What unschooling looked like yesterday

Chloe spent the early morning working on an Anime Music Video (AMV), which is a little movie made of anime clips, usually themed, set to one or more songs. Unfortunately, the thing crashed just as she was completing it and she lost most of her work. This is an excellent example of how unschoolers learn to deal with the frustrations life throws their way. (Some people argue that, because we say "Yes" to our kids so much, unschooled kids are too sheltered from real life. These people seem to think we have to create or foster stress and unhappiness in our kids' lives, as if real life won't provide them with enough practice—in which case, I have to wonder why they think our kids need practice. It's not very logical, but it's another argument we come up against again and again.)

Starting our day with Chloe's tears was sad, but it was nice watching MJ offer comfort and computer assistance. They went off to the basement, where Chloe had been working, to see what they could salvage. Not having any luck, they cheered themselves up by watching Dane Cook comedy videos on YouTube. Then Chloe went to sleep there on the futon, and MJ started making AMVs of her own.

Sidebar about AMVs: These little movies are very clever. The creator must search through dozens of anime clips to find scenes that suit the music selections and/or the theme of the video. In many, one character is "singing" the song, so clips have to be located where the movements of the character's mouth fit the words of the song. MJ and Chloe have both made Fruits Basket "theme song" videos; these contain clips of each of the major characters in the show, with one song snippet per character. They've pulled together some varied and clever music choices. Another example is the "Green Fields of France" video Chloe made. The song is a rather political tune about a WWI soldier who dies on those green fields. Chloe watched someone else's AMV that used Full Metal Alchemist characters and decided to try one using Fruits Basket characters. It was a challenge, since (a) there are no soldiers in Fruits Basket, and (2) nobody dies. But she pulled together a great collection of clips, all very somber and moody, and made a cool little movie. On a lighter note, she made one set to "Come Dancing" that is full of dance scenes and chuckles.

In the afternoon, we set off for our second-week-in-a-row get-together with some other unschoolers. It was a gorgeous, hot day, so this gathering took place at our friends' house on Lake Roesiger. Oh, man, those kids had fun. They shivered their way into the lake a few times and ran around the yard throwing foam SCA javelins at each other and walked to the store for ice cream and just generally enjoyed each other's company.

When we got home at 8, tired and happy, MJ discovered that Verizon had deleted three batches of concert tickets from her inbox. Ack! Scary moment. (TicketMaster very kindly resent them this morning, so I don't have to pay back all the people MJ bought tickets for. Phew!)

While Frank, Chloe, and I watched House, MJ ran a load of laundry, planned AMVs, and thought about what she wants to wear when she works the Sons of Italy fundraiser spaghetti feed this Saturday. (She got her food handler's card on Monday, and we're going shopping for a red, white, and/or green apron today.) Then Frank, MJ, and Chloe settled in to watch Mind of Mencia while I read my book and fell asleep on the couch.

Academic interpretation: computer class, political science, phys ed, socializing and socialization, and whatever educators call it when they have students do art projects about literature. Ah, here's one thing Washington State says 8th graders will do: "Expand comprehension by analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing information and ideas..." And then there's this:

"In eighth grade, students integrate observation skills and a variety of listening strategies to evaluate the effectiveness of auditory and visual information... They are able to analyze cultural principles, beliefs, and world views, including their own. Students use language and other communication strategies to find a common code for communication."

In other words, they'll do book reports, oral presentations, and art projects to illustrate their comprehension of what they've read, watched, and listened to. Hmmm, sounds like unschooling.