self confidence writing on ul

[Monica Manzano]

Touching on the topic of my blogs and writing, I feel I illustrate low self-confidence regarding unschooling. Instead of looking at the glass half full, I see it the other way, and it shows. Admittedly, I don't have a good recording system for our 'progress'. I fall into a trap of thinking 'we haven't done something academic' or 'we forgot'.

I believe I should think on and perhaps write in my head before blogging. Perhaps think on an 'issue' or subject as the 'glass half full', not half-empty. Spinning toward the positive may show more self-confidence. Not to mention, blogging about something thru my eyes, isn't the whole picture.

The boys are coming into an age where they may write their own blogs. They are 1 step away from publishing. They do publish on Spore visavis the game descriptions. They've done so for a long while. Someone posted a comment about 'interesting design', a long time back. But I don't believe the boys responded. It's not their thing.

The boys don't use the internet to interact with people. They never have. There is a whole 'nuther thing I've noted on occasion. It was very subtle comment about either chat rooms or emails, but they just don't take interest. They wouldn't even respond to their Dad's emails, they claim 'why don't we wait until he's home'?

They are very practical, and when it comes to 'friends' or potential 'friends', they simply would say no to communicating except in person. They also have no interest in a cell phone of their own, at least not yet. I've barely gotten them used to using mine when dh and I go out. Laurence learned to text a few months back.

[Sandra Dodd]

-=-maybe i just don't take the time to compose well. especially my thoughts...never have. which is why i'm learning DBT (dialectal behavioral therapy).-=-

This? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_behavioral_therapy
Dialectical?
(I didn't find "dialectal," so maybe I've found the wrong thing; if so, please redirect me.)

-=-I believe I should think on and perhaps write in my head before blogging. Perhaps think on an 'issue' or subject as the 'glass half full', not half-empty. Spinning toward the positive may show more self-confidence.-=-

Monica, rather than thinking of "spinning toward the positive," maybe think of stepping one step, one choice at a time toward the positive.

Much of this is written by other unschoolers whose children are older (some are grown now!), but it's a collection of the kinds of things that help people be confidently in the moment.

http://sandradodd.com/mindfulness/
http://sandradodd.com/joy
http://sandradodd.com/chores/joy
http://sandradodd.com/tone

I don't think blogging or progress reports are necessary, and with more experience your fears will get smaller. These things might help:

http://sandradodd.com/checklists
http://sandradodd.com/acme1
That second one is Pam Sorooshian's write-up of unschooling for elementary, in "educationese." There are links there to similar things by others.

Looking at the overall of unschooling isn't as good from the beginning end as it is from the other end. It's good to look at the moment before you, and see what you can do to do a fun thing today. Not ten fun things, or five, but one. And after that one, maybe another one (today, or tonight, or tomorrow). Some fun things will last hours, and some just minutes, and you don't always know in advance which it will be! On cool thing a day would be 365 cool things. Schoolkids don't have 365 cool things happen in a year, generally.

[bLISs]

i can relate to your entry. more often than not my thoughts are so scattered & i'm so short on time that by the time my fingers hit the keyboard the words are flying from there to the blog post...& most of the time i am not sure others' understand what the heck i'm trying to convey because i have a hard time summarizing. or maybe i just don't take the time to compose well. especially my thoughts...never have. which is why i'm learning DBT (dialectal behavioral therapy). its just great. helping me to be in the present. but so far, when i blog, i still ramble.

so what was my point... LMAO.

i found it really touching that your boys would rather connect w/ others in person, f2f. that is just so cool. you know how those books by michael so and so...the wonder of boys or something like that. and 'raising cain'. i personally don't care for most of the stuff in those books because i don't agree w/ it...one of the things is their bogus take on boys not holding eye contact/connection like girls do. such b.s. to me, it has to do w/ how they were brought up...and with whom, and how connective the parent(s) is. etc. etc. i think more boys would feel like your boys do if they were raised connectively (is that a word!?). with connection and true unconditional love. not to mention freedom as a RUing life entails.

i am not into the 'reporting times' yet as my oldest is only 6.5 years old (apparently i don't have to report we are "HSing" until the fall AFTER her 7th birthday here in OR. so that gives me another full year to truly be free from the system. yay!!!

anyway...i liked what you shared about your insecurities as i said i can definitely relate to that...in fact, my DBT group leader joked about a clear glass coffee mug she had there that said 'glass half empty' from pessimists.com-i personally found it repulsive because i'm trying so hard to be more optimistic and positive in how i think and respond. i didn't even LOOK at the mug. lol don't even want those vibes to enter my space. ;o)