Free Range Kids?

Free range kids? Are we talking baby goats? No actually, it's a term people are using to describe children who are being raised with much more freedom to roam about then is permitted to most kids who in the prevalent climate of 'stranger danger' fear, are overly restricted in their movements.

It's not a term I favour; reminds me of free range chickens. Still the intention behind the phrase (another term is 'wildcrafted') is indicative of what parents know is right for their children. Children must have freedom to be children; to explore, to challenge themselves, to discover. And they can't well do these under their parents paranoid and anxious gaze.
Kids today are reigned in,over-supervised, hovered over where ever they are (helicopter parenting) and it's harming their capacity to grow up right. On the other hand, kids do need supervision.
I guess we parents are in a bit of a bind.

As a little kid I recall many times that, had it not been for my smarter and more street savvy older sister, I might not be around today. I was the shy kid predators would notice; "come over here little girl I have a puppy to show you," or "here's 2 pounds for candy." Even at home accidents happened due to no supervision at all; a fight leading to a torn ear, a bottle of swallowed medicine.

Frankly, free range needs to have a clearly defined range. And that range ought to be supervised. As the child grows they can go further and further but I believe that a responsible adult needs to be paying attention (even when the kids are older and with other peers have the kids on your radar).

It's not a question of lack of trust; rather what many are calling benign or wholesome neglect. Being present, at a distance, in the vicinity depending on the child's maturity level-not only on age- but letting kids do their stuff.

The Homeschool Liberation League

"The Homeschool Liberation League" by Lucy Frank is a middle-grade novel coming out in July.

After a summer at Wilderness Camp, thirteen year- old Katya decides that she absolutely cannot go back to school. At school she can’t eradicate invasive alien plants, go on foraged-food-finding missions, or just be herself. Her parents, despite being “school kind of people,” are willing to give it a try, but Katya has to stick to their (just-like-school!) assignments. This isn’t what she had in mind.

So with the help of a mysterious violin-playing boy, Milo, and new friend Francesca, Katya comes up with a plan to save her homeschooling experience. The three become the founding members of the Homeschool Liberation League––but will it be enough to convince Katya’s parents that her ideas about learning might be just right for her? (Amazon.com review)

Check out this review as well
http://kpl-teen-reads.livejournal.com/74511.html

Sounds promising.

October 24th: World Climate Day

350 is the most important number in the world. This number is the safe line for our global climate and a start line for a global movement. Join 350.org to take action in your community

You Do The Math: Explaining Basic Concepts Behind Math Problems Improves Children's Learning

ScienceDaily (Apr. 12, 2009) — New research from Vanderbilt University has found students benefit more from being taught the concepts behind math problems rather than the exact procedures to solve the problems. To read more go to

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090410143809.htm

There is a reason why 'basic math' is called 'basic'-because it is. On a recent post on an unschooling group I am with, one unschooling mum tells of how her daughter who has had no formal math was found to be helping her school friend with her math homework (and English essays to boot!). This does not surprise me. My daughters have had no formal math and on entering school this passed Fall were able to grasp math concepts and solve problems with ease.
I have heard that that it takes an adult or an older child 180 hours to catch up on 12 years of missed schooling (I'll get the source for you in a next post) but school tends to draw things out and make simple things complicated.