KT

>
>
>Could it be that that microscope will be a starting point for Will
>whereas it would sit on a shelf in another home? Could it be that it
>came to Will in a way other than coincidence?
>

I don't know about all that. He hasn't touched it since. ;) Lots of
things sit on the shelves around here, never being touched (yet). I
have a huge room for just that stuff.

Lots of things sit on the shelf until a 4 yo shows up and he gets to
play with something cool. Once or twice a year teenage girls are here
and they get down my beading box. It only sits on the shelf until they
get here because I can't see well enough anymore to use it. I would
never dream of giving that away, though. I want those teenage girls to
know there are cool things to do at my house.

I don't own any cool homeschooling books anymore, as I've given them all
away. I gave them to people I knew needed them, right then. (One I
donated as a prize for a LLL conference.) But I don't give anything
away that might be useful for my 8 yo eventually. I still have all his
Duplo's, and the wood blocks get pulled out whenever there are babies
around.

I don't give away useful things just on general principle. I keep them
until I'm sure I won't need them anymore, or I give them to someone I
know needs it more than I do (or might). And this is probably
pathological, but it gives me a thrill to know I have this stuff. When
I hear someone say they have to leave my house in a cold downpour to go
to the store and get some tin snips to finish a project, it thrills me
to say "I have a pair. I'll go out to the shop and get them for you."

It occurs to me that all my "stuff" represents hope for the future.
Most of it was acquired because of immediate need. (I didn't go out
and buy tin snips because I thought someone *else* might need them some
day!) But I keep it on the hope of having a need to meet, either for
myself or someone else. Hm. That makes me feel pretty good!

Tuck

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/17/2002 4:42:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:


> But....that little cheapo 300x/600/1200x microscope that was free with a
> mail order has been one of the most interesting things Will has come
> across in a long time.

We got a plastic "microscope" in a kids lunch at Wendy's once. It was a
tube-thingy. We sat and looked at sugar and salt and our skin and had a great
time. Took it home and darned if it isn't one toy that has survived all three
kids and YEARS of being played with a lot.

--pamS


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

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/17/2002 4:42:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:


> Did I need to explain why I get rid of BOOKS....? Does it seem too strange
> to let go of BOOKS? To me, it has been an act of passing along that which
> has already been useful to me.....or that which will not be useful to me
> again and could be useful to another.....

I suspect you are talking to a lot of people whose houses are overrun with
books - I have thousands. People who come to our house don't even KNOW how
many books there are here because there are boxes and boxes of them in our
loft and in closets and everywhere else they can be stashed. They're almost
useless to us like that and I have been (way too slowly) giving them away. It
is embarrassing to have let things get this out of hand - but it isn't being
a pack-rat - I don't have that problem. It is really just truly loving books
-- the books we own are WONDERFUL books. I also have to give them to "good
homes." If I can give them to people I know, at least I can tell myself that
if I ever wanted it, I could borrow it back. That helps make the parting
easier <g>.

--pamS


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

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/17/2002 4:42:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:


> This reluctant husband subject is a big red flag topic for me as it's
> different from the relatives or friends who think I ought to be doing
> something different. They are on the outside of my family. I at least
> expect my husband and I to be on the same page with what we want for our
> children and our lives together.

People might expect it but it might not happen and they are asking advice
about how to deal with that.

My husband was a reluctant unschooling parent - has come around more and more
as the kids have gotten older and he sees that their options are not being
limited by not schooling them more traditionally. But he "went along" all
these years - didn't really "support." He went along because he trusted my
judgement, knew that I'd put serious and informed thought into it, knew that
I felt strongly and he didn't. He felt worried and concerned and confused. I
tried to allay his fears by letting him in on the reasons I felt strongly
about unschooling. And I offered him books or articles to read, but he really
didn't want to spend his time learning about it, much - he knew he wasn't
going to change my mind anyway. And his fears and anxieties were minor and,
over time, were being laid to rest anyway.

--pamS


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

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/17/2002 4:42:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:


> Pam S., Joyce and Zenmomma Mary - you've been miscast! ~Rue

You're right. I'm really 100 pounds lighter and 20 years younger.

-pamS


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

Sharon Rudd

> It occurs to me that all my "stuff" represents hope
> for the future.

YES! Stuff, such as my skinny clothes, I don't have.
No hope for the future. I turned them into scraps and
rag balls. Hope for the future!!
Sharon of the Swamp

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