GEMINI HOMESCHOOLING

That title isn't meant to reflect my sign, although I am a Gemini.  It is more to reflect where I am right now with my homeschool philosophy. 

On one hand I treasure the unschooling movement and ideals with unschooling means interest-led or child-led learning but on the other hand, classical homeschooling also tugs at my heart. 

Classical education is described here: 

The "classical" method began in the Middle Ages and was the approach used by some of the greatest minds in history. The goal of the classical approach is to teach people how to learn for themselves. The five tools of learning, known as the Trivium, are reason, record, research, relate, and rhetoric. Younger children begin with the preparing stage, where they learn basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. The grammar stage is next, which emphasizes compositions and collections, and then the dialectic stage, where serious reading, study, and research take place.

http://www.homeschool.com/Approaches/Classical.asp

It would seem that these two homeschooling approached would and could never ever mix... but I ask .. why not? 

If I am going to allow my child to learn freely and on their own terms and even timetable, then the first thing I need to do is to teach them how to learn. 

Considering the fact that they both started off in public school, there is no need to break habbits of daily "learning or school work"  These few years I have left before puberty strikes seem to me to be the best time to train them in thinking skills as well as reading writing and studying.  I think this is why I am so entralled with critical thinking curriculum.

But I am also very careful not to force them to do work that is repetitive and boring or that they just don't want to do at the moment.  We take advantage of rainy days and boring moments to take our lessons like greek roots and word problems. 

I am aiming for the day when they become self motivated autodidactic (  a person who is self-taught ) learners.  Then they will be able to use the skills they picked up as youngers to be unschoolers for life.