Preparations for Back To School

I'm giggling as I'm sure that title made a few eyebrows raise of people who know we unschool. I mean really, what unschooler prepares for back to school? Well, I'm not really, but since I'm always looking for great information, I figured I'd share.

Homeschool Reviews is an online resource where many homeschoolers have posted their thoughts on the different curriculums that they have used. Since I'm always looking, I found the personal experiences very useful.

What have we been doing?

This Summer has been filled with game play: Dwarf Fortress , Pirates of the Carribean , Runescape, Funorb, and the current favorite, World of Warcraft. Along with these online games, there's been lots of books read, stories told, and costumes made. The thing that always jumps out at me whenever we start a new game or project is that my youngest graps the manual and reads it through. That might not sound impressive till you realize that the manuals are usually at least 358 pages long! Some are four times that size, and many have dedicated web pages just to explain all the rules, abilities, and strategies of game play.

This skill might not seem all that important but take a look at Dwarf Fortress. That game is mind boggling. My spouse and I were just discussing it, and he was saying that it takes a computer programmer type brain to be able to play it. On Wiki they state,"It has a very steep learning curve, partly due to its ASCII graphics, but also due to the fact that it is one of the most complex games ever released." Their slogan is "Losing is fun." This game is near impossible to win and you better just accept that before playing otherwise you won't enjoy the game.

I've found my son researching all types of things. How mines really work, the textile industry, economics, interest rates, glass blowing,.... the list is long for he researches everything that he is curious about and that's a non-ending list. I love unschooling!