February 2011 Blog Posts (10)

I have been trying to focus on our lives here in Maine and have found such wonderful new friends here ..but.... there is a huge BUT... My heart is not here. My mind is not here. I am homesick for the South. For the warm days with the sun shining on my face, for the whispering pines , for the friendly people . It just really goes on and on. (sonic kicks ass)

I guess I had some… Continue

Let the life long learning journey begin! Today IS day 1 of Unschooling. Really I guess we are in a Deschooling mode. Joe has been in the grip of public schools for the last 6 years, really his whole life, starting with Daycare, since he was just a wee one. So we have some unlearning and deprogramming to do (myself included). I am learning to TRUST him and his brain. I know he is smart and has many interests, it just the letting go and trusting him to find his own path, that is…

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So its Monday. But...you know what I have come to realize? Monday is a choice. As in how we will feel and react to Monday. Monday gets such a bad reputation. You say Monday and everyone huffs, not Monday. But we all have a choice rather it is a good Monday or just another Monday. I am going to choose to make my Monday a good Monday. A Monday full of laughter, fun and peace. And as an unschooler I feel now that I have that freedom to provide this Monday to my children. I have the freedom to…

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So, I have been reading everything I can regarding math and unschooling.............all the info has been great but I finally have seen it in action with my 8yr old yesterday.  I bought both my boy wrist watches recently (say that 10 times fast!) and Josiah was calculating if I would make an appt on time or be late.  He had to figure out what time it was, what time my meeting was and how many minutes I had left to arrive on time.  I did not prompt him and he came up with the correct…

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So I just remembered about this blog option on here and figured I might as well write down the fun and interesting learny things that we do in our family. I hope it doesn't end up sounding like bragging or a to-do list for anyone who happens to read it (though I don't really expect anyone to). This is for those "bad" days, when I doubt what we're doing, fear that I'm screwing up my son, don't think he's learning anything useful - so I can look back and say, yes..we are. And while it might…

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I did not write this but I like it....it came in my email from a source called Simple Marriage.  I like it because for me it goes along with the whole idea of unschooling for our family which includes ME not trying to be in "control" of everything. 

 

 

Being a parent is overwhelming at times. Endless schedules, teachable moments, messes to clean up, meals to prepare, laundry to fold, and moments to lose your cool.



Take comfort in knowing that you're not alone.…

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I have spent the last two days on "fieldtrips" and attending park days with two homeschool groups we belong to.  I love these opportunities to spend time with other families enjoying fun activities.  However, I am noticing that recently I seem to bite my tongue a lot!  The dreaded C word (curriculum) comes up more than I ever noticed before.  I hear kids being questioned to death about if they remember that "we studied that" or we can't stay long because we didn't get our school…

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We are new to this unschooling idea but so far loving it!  This morning before the boys (8 and 5) got dressed they set-up a store in their bedroom.  They sorted their belongings into sections with signs designating how much each item cost.  They posted signs that say "employes only" and a sign on the bedroom door saying "We'r Open."  After they return from church I am going shopping.  :-)  

Well I am more and more feeling that this is the only place on-line (with few exceptions) that I belong.  I just visited another home schooling site that I am a member of and came across, of all things, someone concerned about her FOUR-year old struggling with their well-known-brand of curriculum.  UGH!  All I could think was, just let him be a KID!  Why does someone feel that a child of that age needs to be completing X, Y and Z every day?!  Even in the states with the most strict home… Continue

I have to say that I am most pleased with how unschooling is going. The boys love it and I can see them growing in many ways. It does seem like we are on break. But not all at the same time.

This week I started watching my new nephew. He is 4 weeks old. I feel so bad for his mommy, I so wish she could of stayed home longer. Emily has taken to him good. She plays the little mommy. Tries to feed him, hold him. She even played peek a boo with him. It is so cute. She yells at me if I…

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