ECHSA

Hi all
My name is Cathy, married to Craig, and living in South-Africa. I have 5
children, who have always been homeschooled, oldest is nearly 12, youngest
is 5 months. Recently I have become interested in Unschooling, and am
particularly interested to clarify whether or not I can be both a Christian
and an Unschooler - there is fairly heated debate on this topic in
homeschooling circles I notice! We are currently conducting an "Unschooling
Experiment" in our home (we have been Unschooling since 9 October), and I am
pretty excited with what I am observing. I am also reading John Holt, who, I
think, introduced the seminal ideas that led to Unschooling, and I am
challenged and intrigued. As a result I am interested in communicating with
people who are Unschooling, and who are Christians, and who feel that it is
possible to reconcile the two. I would like to know more, so I am here to
learn....
Blessings
Cathy


----- Original Message -----
From: <SandraDodd@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2001 2:37 AM
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] Digest Number 78


>
> In a message dated 12/27/01 2:48:58 PM, wordup@... writes:
>
> << I've never seen the unschooling.com list -- in fact, I'm new to this
list
> as well. What're the issues with the other list,>>
>
> Rational discussion.
> Unschooling.
> Honesty.
>
>
> <<...and what's the importance of having a moderator for it?>>
>
> It is *the* list of www.unschooling.com, HEM's unschooling forum. It has
500
> members, give or take, as life flows. If it is not a good, safe, place
> promoting unschooling, unschooling is not as well protected and promoted
as
> some would like for it to be.
>
> This list formed as a result of a car wreck of sorts during an
> unschooling-dotcom rush hour. Sometimes side roads are best. But
freeways
> are still important.
>
> So...
>
> What John Holt stuff is available to read online? Some people don't have
> good access to the books.
>
> Sandra
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>

[email protected]

In a message dated 12/28/01 12:24:50 PM, echsa@... writes:

<< am
particularly interested to clarify whether or not I can be both a Christian
and an Unschooler - there is fairly heated debate on this topic in
homeschooling circles I notice! >>

Yes, you just missed one here!

If you want to go into the archives at yahoogroups it's there. It was more
civilized than others I've been in, in a way, and also stronger.

The conclusion was, probably, "We don't know." or "Yes, but how?"

<<As a result I am interested in communicating with
people who are Unschooling, and who are Christians, and who feel that it is
possible to reconcile the two. I would like to know more, so I am here to
learn....>>

This group isn't "a Christian group" although there are lots of Christians
here.

If you're not already familiar with the Australian authors of the book on
Christian unschooling, they have a website which is linked from
http://expage.com/unschoolingotherwise
(sorry for the pop-up ads)

Sandra

ECHSA

Hi Sandra
Thanks for clarifying. I am not looking for a ''Christian group''. I am
wanting to learn about Unschooling, and I need to clarify for my own frame
of reference how it fits with Christianity. Seems a worthwhile research
topic anyway!
Will look at the recommended website...
Cathy

---- Original Message -----
From: <SandraDodd@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2001 9:32 PM
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] Introduction


>
> In a message dated 12/28/01 12:24:50 PM, echsa@... writes:
>
> << am
> particularly interested to clarify whether or not I can be both a
Christian
> and an Unschooler - there is fairly heated debate on this topic in
> homeschooling circles I notice! >>
>
> Yes, you just missed one here!
>
> If you want to go into the archives at yahoogroups it's there. It was
more
> civilized than others I've been in, in a way, and also stronger.
>
> The conclusion was, probably, "We don't know." or "Yes, but how?"
>
> <<As a result I am interested in communicating with
> people who are Unschooling, and who are Christians, and who feel that it
is
> possible to reconcile the two. I would like to know more, so I am here to
> learn....>>
>
> This group isn't "a Christian group" although there are lots of Christians
> here.
>
> If you're not already familiar with the Australian authors of the book on
> Christian unschooling, they have a website which is linked from
> http://expage.com/unschoolingotherwise
> (sorry for the pop-up ads)
>
> Sandra
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>

zenmomma *

Hi Cathy and welcome. We just had a lively, respectful and pretty
interesting discussion about Christianity and unschooling. You can find
those in the archives at Yahoo. There have also been quite a few discussions
on the topic over at unschooling.com. If you haven't already done so, I'd
point you to the message boards over there as well. Lots of great
discussion, info, support and advice.

~Mary





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mary krzyzanowski

Hi,
I'm Mary. My dh, John and I live in NY with our 5dc. Elizabeth-11,
Rachel-9, Steven-6, Rebekah-4 and Michael-20 months. We have always
homeschooled. Started with boxed curriculum ("I want to learn about
different things"), went to making own curriculum (stress on me), unit
studies (more stress) to unschooling (happy kids and mom-life's fun and
interesting again).
Mary-NY



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Kimberlie King-Patraw

Hello
I finally made it to this group through, Robin, I know you sent this
like a month ago. I have been lurking for a few weeks since then. Now
that I finally have my own computer, I have learned that I am not
computer savvy, or as my children say I'm "computerbarrissing".
My name is Kimberlie Patraw, I go by my old nickname: Kime. I have 7
children ranging in age from 15 to 4. John Holt was one of the first
books I read about 8 yrs ago, but I admit I had a difficult time
applying his ideals. Shortly after I began homeschooling I met Sandra,
---[I'm glad to see you on line ---in a computer type email I know how
to work]; without her common sense, my oldest son would have hated his
parents. My journey into homeschooling has not been easy for me. My
ideas were a bit messed up, partially due to too many years of playing
the college game. I have been growing closer to unschooling, but I know
my journey is not over. Now my oldest son is purely unschooled, due to
his own strengths and desires, and with a little help from Sandra in the
past. The rest of my children are unschooled to a certain extent of
cooperativeness.
Our families biggest interest is chess, we all play and we travel to
play in different tournaments when possible. As family we like hiking,
backpacking, camping, swimming, and playing all different types of
games. I think I said enough or too much. Kime

[email protected]

In a message dated 12/28/02 11:43:47 PM, kskids7@... writes:

<< I have 7
children ranging in age from 15 to 4. >>

FIFTEEN!? How can that BE?
(Oh... Kirby will be seventeen this summer. That's how. <bwg>)

Kime and her husband Steve were in Albuquerque when they only had four and a
half kids, and then went to Nevada. (Are you still in Nevada?)

Welcome.

Sandra

Kimberlie King-Patraw

We are still in Nevada. We moved to the south and are now in Las Vegas.
This is good, because of our interest in chess. Mike has become very
good at chess and now plays with the experts. Most of his friends are
over 30, and live all over the world. A couple of high school coaches
have been trying to get him to play for their team, so he went down a
checked it out and didn't like it. He said the team was just to immature
for him, and the campus looked like a jail. The high schools here are
closed campuses, so you arrive and are locked in behind large steel
gates with barbed wire fencing around the fields. That bothers Mike, and
he won't go back even for an after school event. I could rant more on
it, but I think you get the picture.
I have found a few more unschoolers down here. Not as many as we had in
New Mexico, and I am still considered a radical. I got involved with
some of the politics here, which is probably why my alignment is more
fearful. Those who don't agree with me, call me a trouble maker. They
say that to my face, it's too funny.
All I need is a quick comeback and I would be set, but I am too slow of
wit. So it just drops off there. Its good see your name again Sandra,
and thanks for the welcome.
Kime

Robin

GOod to see you here, Kime! I think you'll like this group. No, wait, I know you'll like this group if you already know Sandra! Cool!
Robin Yule

Hello
I finally made it to this group through, Robin, I know you sent this
like a month ago. I have been lurking for a few weeks since then. Now
that I finally have my own computer, I have learned that I am not
computer savvy, or as my children say I'm "computerbarrissing".
My name is Kimberlie Patraw, I go by my old nickname: Kime. I have 7
children ranging in age from 15 to 4. John Holt was one of the first
books I read about 8 yrs ago, but I admit I had a difficult time
applying his ideals. Shortly after I began homeschooling I met Sandra,
---[I'm glad to see you on line ---in a computer type email I know how
to work]; without her common sense, my oldest son would have hated his
parents. My journey into homeschooling has not been easy for me. My
ideas were a bit messed up, partially due to too many years of playing
the college game. I have been growing closer to unschooling, but I know
my journey is not over. Now my oldest son is purely unschooled, due to
his own strengths and desires, and with a little help from Sandra in the
past. The rest of my children are unschooled to a certain extent of
cooperativeness.
Our families biggest interest is chess, we all play and we travel to
play in different tournaments when possible. As family we like hiking,
backpacking, camping, swimming, and playing all different types of
games. I think I said enough or too much. Kime



To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Katrina Gutleben

Hi Dawn. I'm glad you guys made it! :)

Katie





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Lisa Freese

Hi! I'm new to this list but not to unschooling. I'm
currently living overseas in Vienna, Austria with my
family (DH, DS (8), DD (almost 5), and DS (1). We
have been unschooling since we knew what it was (I
think my son was 3 when I read "How Children Learn"
and that was it for me!) Looking forward to getting
to know you all.

Lisa

=====
Lisa Freese

"If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." --Thomas Edison

__________________________________________________
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The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo
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[email protected]

In a message dated 4/16/2003 5:20:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
mamajens2000@... writes:
> Hi! I'm new to this list but not to unschooling. I'm
> currently living overseas in Vienna, Austria with my
> family (DH, DS (8), DD (almost 5), and DS (1). We
> have been unschooling since we knew what it was (I
> think my son was 3 when I read "How Children Learn"
> and that was it for me!) Looking forward to getting
> to know you all.

Which district? I lived in the 10th as a student in the Buchfeldgasse. I MISS
spring in Wien!

~Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

BADOLBILZ

Hi Lisa, I'm pretty new, too. Wow, Austria. What's the weather like
there?
HeidiC. (trying to travel in her imagingation over the internet airwaves)

Lisa Freese wrote:

>Hi! I'm new to this list but not to unschooling. I'm
>currently living overseas in Vienna, Austria with my
>family (DH, DS (8), DD (almost 5), and DS (1). We
>have been unschooling since we knew what it was (I
>think my son was 3 when I read "How Children Learn"
>and that was it for me!) Looking forward to getting
>to know you all.
>
>Lisa
>
>=====
>Lisa Freese
>
>"If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." --Thomas Edison
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do you Yahoo!?
>The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo
>http://search.yahoo.com
>
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>[email protected]
>
>
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>
>
>

[email protected]

Hi I am new here , My name is Robyn and my hubby and I live with our 7
children in Florida. I saw the post on VBAC's , I had 4 c-sections then 3
vbac's afterwards. I went to a midwife and she was awesome. Anybody can do
it. Robyn


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

BADOLBILZ

Hi, Robyn. Welcome! I love meeting people with lots of kids. I have 4
and would like to have at least 2 more.

I have not had a cesarean, but reading all your stories, I now truly
appreciate how lucky I am to have very easy births. One thing I've
always believed helped me to have it easy was used the Bradley method.
It made me feel so empowered and in control. Did anyone else use it and
what did you think? I do know that it teaches how to handle VBAC's.

I also think using the help of a midwife and a doula play a huge part in
the course of a pregnancy and labor. I went to an obstetrician for the
first 6 months of my 1st pregnancy and switched to a midwife at 7 mnths
because I realized that my dr really didn't even know who I was, not
really. Nor did he care to. To him I was just another customer there
for him to crank a baby out of and put money in his pocket. My midwives
have always been so much more caring and willing to talk and discuss
things for as long as I need to. HeidiC.

Dowlingnine@... wrote:

> Hi I am new here , My name is Robyn and my hubby and I live with our 7
>children in Florida. I saw the post on VBAC's , I had 4 c-sections then 3
>vbac's afterwards. I went to a midwife and she was awesome. Anybody can do
>it. Robyn
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>[email protected]
>
>
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>
>
>

Kimberly

I'm not new to the list, I have been lurking.

I'm Kim from Connecticut, mom to ds Christopher who is 13.

I promise to be good, I need the wisdom here. :-)

Barb Eaton

Welcome to all the new people here.


Barb E
"The function of the child is to live his own life - not the life that his
anxious parents think he should live."
A S Neill

Kathleen and David Gehrke

Thanks for the welcome. I am loving this group. It
inspires me... ;]
Kathleen
--- Barb Eaton <homemama@...> wrote:
> Welcome to all the new people here.
>
>
> Barb E
> "The function of the child is to live his own life -
> not the life that his
> anxious parents think he should live."
> A S Neill
>
>
>
>


__________________________________
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SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
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m&kpaquette

Hello everyone!!

My name is Kerri & my family lives in Ontario on 3 acres of forest in a house we started to build in 1998.

While in college I had a placement & then did research working with language delayed & not language delayed pre-schoolers who were primarily in day-cares. That is when I decided I would NEVER put my child/ren in day-care. Then I was at a placement in the primary school system & decided I could not put my kids into primary school either.

Personally school was not a very good experience for me. We moved a lot when I was a kid (my dad was a bank manager). I almost always ended up starting at a new school at the end of October. My marks were always good despite all this. However I was very tiny for my age, was placed a year ahead (started senior kindergarten when I was 4) and I wore glasses. So...I was teased A LOT.

Then I got to high-school I was still very tiny, still wore glasses & had moved from the city to a very small town so was an out-cast because I was a "city-slicker". Though I did surprise them with my "country" knowledge as I had always wanted to live in the country & had volunteered at a country animal-shelter and with twin veterinarians who did large & small animals when I did live in the last city. For some odd reason they all thought I was super-smart. Ha, far from it!! So I was shunned into the "smart" group, which was also apparently the "kids of professionals" group. They wouldn't accept me either because I wasn't snobby enough!! So I had the odd friend here & there & was never in a group. I was however, still teased a lot. I was stuffed into my locker (not locked in at least), the football players would scoop me up onto their shoulders, carry me half way through the school & make me late for class. Plus the verbal teasing wasn't pleasant either.

So I would be content for my kids to not go to high-school either. We belong to a provincial home-schooling organization right now.

I had to really convince DH that our kids would be fine learning at home. His brother is a teacher & his new wife is too. They were against our choice to home-school as were both sets of our parents. My MIL even told my oldest DD if she didn't go to school she would end up being stupid. Funny thing is BIL's DD was home-schooled by his ex-wife & his DD went on to a 3 year college program in computers.In the meantime, his DS (living with my BIL) was unable to read when he was in grade 9. BIL had no idea till the school told him!So I figured he better stop nagging us about the merits of "public" education!!

I essentially unschool. Have tried the "forced" book work stuff when DH was bugging me to do it. Kids & I never lasted long ( a few days ). It was often after visiting with his parents!!

After my twins were born the 4 older kids were totally unschooling!! It really is amazing to see how much they do learn just from living life.

The kids have recently asked if we could do learning stuff in the mornings. So we do, but their choice of what to do.

My issue right now is my 13 year old DD really wanting to go to high-school. She admits it is for social reasons, not to learn. So I am trying to give her alternative ideas, other than going to a "brick & mortar institution". My DH had a wonderful high-school experience & seems oblivious to the abuse, drugs, attitudes, teasing, etc. that occured. We went to the same high-school, but he is 2 years older. I must say, that he was one of the popular kids who teased the other kids. We met after we were both done school & he was very different when not with his previous peer group.

I think that if he was married to someone that was very mainstream. That he would also be mainstream. He has agreed with my choices for our family, because that is what I think is best. But though he agrees, it isn't in his heart, they way it is in mine.

Sorry this ended up being a novel didn't it!!

I am looking forward to getting support here for my choice of unschooling my children. Thanks for having this group!!

Kerri mom to Amanda(13g), Emma(11g), Maddison(9g), Jonah(7b), Saige & Claire (3g,ID Twins) & Teagan(b,Sept 2003)



























































































































[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Barbara Chase

My dh and I don't tend to have many conversations about what it means to
unschool, it's more my interest and not his.

Anyway, today I was talking about how much I have been learning from this
list. He said that in his opinion school is pretty much designed to teach
kids from a young age to be somewhere they don't want to be, working for
someone they don't necessarily like, doing something they don't necessarily
like, so they can then go home. Wow... he is so right!

This led us to a conversation about how often we use words to communicate
something that's been programmed without really thinking about what we are
saying. Some words we might use that are really 'schooly' for example.
This ties into a book I've been reading called "Non-Violent Communication",
which shows how to separate our expressions of observation, feeling,
request - and not throw evaluation or judgement into the mix.

I'm starting to get glimmers of deeper understanding. It still doesn't
seem to be something I can communicate very well, but I can feel a shift.

Thanks everyone.
--bc--

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Danielle Conger

Hello All!

I'm new to the list and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Danielle,
unschooling mom to Emily (7), Julia (5) and Sam (4). We live in the
Washington, DC area. Lots of you will probably recognize me from the
Unschoolingdiscussion list where I've been actively posting for nearly a
year. Looks like a couple of folks (soon to be more thanks to the Live
and Learn Conference!) will probably recognize me from IRL. I'm looking
forward to joining the discussion here. Guess I just wan't getting
enough of an unschooling fix at the other list--just had to join another
one. ;) I'm finding that I have larger and larger chunks of time on my
hands now that the kids are getting older. Got to fill that up somehow
so I don't go and pester them!

You can find out loads about me and my family at my website--more than
you ever wanted to know--if I haven't offered enough info here. *g*

--
--Danielle

http://www.danielleconger.com/Homeschool/Welcomehome.html

Gold Standard

Welcome Danielle,

I'm new to this list too so it may be silly for me to welcome you, but
welcome! So far in my few days on this list it has been very stimulating,
interesting, and occasionally uncomfortable, all great avenues for growth
and learning!

I hope you enjoy and learn too!
Jacki

-----Original Message-----
From: Danielle Conger [mailto:danielle.conger@...]
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 8:18 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Introduction


Hello All!

I'm new to the list and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Danielle,
unschooling mom to Emily (7), Julia (5) and Sam (4). We live in the
Washington, DC area. Lots of you will probably recognize me from the
Unschoolingdiscussion list where I've been actively posting for nearly a
year. Looks like a couple of folks (soon to be more thanks to the Live
and Learn Conference!) will probably recognize me from IRL. I'm looking
forward to joining the discussion here. Guess I just wan't getting
enough of an unschooling fix at the other list--just had to join another
one. ;) I'm finding that I have larger and larger chunks of time on my
hands now that the kids are getting older. Got to fill that up somehow
so I don't go and pester them!

You can find out loads about me and my family at my website--more than
you ever wanted to know--if I haven't offered enough info here. *g*

--
--Danielle

http://www.danielleconger.com/Homeschool/Welcomehome.html







Yahoo! Groups Links

beverley8949

Hi, I live in the north of England and have joined your group because
I am committed to home-based unschooling with my little boy, just
turned three. I have not always had the courage of my convictions, my
son took me by surprise (I wasn't supposed to be able to conceive)and
since his birth I have struggled to extracate myself from some very
unhealthy relationships which have left me with low self-esteem,
anxiety problems and a hard time trusting my own instincts.
Consequently, I have done things in the first three years of my sons
life which I regret - following the advice/opinions of others rather
than trusting myself. I do, however, have extremely strong
ideals/beliefs which I am now learning to live by. My belief in
homeschooling/unschooling runs to the very core of my being.
I am looking forward to 'talking' with you all and learning from your
thoughts/experience.
Bright Blessings, Bev x.

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/6/2005 7:06:00 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
bev.coles@... writes:

I do, however, have extremely strong
ideals/beliefs which I am now learning to live by. My belief in
homeschooling/unschooling runs to the very core of my being.
I am looking forward to 'talking' with you all and learning from your
thoughts/experience.



=-=================


It's too late to get tickets, I think, so I hope you already knew about it.
HesFes is a campout in the end of May, the other end of the country from
you.
If aren't making it this year, maybe next year.

If you're going this year, though, my daughter Holly will be there.
If you're going next year, hundreds of other unschoolers will be there but
not likely Holly. <g>

Just from the short bit you wrote, you might enjoy this page on principles
and rules:
_http://sandradodd.com/rules_ (http://sandradodd.com/rules)

Sandra


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

S.Waynforth

I think tickets may still be on issue: www.hesfes.co.uk. We went a few
years ago and the site in Dorset is really nice. Getting to Dorset
from the North of England isn't quite so nice. We live just south of
Newcastle, but stayed in Milton Keynes enroute so the trip wasn't too
bad.

Schuyler
>
>
> It's too late to get tickets, I think, so I hope you already knew
about it.
> HesFes is a campout in the end of May, the other end of the country
from
> you.
> If aren't making it this year, maybe next year.
>
> If you're going this year, though, my daughter Holly will be there.
> If you're going next year, hundreds of other unschoolers will be
there but
> not likely Holly. <g>
>
> Just from the short bit you wrote, you might enjoy this page on
principles
> and rules:
> _http://sandradodd.com/rules_ (http://sandradodd.com/rules)
>
> Sandra
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

ANNIE HOOD

Hello :)

My name is Annie. I'm a WAHM (Natural Family Boutique consultant) with a
3-year-old son Nathaniel and a 1-year-old daughter Madeleine. My husband Ray
and I live in New Hampshire. You can see my kiddos on our family webpage
(www.naturallynhkids.com/pb/wp_6a878265.html).

I look forward to meeting the other parents in this group!

Annie
--
www.naturallynhkids.com
Great parenting is a great career! Ask me how ...
Hope for a cure with a HOPE bracelet
HELP Hurricane Katrina victims with fundraiser #4969

multimomma

I just realized that I maybe did not do an introduction before I started posting. I tried to
scan older posts to see where I posted originally, and don't really see any of my posts.
Odd, because I know I've read them before. Hmmm.

Anyway, my name is Melissa, I live in Oklahoma. I'm married to a networking tech named
Zane, we have seven kids. Josh is age 10, Breanna is 8, Emily is almost 7, Rachel is 5, Sam
is four, Dan is two, and Avari is four weeks old today. I've posted before about my 8yo,
who has severe autism. Josh also has autism in the form of Aspergers. Sam has dysarthria,
characterized mostly by his speech deficits. On top of that, Bre is allergic to all cornbased
products and Dan is allergic to wheat.

Long story short was I had always planned on homeschooling the kids, but when Bre was
diagnosed at age three I was convinced that the school system would know what was best
for her. That was the same year that Josh was to start kindergarden, and dh was deadset
against homeschooling. After three years, public school became a struggle. Emily and
Rachel started school, Emily in kindergarden, Rachel in PreK, Josh was dxed, and Breanna
left the comfort of the developmentally delayed program. By last Christmas I was ready to
pull my poor, stressed out children OUT of school. We left them in til the end of the year.
Bre's psych is generally against homeschooling for someone as severe as she is, but finally
agreed it was that or medicating her. What a fool I was for thinking the schools are trained
for this. In some places maybe, but not here.

My plan was to just spend a year getting to know my kids, and practice being a family. Bre
needs a schedule, so it was easy to kind of follow the preschool schedule that Emily and
Rachel were used to from preschool and kindergarden. It worked until I was put on
bedrest. Actually we had a lot of fun, and we had fun on bedrest too. It was probably the
best thing that happened, lots of times the kids would bring books to me, we did a lot of
just growing from one topic to the next, depending on their interests. Josh and Emily love
to sit and work on math, so they are the kind to ask for math equations. Rachel loves to
draw, and actually learned to read from art books. Breanna is very kinesthetic, learns by
doing. Sam is very active. The school last year kept asking him how excited he was to
starte preschool this year, and I thought even if we were going to keep them home, there
was NO way I would send Sam to preK, they would break his spirit in no time.

Anyway, I would like to unschool. I would like a lot of support to unschool. I think because
of my thinking, it will be hard for me. there is a lot of the pressure that Sandra mentioned
earlier in the 'filter' of others. It's very hard for me to face other people when they ask me
over and over what curriculum I use, how many hours a day we study, etc. And I say none.

thanks all for reading this far (forgive my presumption in that, it's possible that no one has
made it so far LOL!) Please be patient with me, i was referred from the always learning
website as this being the place to learn more about unschooling. :-) I think i was referred
to always learning from Oklahoma radical mothers. I dont' know that I'm so radical, but I
like the idea. :-P

melissa

C Johnson

Melissa,

It's a small world, I'm from Oklahoma too. What other lists are you on?

Chrissie

multimomma <autismhelp@...> wrote:
I just realized that I maybe did not do an introduction before I started posting. I tried to
scan older posts to see where I posted originally, and don't really see any of my posts.
Odd, because I know I've read them before. Hmmm.

Anyway, my name is Melissa, I live in Oklahoma. I'm married to a networking tech named
Zane, we have seven kids. Josh is age 10, Breanna is 8, Emily is almost 7, Rachel is 5, Sam
is four, Dan is two, and Avari is four weeks old today. I've posted before about my 8yo,
who has severe autism. Josh also has autism in the form of Aspergers. Sam has dysarthria,
characterized mostly by his speech deficits. On top of that, Bre is allergic to all cornbased
products and Dan is allergic to wheat.

Long story short was I had always planned on homeschooling the kids, but when Bre was
diagnosed at age three I was convinced that the school system would know what was best
for her. That was the same year that Josh was to start kindergarden, and dh was deadset
against homeschooling. After three years, public school became a struggle. Emily and
Rachel started school, Emily in kindergarden, Rachel in PreK, Josh was dxed, and Breanna
left the comfort of the developmentally delayed program. By last Christmas I was ready to
pull my poor, stressed out children OUT of school. We left them in til the end of the year.
Bre's psych is generally against homeschooling for someone as severe as she is, but finally
agreed it was that or medicating her. What a fool I was for thinking the schools are trained
for this. In some places maybe, but not here.

My plan was to just spend a year getting to know my kids, and practice being a family. Bre
needs a schedule, so it was easy to kind of follow the preschool schedule that Emily and
Rachel were used to from preschool and kindergarden. It worked until I was put on
bedrest. Actually we had a lot of fun, and we had fun on bedrest too. It was probably the
best thing that happened, lots of times the kids would bring books to me, we did a lot of
just growing from one topic to the next, depending on their interests. Josh and Emily love
to sit and work on math, so they are the kind to ask for math equations. Rachel loves to
draw, and actually learned to read from art books. Breanna is very kinesthetic, learns by
doing. Sam is very active. The school last year kept asking him how excited he was to
starte preschool this year, and I thought even if we were going to keep them home, there
was NO way I would send Sam to preK, they would break his spirit in no time.

Anyway, I would like to unschool. I would like a lot of support to unschool. I think because
of my thinking, it will be hard for me. there is a lot of the pressure that Sandra mentioned
earlier in the 'filter' of others. It's very hard for me to face other people when they ask me
over and over what curriculum I use, how many hours a day we study, etc. And I say none.

thanks all for reading this far (forgive my presumption in that, it's possible that no one has
made it so far LOL!) Please be patient with me, i was referred from the always learning
website as this being the place to learn more about unschooling. :-) I think i was referred
to always learning from Oklahoma radical mothers. I dont' know that I'm so radical, but I
like the idea. :-P

melissa





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Unschooling Attachment parenting John holt Parenting magazine Single parenting

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---------------------------------






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---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Christy

Welcome, Melissa.



My little sister lives in OK City. My family is from out that way, Kansas
that is.



My twelve year old, Hope is autistic. She is high functioning, but
autistic. She feels out of sorts without a routine. I work part time, so I
leave a list with the older children to help Hope follow. Hope enjoys video
games immensely.



I struggle with family who gives us the run around on "school." My husband
isn't totally sure about our Unschooling and makes digs here and there,
which we ignore mostly..



Sounds like you are on the right track.



Christy









Christy, wife to Jeff, unschooling artist mom to Elizabeth 15, Hannah 13,
Hope 12, James Jr. 10, and Naomi 18, Months.







_____

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of multimomma
Sent: Saturday, December 24, 2005 5:02 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Introduction



I just realized that I maybe did not do an introduction before I started
posting. I tried to
scan older posts to see where I posted originally, and don't really see any
of my posts.
Odd, because I know I've read them before. Hmmm.

Anyway, my name is Melissa, I live in Oklahoma. I'm married to a networking
tech named
Zane, we have seven kids. Josh is age 10, Breanna is 8, Emily is almost 7,
Rachel is 5, Sam
is four, Dan is two, and Avari is four weeks old today. I've posted before
about my 8yo,
who has severe autism. Josh also has autism in the form of Aspergers. Sam
has dysarthria,
characterized mostly by his speech deficits. On top of that, Bre is allergic
to all cornbased
products and Dan is allergic to wheat.

Long story short was I had always planned on homeschooling the kids, but
when Bre was
diagnosed at age three I was convinced that the school system would know
what was best
for her. That was the same year that Josh was to start kindergarden, and dh
was deadset
against homeschooling. After three years, public school became a struggle.
Emily and
Rachel started school, Emily in kindergarden, Rachel in PreK, Josh was dxed,
and Breanna
left the comfort of the developmentally delayed program. By last Christmas I
was ready to
pull my poor, stressed out children OUT of school. We left them in til the
end of the year.
Bre's psych is generally against homeschooling for someone as severe as she
is, but finally
agreed it was that or medicating her. What a fool I was for thinking the
schools are trained
for this. In some places maybe, but not here.

My plan was to just spend a year getting to know my kids, and practice being
a family. Bre
needs a schedule, so it was easy to kind of follow the preschool schedule
that Emily and
Rachel were used to from preschool and kindergarden. It worked until I was
put on
bedrest. Actually we had a lot of fun, and we had fun on bedrest too. It was
probably the
best thing that happened, lots of times the kids would bring books to me, we
did a lot of
just growing from one topic to the next, depending on their interests. Josh
and Emily love
to sit and work on math, so they are the kind to ask for math equations.
Rachel loves to
draw, and actually learned to read from art books. Breanna is very
kinesthetic, learns by
doing. Sam is very active. The school last year kept asking him how excited
he was to
starte preschool this year, and I thought even if we were going to keep them
home, there
was NO way I would send Sam to preK, they would break his spirit in no time.


Anyway, I would like to unschool. I would like a lot of support to unschool.
I think because
of my thinking, it will be hard for me. there is a lot of the pressure that
Sandra mentioned
earlier in the 'filter' of others. It's very hard for me to face other
people when they ask me
over and over what curriculum I use, how many hours a day we study, etc. And
I say none.

thanks all for reading this far (forgive my presumption in that, it's
possible that no one has
made it so far LOL!) Please be patient with me, i was referred from the
always learning
website as this being the place to learn more about unschooling. :-) I think
i was referred
to always learning from Oklahoma radical mothers. I dont' know that I'm so
radical, but I
like the idea. :-P

melissa





SPONSORED LINKS


Unschooling
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Unschooling&w1=Unschooling&w2=Attachmen
t+parenting&w3=John+holt&w4=Parenting+magazine&w5=Single+parenting&c=5&s=104
&.sig=O82AQhD_DXKdsA55u0IORA>

Attachment
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Attachment+parenting&w1=Unschooling&w2=
Attachment+parenting&w3=John+holt&w4=Parenting+magazine&w5=Single+parenting&
c=5&s=104&.sig=mWlG37faHBsTH26WLfJbUw> parenting

John
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=John+holt&w1=Unschooling&w2=Attachment+
parenting&w3=John+holt&w4=Parenting+magazine&w5=Single+parenting&c=5&s=104&.
sig=aXLviSaeQBQ0Koa1fFBC0w> holt


Parenting
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Parenting+magazine&w1=Unschooling&w2=At
tachment+parenting&w3=John+holt&w4=Parenting+magazine&w5=Single+parenting&c=
5&s=104&.sig=1vVhu6yG9zKP6tD21Ys9qw> magazine

Single
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Single+parenting&w1=Unschooling&w2=Atta
chment+parenting&w3=John+holt&w4=Parenting+magazine&w5=Single+parenting&c=5&
s=104&.sig=86a8STGJlXAgNag9XEqGWA> parenting





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* Visit your group "AlwaysLearning
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlwaysLearning> " on the web.

* To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
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<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> Terms of Service.



_____



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dora Rui

Hi Christy,
As far as answering those who ask how many hours a day do you study you can reasonably say we study all day...cause at this age the kids are learning all the time. We listen to classical, we draw, color, play games...of course they have plenty of time to play, but my 6 yog is often found of her own volition copying, writing numbers, we are finishing Peter Pan (the real one) and about to start the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe...I mean truly the children are constantly engaged in something.

My PS teacher husband asked my daughter one day what I had taught her and she said "I teach myself" and we had a long discussion on motivation and he had to agree that the optimal position to "teach" from was more as a guide to someone who is motivated.

As far as what curriculum you can say you are eclectic, or we use the public library. I personally feel that the term "unschooling" is kinda imflammatory and people just have no concept and jump to the worst conclusions.

That said I had a big discussion with my sil tonite on hsing and she is thrilled with her ps and it sounds like they have a good one from what she said but a few of the thoughts I left her with *we just want something different* and *we don't really need government testing because I already know how she's doing* and as a response to her complaint that her 13 yos is getting disrespectful I told her that it sounded like he needed some private time with her and she said she just couldn't cause there is no time and I told her that that is one of our luxuries *time*

Fortunately I had my sis there who used to hs, doesn't anymore (Don't know why) but she totally backed me up that the ps kids are bullies and really rotten to anyone who is not up to snuff academically.

I have been learning about Thomas Jefferson Education and I'm totally turned on by it to be honest. They have a lot of fantastic ideas that are totally unschoolish, and yet I am learning how I can inspire my kids to learn...one of their foundation ideas is *inspire, not require* and also that the leaders of tomorrow are going to have a hard time developing into leaders if they are constantly being directed to do this and that. Like I said...I am totally jazzed.

So that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Dora



Christy <christy-aitken@...> wrote:
Welcome, Melissa.



My little sister lives in OK City. My family is from out that way, Kansas
that is.



My twelve year old, Hope is autistic. She is high functioning, but
autistic. She feels out of sorts without a routine. I work part time, so I
leave a list with the older children to help Hope follow. Hope enjoys video
games immensely.



I struggle with family who gives us the run around on "school." My husband
isn't totally sure about our Unschooling and makes digs here and there,
which we ignore mostly..



Sounds like you are on the right track.



Christy









Christy, wife to Jeff, unschooling artist mom to Elizabeth 15, Hannah 13,
Hope 12, James Jr. 10, and Naomi 18, Months.







_____

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of multimomma
Sent: Saturday, December 24, 2005 5:02 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Introduction



I just realized that I maybe did not do an introduction before I started
posting. I tried to
scan older posts to see where I posted originally, and don't really see any
of my posts.
Odd, because I know I've read them before. Hmmm.

Anyway, my name is Melissa, I live in Oklahoma. I'm married to a networking
tech named
Zane, we have seven kids. Josh is age 10, Breanna is 8, Emily is almost 7,
Rachel is 5, Sam
is four, Dan is two, and Avari is four weeks old today. I've posted before
about my 8yo,
who has severe autism. Josh also has autism in the form of Aspergers. Sam
has dysarthria,
characterized mostly by his speech deficits. On top of that, Bre is allergic
to all cornbased
products and Dan is allergic to wheat.

Long story short was I had always planned on homeschooling the kids, but
when Bre was
diagnosed at age three I was convinced that the school system would know
what was best
for her. That was the same year that Josh was to start kindergarden, and dh
was deadset
against homeschooling. After three years, public school became a struggle.
Emily and
Rachel started school, Emily in kindergarden, Rachel in PreK, Josh was dxed,
and Breanna
left the comfort of the developmentally delayed program. By last Christmas I
was ready to
pull my poor, stressed out children OUT of school. We left them in til the
end of the year.
Bre's psych is generally against homeschooling for someone as severe as she
is, but finally
agreed it was that or medicating her. What a fool I was for thinking the
schools are trained
for this. In some places maybe, but not here.

My plan was to just spend a year getting to know my kids, and practice being
a family. Bre
needs a schedule, so it was easy to kind of follow the preschool schedule
that Emily and
Rachel were used to from preschool and kindergarden. It worked until I was
put on
bedrest. Actually we had a lot of fun, and we had fun on bedrest too. It was
probably the
best thing that happened, lots of times the kids would bring books to me, we
did a lot of
just growing from one topic to the next, depending on their interests. Josh
and Emily love
to sit and work on math, so they are the kind to ask for math equations.
Rachel loves to
draw, and actually learned to read from art books. Breanna is very
kinesthetic, learns by
doing. Sam is very active. The school last year kept asking him how excited
he was to
starte preschool this year, and I thought even if we were going to keep them
home, there
was NO way I would send Sam to preK, they would break his spirit in no time.


Anyway, I would like to unschool. I would like a lot of support to unschool.
I think because
of my thinking, it will be hard for me. there is a lot of the pressure that
Sandra mentioned
earlier in the 'filter' of others. It's very hard for me to face other
people when they ask me
over and over what curriculum I use, how many hours a day we study, etc. And
I say none.

thanks all for reading this far (forgive my presumption in that, it's
possible that no one has
made it so far LOL!) Please be patient with me, i was referred from the
always learning
website as this being the place to learn more about unschooling. :-) I think
i was referred
to always learning from Oklahoma radical mothers. I dont' know that I'm so
radical, but I
like the idea. :-P

melissa





SPONSORED LINKS


Unschooling
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Unschooling&w1=Unschooling&w2=Attachmen
t+parenting&w3=John+holt&w4=Parenting+magazine&w5=Single+parenting&c=5&s=104
&.sig=O82AQhD_DXKdsA55u0IORA>

Attachment
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Attachment+parenting&w1=Unschooling&w2=
Attachment+parenting&w3=John+holt&w4=Parenting+magazine&w5=Single+parenting&
c=5&s=104&.sig=mWlG37faHBsTH26WLfJbUw> parenting

John
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=John+holt&w1=Unschooling&w2=Attachment+
parenting&w3=John+holt&w4=Parenting+magazine&w5=Single+parenting&c=5&s=104&.
sig=aXLviSaeQBQ0Koa1fFBC0w> holt


Parenting
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Parenting+magazine&w1=Unschooling&w2=At
tachment+parenting&w3=John+holt&w4=Parenting+magazine&w5=Single+parenting&c=
5&s=104&.sig=1vVhu6yG9zKP6tD21Ys9qw> magazine

Single
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Single+parenting&w1=Unschooling&w2=Atta
chment+parenting&w3=John+holt&w4=Parenting+magazine&w5=Single+parenting&c=5&
s=104&.sig=86a8STGJlXAgNag9XEqGWA> parenting





_____

YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS



* Visit your group "AlwaysLearning
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlwaysLearning> " on the web.

* To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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_____



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



SPONSORED LINKS
Unschooling Attachment parenting John holt Parenting magazine Single parenting

---------------------------------
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS


Visit your group "AlwaysLearning" on the web.

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.


---------------------------------






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]