Saturday, October 11, 2008

Displays of Responsibility

For all you unschoolers out there, this will be no big deal, but for any who question how unschooling could ever work, I give you yet another example:

I'm sick - I didn't get the post conference cold until the other day, so it's not really a post conference cold, except that it is, well, post conference. Yesterday was the day I was hit hardest - didn't change out of my PJs and really had NO energy. I was up with a nose that wouldn't stop running until 2:30am and was just a bit miserable.

Bekka took it upon herself to clean up the kitchen, take my dirty dishes to the kitchen for me, run the dishwasher, empty the dishwasher, etc. all day. It was SO NICE! I felt so cared for and loved.

Saturdays are her marathon dancing days in Portland. Her ride comes for her before 7:30 am! (We are NOT morning people - well, Steve is, but the rest of us are NOT!) Last night I checked in with her to see if she needed me to wake her and help her get off in the morning (she has always wanted me to) and she said she had it covered. She set out breakfast, got all her stuff gathered (did her laundry) and as I lay in bed this morning I noticed that she was actually ready early (a first).

So, for anyone who thinks kids have to have 12 to 16 years of practice getting up early every morning so they can get up for a job - Phewy! It's just not true - they do it when it's important to THEM!

Oh, BTW - she placed in all of her dances at the Portland Feis last weekend - this was great considering this was her first Feis dancing Novice. And some of the team members performed at the Thirsty Lion and put on a fantastic show!

2 comments:

ps pirro said...

Congratulations to Bekka! If she ever dances in a troupe that comes to the midwest, Jonna and I are getting front row seats.

Ain't unschooling grand?

Anonymous said...

Yes! This is so true! When my oldest went to school, I had to beg and plead with him to get up. Once he was unschooled for several years I started to notice how responsible he became without being told...

Now he is 16 and has been working full-time and applying to colleges - I never have to get him up for work- he just gets up and goes!

Thanks for this great post!