with home and family. This is one result of the institution of public school that I believe few parents realize until they remove their child from that system. Only then does one fully appreciate the extent to which authority and control of one’s children were given away.”
http://www.leapingfromthebox.com/art/kmg/kindergarten.html
I am eternally grateful to find words like those to just remind me why I made the choice to homeschool/unschool. When asked, I always seem to KNOW why we made that choice, but there are days that I don’t FEEL it. Posts like this makes me excited and eager and gets my feelings in tune with my knowledge again so that I can carry on doing what I’m doing with my babies and be happy that it is SO the right thing to do.