only here wrote:are you talking about teaching her to read, but not telling her what to read? in general, how do kids under the age of 17 respond to unstructred education? i still have to go through periods where sometimes the thing i want to do is not the thing i should be doing.
The theory is that people learn to read the same way they learn to talk. It seems to be working out. We burn thru library books, and she has begun sight reading a great many of the small words, and thanks to shows like Super Why, is able to sound out most everything. A little rough with C and S sounds, but mind blowing to me for a kid who just turned 4. Not everyone feels this wat, and it might be considered that we are pushing. Everyone has their limits, and this is one of mine. While other unschoolers can abide 9 year olds who cannot read yet, I think it is the portal to everything. Plus, it is plain that she wants to read, and is eager to pick it up as soon as she can. She has a little friend the same age who wrote my daughter a personal note for her birthday, and my daughter was able to read it. This cannot be a bad thing.
The stuff I have read says that motivation comes in cycles for these kids. Knowing it is coming is all I need to prepare. There could be times where she might play video games for weeks at a time, or sleep all day. It does not matter. Out of school information can be covered at a rapid pace, and that is the exciting part. The way it works is that is that these kids master and move on. They know when they understand something, and don't have to prove it. She will always have the option of going to a typical school if she chooses, since we are not forcing this on her*. When there is enough interest, an the subject moves beyond any of the parent's ability to provide, cooperative classes are arranged. interest in specific subjects lands a lot of these kids in community college classes in there teens. There is a lot of discussion about my wife and kid making regular and extended stays in France because there is no reason they shouldn't. She does not have to be back for school or anything.
It is not for everyone. It makes my mother insane that we let my daughter eat when she is hungry, and refuse when she isn't. Go to bed when she wants (I stay up late, so she never outlasts me), and wake up when she wants. Lots of people talk about how kids grow up too fast, but the frown when you take it slow.
*IL is a remarkable easygoing state in this regard, and there is no real regulation of it. We are keeping her vaccinations on schedule as that is a requirement for school admission, but we space them a bit because we know we will take her in regular like, and the big boosts tend to give kids a fever.