Homeschooling and Unschooling

So for some reason my current obsession lately is reading everything I can on homeschooling. Oliver is only 3.5, and I know I have some time to work out the kinks, but if I don't have like 3 things to obsess over on any given day, than I might actually have some time to relax.

Anyways, this venture has been frustrating because I cannot seem to find the right combination of information that I am looking for. I really love the idea of homeschooling, but I hate the idea of trying to recreate the classroom at home. I enjoy reading blurps from the Homeschool Channel, but when everyone submitted photos of their "school room" I found myself browsing in disbelief. I mean chalk boards, child's desks, and a mom's "teacher" desk? I am sure I am bound to offend someone here, but really? If you wanted that sort of set up maybe you should have gone into teaching? No wonder homeschooling has such a bad connotation with the "norm." Looking at these photos makes me feel sorry for these kids. I would rather be at school with my friends than sitting in my basement while my mom played teacher.

Okay, that was probably a little rough. I completely understand that there is more to homeschooling than that. I have many friends that homeschool and may like this idea, and if it works for your family than I think that is fantastic, but I know it would not work so much for mine.

So back to the beginning, I have been researching this concept of "unschooling," though the term is pretty lame, "natural learning" or "organic learning" seems to be a much friendlier sounding way of learning. It sounds great to embark on a child-led learning adventure, but what worries me is the ability to "let go" and try to not lead. I feel like I need some sort of book, some sort of focused time during the day where we will sit down and learn something. The more I sit back and relax and spend time with Oliver the more I realize that we actually "unschool" often.

Tonight we brought Jason dinner at UNA, so we decided to stroll around campus and take in the scenery. We splashed around in 2 fountains, hoped to see the lions, and found a mummified ciccada-looking bug (yes - I know perfect research opportunity!) Ollie immediately wanted to take it home and mount it next to his other bugs. I know that I am going to have to muster up some guts because this kid is going to be an bug enthusiast. My point is that just in that 30 minutes we were at UNA, so many vibrant learning opportunities presented themselves. I guess that is just what I envision, Oliver and I (and Jason when he's not at school) adventuring through life and this place we live, learning about everything we find. I just hope I can let go and let him lead. I hope I can keep it exciting, and I hope I can find a perfect balance.