Sparkling Adventures Blog

[miffy]

I bet when Lauren is looking for a place to park the bus for the night she picks one near an unsecured WIFI network & she probably asks for her 'friends' WIFI password as soon as she walks in the door because her daughters need the internet to LEARN!!! (& she needs to check her facebook)

[CheeseDeprived]

A non reading child could only really play games, watch movies, and listen to music. I'm actually shocked to hear that Aisha and Brioni aren't reading or familiar with the alphabet - I was assuming that they were at least able to google areas of interest, but apparently not .

Yeah, I'm still struggling to get my head around that too. As I said earlier, they don't have a chance to really get into anything that interests them... wouldn't they get terribly bored, especially on long drives? And anyway, don't girls that age love to read? I know mine does. She's also busy googling stuff all the time (but of course that requires supervision). I can't imagine Lauren reading to them very much, or wanting to help them look things up online.

I just hope the fact that she's stupid enough to tell the world about her girls' illiteracy in a major newspaper will mean that someone, somewhere puts 2 and 2 together and works out that she isn't following any curriculum, obviously not meeting the minimum requirements, and so shouldn't be allowed to "educate" those poor kids.

Of all the disadvantages they've already been put at... not teaching them to read at this age is a crime. :angry-cussingblack:

[Sister_Wife]

I live in Qld, and have many friends that are unschoolers, most of them registered. They say that it is very relaxed, when it comes to submitting learning "goals" etc. I recently attended a Homeschool information evening, as we were intending to start homeschool this year. (we have decided to do state school instead) The head of the Home Education Unit, which oversees all Qld homechoolers, unschoolers and school of the air, said Qld has the most relaxed guidelines of all the states in Australia, she herself unschooled her children. The other thing that was quite clear was that, they don't make a fuss if you don't stick to the curriculum you submitted. As long as you can show that learning has occured.

[Porcelina]

Her whole hanging back thing I find creepy. In all the videos she's nearly silent. She rarely speaks to the kids. When David was the one filming, she rarely spoke either. I think she is just totally disconnected.

^wss. Did anyone watch the video of after Elijahs birth? David went in to talk to Lauren while she still had Elijah on her chest (I think) and there was just no emotion, nothing. She didn't smile or talk, just stared into the camera. I mean I get she would've been tired after labour but it was just weird... I felt very disconnected after I gave birth but I still made an effort to smile for the camera.

[lilith]

I look pretty unconnected in the pics straight after my births, but I was recovering from caesarean and full of morphine and, in two cases, exhausted from labouring before the c section. Lots of women do look pretty drained in the first photos though, which is why we don't generally share them with the world. The pictures after mum and baby are both cleaned up get shared and thus become the standard for "first photos".

But Lauren is always like that. I can't think of any pics of her smiling that besotted new mum smile at any of her newborns, and she posted plenty of photos, I'd think that if a picture like that existed it would be posted.

[CheeseDeprived]

I live in Qld, and have many friends that are unschoolers, most of them registered. They say that it is very relaxed, when it comes to submitting learning "goals" etc. I recently attended a Homeschool information evening, as we were intending to start homeschool this year. (we have decided to do state school instead) The head of the Home Education Unit, which oversees all Qld homechoolers, unschoolers and school of the air, said Qld has the most relaxed guidelines of all the states in Australia, she herself unschooled her children. The other thing that was quite clear was that, they don't make a fuss if you don't stick to the curriculum you submitted. As long as you can show that learning has occured.

Oh... for some reason I was under the impression that they were rather strict in Qld (I remember looking at other states' requirements when going through the registration process). Maybe they just make it sound that way on their website.

Here in NSW they don't make a fuss if you don't stick to the curriculum either, and I don't think they should - it's great having the flexibility to change your mind as you go along. But I think a child Aisha's age being unable to read might raise eyebrows. The syllabus is quite clear in that regard, with minimum goals outlined.

(And I'm not saying it's all great stuff that should be followed to the letter, but the reading thing just shocked me.)

[Guest Anonymous]

Yes, he did post to the blog. I went back to the very first entries (pre-kids) and they were being written by him. And obviously he was taking some of the pictures (who is taking the pictures of her now? one of the kids?) and the video so I'd say the blog was a joint venture.

Here's one of his early posts (because he's talking about someone else named David I thought it was her writing about meeting him but then further down he mentions his wife so it was David writing): sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=355

I got the impression that the early blog posts were collections of writing from when they were first married: possibly personal letters and things written for church publications? I think the blog started around the time Lauren was pregnant with Aisha and wanted to document their life as a family (this would fit in with when the blogging phenomenon first started too?)

[Guest Anonymous]

A non reading child could only really play games, watch movies, and listen to music. I'm actually shocked to hear that Aisha and Brioni aren't reading or familiar with the alphabet - I was assuming that they were at least able to google areas of interest, but apparently not .

I think they are reading, and the journalist misread the blog, as in the link posted earlier.

[lilith]

It sounds like the journalist interviewed Lauren. She may not have, but that was the impression given

[Guest Anonymous]

It sounds like the journalist interviewed Lauren. She may not have, but that was the impression given

If you look at the words though, they are taken from the unschooling manifesto that Lauren published quite a while back, which included the reference to spelling out LOVE. Except the journalist has removed the words "A child...." and replaced them with "Seven year old Aisha".

My guess is that they interviewed/photographed Lauren, but took the text straight from her 'manifesto. I would be interested to know whether they read any of the rest of the blog though...

[pastaswife]

The part of their camp video where one of the older girls was trying to exlain her game to Lauren and she walks away broke my heart.

I'd love to listen to that poor girl, care about the different things she's doing.

If I didn't know the ages of the girls, when I did hear Lauren talking to them I'd assume they were all under four, she assumes them old enough to keep themselves safe, but then talks to them like you'd talk to a very small child..?

[truthseeker]

Hi Ladies

Just wanted to check in. Long time lurker - but got freaked out recently by the temporary blackout, so decided lurking is not really good manners :D Have a lot of regulars I'm a fan of here - hello _lillith, anniec, chaotic life, august (and others) - and am looking forward to getting to know you all better. Big thanks to whoever helped me out with my login problems on FB - not sure who it was.

For now though - registering my serious concern for Aisha in particular, and overall fear for all those girls. I'm in Melbourne, and am seriously tempted to invite her on her return trip just to check it all out for myself. Not sure my DH and teenage 3 could take it though ....

[August]

^wss. Did anyone watch the video of after Elijahs birth? David went in to talk to Lauren while she still had Elijah on her chest (I think) and there was just no emotion, nothing. She didn't smile or talk, just stared into the camera. I mean I get she would've been tired after labour but it was just weird... I felt very disconnected after I gave birth but I still made an effort to smile for the camera.

I thought that was really odd, too. I wondered if she was incredibly traumatised by the birth. It's one thing to dance around a campfire singing about the great earth mother's yoni, it's quite another to go through transition without any hope of drugs. And we know she knew labor pain and hated labor pain and tried to avoid it. It's telling that she trapped herself there for the birth but made sure she had a TENS machine.

PND doesn't start immediately at birth, does it? Maybe her emotionless writing is how she is IRL too?

[chaotic life]

I did five of my six births with no pain medications, and five of those I attempted to homebirth (only two were successful homebirths, I do NOT birth well and transported for complications three times). I don't hold natural childbirth or homebirthing against anyone. I do think unassisted childbirth, which is what she did, is IDIOTIC. I think it's irresponsible and selfish. I think the ONLY excuse for not having someone trained and experienced at your birth is a precipitous birth where you cannot get someone there fast enough. Even in the realm of unassisted childbirth, she did not PLAN her birth at all. She deliberately disengaged and hoped it would do whatever it was going to do. She had no birthing supplies, no prenatal care, NO education in case of emergencies and NO plan for any of it. She had birth complications before him. Her actions were just flat out stupid.

I also utilize some unschooling, loosely. I staunchly disagree with radical unschooling. I've SEEN the adult fruits of radical unschooling and without fail EVERY adult I know how did radical unschooling has massive gaps in their knowledge and education that THEY are not okay with. I know quite a few radical unschoolers grown up, ftr. It's not a one or two person opinion. Generally what radical unschoolers like is that they had the freedom to follow their interests and direct their own learning. They do at least generally learn how to fill gaps in their knowledge *when they figure out they have gaps*. What they generally don't like is the glaring gaps, often huge gaps that impede their ability to do what they want in society.

When I use unschooling techniques, *I* guide the education. When I see gaps in my children's learning, I require them to fill those gaps. I will use even strict educational methods for gaps, especially in core and essential knowledge. My middle schooler may spend a good portion of his "school" time learning about Astronomy, Nuclear Fission and complicated historical analysis, and he may get lost in highly advanced books via his Kindle with text to speech. However, he is still required to do lessons on Teaching Textbooks for his mathematics and to go a strictly regimented Ortho-Gillingham reading program to work at correcting his Dyslexia. Radical unschooling would absolutely allow him to drown in his dyslexia and I flat-out refuse to allow that. If I were to allow him to drown in his dyslexia, I would fail as my duty as his mother and educator.

THAT is where I lose all respect with Lauren as a homeschooler. Sure, her adventure have the potential to provide a vast education for her girls IF she is interacting with them and expanding on what they learn at every step of the process. I do NOT see Lauren providing that level of education. She expects the adventure itself to teach the girls and no responsible homeschooler, even a radical unschooler does that. If a child cannot read, then you MUST read FOR THEM. That's how they learn. You must answer every question, and you must pose questions to get them thinking and not just regurgitating. If you don't know the answers then after you explore in an outing, you go back and dig deeper because YOU learn about it. You do NOT let your children check out on ipads, plain and simple. Being a homeschooler is a permenant mentality and an exhausting way of life. It doesn't have a beginning or an end, and you never pass up an opportunity to explain and teach the world to your children. THAT is how you homeschool, and especially how you unschool.

As others have said, Lauren uses the words to justify her neglect but she does NONE of the theories into actual actions to teach her kids. I have a friend who radically unschools. Her teaching is more exhaustive than mine hand's down. Nothing about her teaching means she sits and crochets while the children explore on the computer without her....and she has ipads for all of her kids too but she GUIDES their learning and cuts off entertainment if it becomes mind numbing and not educational. Sadly, Lauren's educational neglect is really starting to show as Aisha falls further and further behind where she should be.

[kittengrrl]

^^ chaotic life, I completely agree. I would think to be a successful homeschooler, or unschooler you basically have to become proficient in everything with and for your student. The teacher has to love learning as much as imparting that knowledge to their student (which honestly applies to traditional schooling but unfortunately our hands are tied with restrictions on curriculum-ex substitute here).

[alysee]

^^ chaotic life, I completely agree. I would think to be a successful homeschooler, or unschooler you basically have to become proficient in everything with and for your student. The teacher has to love learning as much as imparting that knowledge to their student (which honestly applies to traditional schooling but unfortunately our hands are tied with restrictions on curriculum-ex substitute here).

As well you have to pay attention to what sparks the interest of your child and help them to take off with that interest to learn more whether its through classes, Internet, book, meeting someone in that field or whatever. Lauren is too busy with her own life and work that she can't even brush their teeth and hair.

[kittengrrl]

It is hard work pairing the right red shirt with red skirt! How dare her daughters take her attention away from finding another WiFi hotspot and place to wash clothes?

[chaotic life]

You're right off course. Those kids are better served to ask strangers if they may bath in their bathtubs.

[pikachu]

http://www.sparklingadventuresDOTcom/index.php?id=362

From 21 March 1998

When we were in Ghana we ran short on cash so God provided 100 Dutch guilders, by way of a loan from a girl called Henriette Jagersma. This turned out to be a double blessing because when we turned up one month late to repay her, both Henriette and her parents welcomed us and we stayed in her parents home for 6 days. They seemed to genuinely enjoy having us.

Nearly fifteen years ago and they still have the same pattern of taking, taking, taking... inviting themselves into homes, overstaying their "welcome" and giving back only by way of the joy of their very presence which is valuable currency to all who are blessed with the privilege of hosting them.

[August]

As well you have to pay attention to what sparks the interest of your child and help them to take off with that interest to learn more whether its through classes, Internet, book, meeting someone in that field or whatever. Lauren is too busy with her own life and work that she can't even brush their teeth and hair.

You actually have to know more than them, and more about everything in general so you can spot deficiencies and come up with ways to spark their interest in those areas. If reading about homeschooling makes me feel tired, reading about (good) unschooling makes me exhausted.

[nothingclever]

For the people who asked - you sometimes see people going barefoot on beachfront streets in Australia, but more often they are wearing thongs (flip flops). The streets get very hot, not comfortable for bare feet. The road surfaces even melt on the hottest days. Aside from that, it's pretty unusual to see anyone barefoot in an urban environment.

Australian kids do, however, often play in the bush or their backyards barefoot. I know people have a perception of Australia as full of venomous snakes and spiders, but although they do exist, its generally pretty safe to go barefoot in cleared areas if you are aware and take basic precautions.

I grew up in Central Australia, and I rarely wore shoes. I could get away with going to my high school barefoot (my school had really relaxed rules about everything), but I once got kicked out of a shopping center for not having shoes. Even in a really remote town, it was expected that people would at least wear thongs into stores.

[August]

I'm not buying unfettered iPad access as a valid educational tool - I know what my kids use their iPod touches for. And they can at least read, so they can, and do, download books and use the Internet for free learning.

A non reading child could only really play games, watch movies, and listen to music. I'm actually shocked to hear that Aisha and Brioni aren't reading or familiar with the alphabet - I was assuming that they were at least able to google areas of interest, but apparently not .

Her data plan costs must be huge, especially since they are all mobile.

You'd be surprised. There are apps that teach all sorts of useful concepts well. From games where you reflect and refract light beams, to the touch screen info from science exhibitions, to animations of molecules and cells to logic problems and spatial puzzles, and of course, apps that teach reading and math (splashmath FTW!). It's only really some of the more useless games that require wifi. If you compare an uneducated child with a well-stocked ipad to an uneducated child with a TV and game console the ipad kid would be streets ahead. If she's going to ignore her children, I'm glad they at least have the ipads.

[nothingclever]

You'd be surprised. There are apps that teach all sorts of useful concepts well. From games where you reflect and refract light beams, to the touch screen info from science exhibitions, to animations of molecules and cells to logic problems and spatial puzzles, and of course, apps that teach reading and math (splashmath FTW!). It's only really some of the more useless games that require wifi. If you compare an uneducated child with a well-stocked ipad to an uneducated child with a TV and game console the ipad kid would be streets ahead. If she's going to ignore her children, I'm glad they at least have the ipads.

This is a bit off-topic, but some zoos are now using IPads to keep orangutans entertained and mentally stimulated. If it's good enough for apes, I'm sure it's good enough for Lauren.

[Guest Anonymous]

http://www.sparklingadventuresDOTcom/index.php?id=362

From 21 March 1998

Nearly fifteen years ago and they still have the same pattern of taking, taking, taking... inviting themselves into homes, overstaying their "welcome" and giving back only by way of the joy of their very presence which is valuable currency to all who are blessed with the privilege of hosting them.

Do you not have the old saying in Australia, that fish and houseguests go off after 3 days....

[lilith]

You'd be surprised. There are apps that teach all sorts of useful concepts well. From games where you reflect and refract light beams, to the touch screen info from science exhibitions, to animations of molecules and cells to logic problems and spatial puzzles, and of course, apps that teach reading and math (splashmath FTW!). It's only really some of the more useless games that require wifi. If you compare an uneducated child with a well-stocked ipad to an uneducated child with a TV and game console the ipad kid would be streets ahead. If she's going to ignore her children, I'm glad they at least have the ipads.

But if they aren't reading then she has to source and install those apps for them.

My toddler played with my iPad, and all of my friends have apps for their babies and toddlers. I know they exist. But the parent needs to find them, and I somehow doubt Lauren is doing that.