Unpreschool new trend in homeschooling

That is what I was planning on doing with my child as he gets to preschool age. Since I stay at home, we don't have the money to send him to preschool. And since I'm at home, I want to make use of that time with him, so I've been looking at web sites and starting to get ideas/plans.

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Salon recently ran an article on unschooling, not just for preschool but for *all* of growing up:

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2005/10/03/unschool/

Pretty interesting...

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I love it! You've just added a great new word to my vocabulary. Thanks for your service to mothers, fathers, and babies of all ages.

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"Unpreschool seems (to me) basically the three-to-five-year-old definition “good” parenting.."

I completely agree with you. I homeschool now, but never intended to and send my oldest to public school until the middle of 2nd grade. When he went to preschool at 4, the teacher told me she was "amazed" that he already knew his colors, ABC's and most of his shapes. I was just being a parent, singing songs, playing games, etc. I didn't know there were parents who didn't do this. I don't think this kind of parenting is a new trend, however.

I'm not sure if homeschooling is socially considered equivalent to good parenting nowadays (it shouldn't be), but I think parenting trends center around what people think makes them a better parent than the next guy. But the trend is in the intent I think, and not the action. Like joining a step class: If you're serious about fitness, you stay; if you're doing it because you think people will like you better for it, you don't last too long.

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it's funny you should post about this, I missed the Live and Learn Unschool Conference yesterday. My youngest was sick. but a friend went and picked up a bunch of stuff for me to look over.

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For lots more info on this, check out:
http://www.universalpreschool.com/

It's funny that preschool is so ingrained in our society as "normal", that a the word "unpreschool" even exists.

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//It's funny that preschool is so ingrained in our society as "normal", that a the word "unpreschool" even exists.//

Let me fix this...

It's sad that preschool is so ingrained in our society as "normal", that the word "unpreschool" even exists.

That's better.

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I homeschooled our 4 children for 18 years. They all graduated from home, are now married, and have children of their own.

I have had the privilege of "unpreschooling" three of our 9 grandchildren. I teach them
(separately) for 2-3 mornings a week for two hr/day.

One of them just entered kindergarten in August--having acquired all her readiness skills and knowing how to count to 100 by l's, 5's, & 10's. She also knows how to read. She is reading at a 1st grade level.

All of this was accomplished with a lot of TLC, individual attention, and a couple hours a day.

There are many "second generation" homeschooing families now, many of them taking advantage of the experience of "veteran" homeschooling grandparents!

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I homeschooled our 4 children for 18 years. They all graduated from home, are now married, and have children of their own.

I have had the privilege of "unpreschooling" three of our 9 grandchildren. I teach them
(separately) for 2-3 mornings a week for two hr/day.

One of them just entered kindergarten in August--having acquired all her readiness skills and knowing how to count to 100 by l's, 5's, & 10's. She also knows how to read. She is reading at a 1st grade level.

All of this was accomplished with a lot of TLC, individual attention, and a couple hours a day.

There are many "second generation" homeschooing families now, many of them taking advantage of the experience of "veteran" homeschooling grandparents!

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Marilyn,

I find it fascinating that one of your homeschooled children decided to send her own child to kindergarten.
BTW, if your granddaughter already knows how to read and count to 100 by 5, 2 and 10, what will they do with her in K? Isn't that the kind of thing they spend their time on in K?

Tammy

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This term is absurd. I'm not a unpreschooler just because I decide not to enroll my child in a glorified babysitting service from ages three to five. I call it motherhood. The term has worked well for centuries. I not about to give it up not for a trendy new term that defines what I do by what I don't do. That's just plain silly.

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