Details of our Unschooling Record-keeping

From the outside looking in, unschooling can be difficult to understand. With little in the way of structured planning or formal book work, it's easy to assume that nothing's really happening. Of course, from the inside looking out, it soon becomes obvious that that's not really the case. The learning that's going on is more far-reaching and encompassing than our traditional methods ever were - but, the question remains of how to prove this to the Board of Studies. This issue of record keeping for our registration requirements is something which I have been pondering on and trying to resolve, during the time that I've been working on this blog.

Initially, I thought that the blog alone would provide sufficient evidence of our children's learning but, gradually, it has become apparent that the posts have evolved primarily into my own personal work and reflections, rather than providing a comprehensive record of our children's progress and achievements.

To overcome this, I've recently developed a new system of record-keeping, on my iPad, which is proving simple, effective and motivating for all of us. It comprises a daily diary, where I jot down how each child spends the day, and a notebook, which I use for more in-depth journalling and for interaction with the children, through their emails and learning blogs.

Often, our readings and the children's own curiosity leads to further research and rabbit trails, on the Internet. Sometimes, I write summaries of my own and our shared discoveries, and there are, also, ideas to swap about the books we read together and alone. All of this can be shared by emailing links, photos or suggestions, and by me posting little reports or comments on the children's blogs. As well as being a great way to strew for all of us, this is becoming a useful tool for our record-keeping requirements.

And, that is why I began to question the role of my blog. Now that we have a workable system in place, there seems no need to bore the world with our music appreciation write-ups or our read aloud records. I guess I could, instead, share how we have overcome our issues with housework and chores. Or I could write the thoughts I'm itching to share on the positives outcomes of homeschooling teenagers. There's also the radical ideas which have united our unschooling to our faith. But, the point which made me hesitate was the fact that it's all been said before, in different ways and in different parts of this vast blogosphere. What could I possibly have to say that wasn't already being communicated? And, that is why I looked to God's will to determine His purpose for all this. To blog simply to satisfy my own desires to write or to share and be heard would be a vanity if not purified by the accomplishment of God's will for us all.

But, of course, to blog with the purpose of sharing with friends has got to be a good thing. After all,
"where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:0). That's a nice thought.