Part of unschooling seems to be about "whole" experiences rather than attenuated bits and pieces. I was thinking about this while outside today. The weather is cool and fall-like, but sunny. I know that pretty soon snow will be here and we won't be able to go outside at a moment's notice. Plus, junior football season is almost over -- tomorrow is the first play-off game and that means 3 more games at most, even if they win the tri-county championship (which would be impressive indeed).
S asks me almost every day if I will pass the football to him. His oldest brother is at college. His dad is usually in the office these days working on finalling the mini-golf game, when he's not chauffering to practices and games. S's brothers at home are either too little, or not that interested in playing football.
So I've made it a commitment to go out with S every day about 11 am. The little ones love playing on the bright cool street. We live on a hill and there is almost no traffic. S practices long passes. His dream is to be a quarterback though he plays wide receiver on the junior team (and an excellent one, too). Today he tried to teach me some routes. There are Sangers (slants), Portlands (longer slants), and fades. For some reason he was rather surprised that his over-40 year old mom, garbed in a denim jumper (!) was unable to pick up the routes as fast as he did when he first learned them.
So, multi-tasking and whole experience..... I got more than enough exercise for the day, I got to spend some time with my fourth child whose childhood is changing into adolescence like the summer into the fall. I got outdoor time for the littlies. I got quality-time points.
Nothing directly educational, of course, but at the same time, not a waste of time either.
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