Unschool friendly evaluator?

[Kim]

Hi,

Our anniversary is in September so we need to do the evaluation.  For those who use evaluators, can you recommend one that is unschool friendly who will do cyber eval?  We didn't/couldn't keep (or it is hard to keep) a lot of the record of what they learn everyday especially when it is not done with workbook/pencils.

I'm still torn on whether to join a umbrella school so I don't have to do the evaluation or just stick with annual evaluation.  How do you all do your annual evaluation?

TIA

[Karen Angstadt]

We use an evaluator. We take lots of pictures of what we do, whether it's baking bread, beach days, surfing, playing outside (finding small insects, animals), etc. This really helps me keep a good idea of what we are doing.

I asked our evaluator for some additional help on keeping up with our portfolio considering we don't have any set schedule, and we DON'T do worksheets (my kids hate them!). She suggested we discuss some goals for the year (that are flexible & can be altered as needed) and to write out a plan of how we could learn about the different things my dd is interested in. I went a step further and worked backward from the "field trips" we enjoy so much.

We wrote a list of places we'd like to visit this year, and some things we expected to encounter there. My dd is very inquisitive about how things work- so we will read a little about how roller coasters are designed before taking a trip to Disney or Legoland to ride them. By starting backward, I feel a little more confident about keeping concurrent records, in addition to my photographs (which I keep on the computer and print on plain paper for the eval).

My daughter was also interested in making a list of things she'd like to learn more about and so these on are our list too. And this will give us some direction when we are having a "bored" day and want some help with ideas.

I don't know if Kelly will do a cyber eval, but you're free to contact her to ask.

Kelly Jimenez: 772-344-7693 email: [e-mail]

Good luck!

[Vennessa Foster]

We use the Umbrella School Florida Unschoolers, precisely because I was so uncomfortable with the evaluation and keeping a portfolio. My kids don't do anything that even remotely resembles school work, so I found this option to be better for us. We report attendance every quarter, and that is all. Good Luck!!

[Kim]

Thank you for replies.  Keep them coming LOL...

Karen, starting backwards... those are great advice.  I read similar info before but never sat down and planned the year ahead.  Is Kelly your evaluator?

Vennessa, Florida Unschoolers, do they have a deadline to sign up?

[Karen Angstadt]

Yes, Kelly is our evaluator. My dd just completed our version of kindergarten, so I was nervous about record-keeping for first grade. I was also concerned because dd said she didn't want to learn to read, not even a little interested, so I was worried about what that would look like in a portfolio to an evaluator. But Kelly was very reassuring that she would eventually want to read and it likely would come naturally just by doing what we do all the time anyway.
Now because we sat down to plan our year loosely, dd says she does want to learn to read. So we will work together to form ideas of how she would like to begin. Reading together more, trying Bob books, playing with rhyming flash cards etc.
Before talking with Kelly, I was ready to enroll in an umbrella school too. But I really feel like we can do this, especially now that I feel like we're working together as a team, for record-keeping too. Like she reminds me whatvwe did at the end of the day as we wind down. We discuss our favorite parts. I'm also considering starting a blog (probably private) where she and I can work together to post what we did and keep a record for fun, just as a teamwork project. Scrapbooks are another way to keep records, if you enjoy creative activities.
Karen

[Kim]

Karen, I want to send you a private msg.