Is it normal to doubt yourself?
sebrina w
And if so will the doubt ever go away? I struggle with anxiety and most of the time I feel great about our lives and about unschooling but every few months or so I start to freak out a little. I worry that I'm not doing enough with them. I am a pretty low key person. I like to be home, so do my kids so we don't do a ton of extra activities. We swim at the Y and the kids have lots of friends in the neighbourhood that they play with. During the day the kids spend most of their time watching tv (the simpsons is HUGE right now), playing video games, playing with the new itouches, cooking with me, eating (they are hungry boys). Sometimes I think most of my day is cooking in the kitchen, checkin my emails, editing pics (i'm a photographer). I watch the simpsons with them all the time but I don't really play video games with them because if I play I get super dizzy. I guess I am in a self doubt phase right now. Wondering if I am doing enough with them. If they spend the majority of their day playing video games and I am not right there with them... is that ok? The video games are big right now because they just got new ones for Christmas so I know that will where off soon and they will be on to something else. I Just wonder sometimes if I'm doing or being enough. They are so great and finding stuff to do on their own that sometimes I feel like I'm not doing my job right.
Sebrina
(mom to 4 ages 11, 10, 8 and 5)
Sebrina
(mom to 4 ages 11, 10, 8 and 5)
Cara Barlow
<<< And if so will the doubt ever go away? I struggle with anxiety and most
of the time I feel great about our lives and about unschooling but every
few months or so I start to freak out a little. I worry that I'm not doing
enough with them. >>>
I think it's completely normal to have moments of doubt, especially when
your children are younger or you're new to unschooling.
One thing you could do to settle your mind is take a sheet of paper and
write down something your children enjoy, like The Simpsons, in the middle
of the paper. Then write down everything you can think of connected to The
Simpsons. I'm a visual person, so when I do it, it kind of looks like a
spiderweb. It might be fun to do this with your kids.
Here's an example of what I mean from Sandra's website. <
http://sandradodd.com/connections/>.
Then note the connections and consider if you can bring more of some of
them into your house.
For example, if your children enjoy the slapstick comedy aspect of The
Simpsons, borrow a Laurel and Hardy DVD from the library. If they enjoy
Homer's malaprops, find some fun word play games or joke books or a
collection of Yogi Berra quotes. If they've never seen a nuclear power
plant and there's one by your house, drive by and/or look at its website.
Don't get too invested in what you put in their paths - they may or may not
be interested. If they're not, don't force the issue, just go onto
something else. It's a creative process - what works and what doesn't
depends on a multitude of factors. That's why unschooling is different for
each family. Unschooling principles may be shared, but how those principles
are expressed will vary.
Best wishes, Cara
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
of the time I feel great about our lives and about unschooling but every
few months or so I start to freak out a little. I worry that I'm not doing
enough with them. >>>
I think it's completely normal to have moments of doubt, especially when
your children are younger or you're new to unschooling.
One thing you could do to settle your mind is take a sheet of paper and
write down something your children enjoy, like The Simpsons, in the middle
of the paper. Then write down everything you can think of connected to The
Simpsons. I'm a visual person, so when I do it, it kind of looks like a
spiderweb. It might be fun to do this with your kids.
Here's an example of what I mean from Sandra's website. <
http://sandradodd.com/connections/>.
Then note the connections and consider if you can bring more of some of
them into your house.
For example, if your children enjoy the slapstick comedy aspect of The
Simpsons, borrow a Laurel and Hardy DVD from the library. If they enjoy
Homer's malaprops, find some fun word play games or joke books or a
collection of Yogi Berra quotes. If they've never seen a nuclear power
plant and there's one by your house, drive by and/or look at its website.
Don't get too invested in what you put in their paths - they may or may not
be interested. If they're not, don't force the issue, just go onto
something else. It's a creative process - what works and what doesn't
depends on a multitude of factors. That's why unschooling is different for
each family. Unschooling principles may be shared, but how those principles
are expressed will vary.
Best wishes, Cara
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sadie Bugni
My kids also love Simpsons. Last year, Target had the season sets on black
Friday for $10 each and I went early to get them. We watch them in our RV
when we travel and everyone enjoys them.
Anyway, we have been home a lot the past 2 weeks and my husband and I were
talking about doing something today. The Atlanta History Center had a home
school day today, so we looked it up to see what the topic was going to be.
It was about the founders of our country and The Constitution. We decided
that this was something that our kids probably wouldn't get too into, so we
were going to look for something else. About an hour later, we sat down to
watch the new Simpsons episode on our DVR and it was about the same topics
that the history center was doing! The kids asked all kinds of questions
and actually knew more than I thought they did about the subject and were
really interested.
Sooo, what I'm trying to say is, look around at all the learning that is
happening. Don't dismiss their interest as "just watching Simpsons." You
never know where that 1 episode may lead you:)
Sadie Bugni
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Friday for $10 each and I went early to get them. We watch them in our RV
when we travel and everyone enjoys them.
Anyway, we have been home a lot the past 2 weeks and my husband and I were
talking about doing something today. The Atlanta History Center had a home
school day today, so we looked it up to see what the topic was going to be.
It was about the founders of our country and The Constitution. We decided
that this was something that our kids probably wouldn't get too into, so we
were going to look for something else. About an hour later, we sat down to
watch the new Simpsons episode on our DVR and it was about the same topics
that the history center was doing! The kids asked all kinds of questions
and actually knew more than I thought they did about the subject and were
really interested.
Sooo, what I'm trying to say is, look around at all the learning that is
happening. Don't dismiss their interest as "just watching Simpsons." You
never know where that 1 episode may lead you:)
Sadie Bugni
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Priscilla Sanstead
Speaking of the Simpsons leading you places ...
Here's a link to a huge slide show called "The Complete History of Art References of the Simpsons" :
http://www.complex.com/art-design/2012/01/the-complete-history-of-art-references-in-the-simpsons#1%c2%a0%c2%a0
A Facebook message about it came this morning from my local museum - Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It was about an article (with that link) that just came out in a local print publication about Simpsons episodes which contain art or art references to Oklahoma, or to art in museums around here.
Here's the article from "This Land Press" :
http://thislandpress.com/roundups/art-history-via-the-simpsons/%c2%a0
And did some of you get the musical reference in the name of the publication "This Land....." ?
Oklahoma is Woody Guthrie's home, and "This Land Press" is published in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Woody Guthrie wrote the very popular ballad about America that starts with these lyrics:
This land is your land, this land is my land,
From California, to the New York island,
From the Redwood forest, to the New York waters.
This land was made for you and me.
So we have gone from "just watching the Simpsons" to art history, museums, geography, song writing, Facebook, marketing. And in Oklahoma news that was featured in The New York Times, a foundation is purchasing the Woody Guthrie archives from his children and plans to build an exhibition and study center here. Finally! It took a long time because some here found his political leanings to be a little leftist, err, communist.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/arts/music/woody-guthrie-gets-a-belated-honor-in-oklahoma.html?pagewanted=all%c2%a0
So that just added local and national political history.
There are a couple of pretty picture books here (and probably at your local library) called "This Land is Your Land" :
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=this+land+is+your+land&sprefix=this+land+is%c2%a0
On that Amazon link we also see sheet music, a Native American book called "This Land is My Land", a book called "This Land is Your Land: The Geographic Evolution of the United States", and another book about property rights. That added a few more connections.
Oh, and we (husband and I) had young woman (early 20's) in our home last night that we had just met, and we watched the Simpson's like we usually do. She said she didn't watch it and wasn't allowed to watch it growing up because she had four younger siblings. We had a discussion about how we loved all the cultural references in the show and how it might not be for children. But I said that if the child wanted to watch it and the parent was present and watching and commenting and helping the child understand behaviors, words, and actions, then I didn't see a problem.
Priscilla Sanstead
Tulsa
________________________________
From: Sadie Bugni <lotsagr8kidz@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, January 9, 2012 8:33 PM
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] Is it normal to doubt yourself?
My kids also love Simpsons. Last year, Target had the season sets on black
Friday for $10 each and I went early to get them. We watch them in our RV
when we travel and everyone enjoys them.
Anyway, we have been home a lot the past 2 weeks and my husband and I were
talking about doing something today. The Atlanta History Center had a home
school day today, so we looked it up to see what the topic was going to be.
It was about the founders of our country and The Constitution. We decided
that this was something that our kids probably wouldn't get too into, so we
were going to look for something else. About an hour later, we sat down to
watch the new Simpsons episode on our DVR and it was about the same topics
that the history center was doing! The kids asked all kinds of questions
and actually knew more than I thought they did about the subject and were
really interested.
Sooo, what I'm trying to say is, look around at all the learning that is
happening. Don't dismiss their interest as "just watching Simpsons." You
never know where that 1 episode may lead you:)
Sadie Bugni
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Here's a link to a huge slide show called "The Complete History of Art References of the Simpsons" :
http://www.complex.com/art-design/2012/01/the-complete-history-of-art-references-in-the-simpsons#1%c2%a0%c2%a0
A Facebook message about it came this morning from my local museum - Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It was about an article (with that link) that just came out in a local print publication about Simpsons episodes which contain art or art references to Oklahoma, or to art in museums around here.
Here's the article from "This Land Press" :
http://thislandpress.com/roundups/art-history-via-the-simpsons/%c2%a0
And did some of you get the musical reference in the name of the publication "This Land....." ?
Oklahoma is Woody Guthrie's home, and "This Land Press" is published in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Woody Guthrie wrote the very popular ballad about America that starts with these lyrics:
This land is your land, this land is my land,
From California, to the New York island,
From the Redwood forest, to the New York waters.
This land was made for you and me.
So we have gone from "just watching the Simpsons" to art history, museums, geography, song writing, Facebook, marketing. And in Oklahoma news that was featured in The New York Times, a foundation is purchasing the Woody Guthrie archives from his children and plans to build an exhibition and study center here. Finally! It took a long time because some here found his political leanings to be a little leftist, err, communist.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/arts/music/woody-guthrie-gets-a-belated-honor-in-oklahoma.html?pagewanted=all%c2%a0
So that just added local and national political history.
There are a couple of pretty picture books here (and probably at your local library) called "This Land is Your Land" :
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=this+land+is+your+land&sprefix=this+land+is%c2%a0
On that Amazon link we also see sheet music, a Native American book called "This Land is My Land", a book called "This Land is Your Land: The Geographic Evolution of the United States", and another book about property rights. That added a few more connections.
Oh, and we (husband and I) had young woman (early 20's) in our home last night that we had just met, and we watched the Simpson's like we usually do. She said she didn't watch it and wasn't allowed to watch it growing up because she had four younger siblings. We had a discussion about how we loved all the cultural references in the show and how it might not be for children. But I said that if the child wanted to watch it and the parent was present and watching and commenting and helping the child understand behaviors, words, and actions, then I didn't see a problem.
Priscilla Sanstead
Tulsa
________________________________
From: Sadie Bugni <lotsagr8kidz@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, January 9, 2012 8:33 PM
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] Is it normal to doubt yourself?
My kids also love Simpsons. Last year, Target had the season sets on black
Friday for $10 each and I went early to get them. We watch them in our RV
when we travel and everyone enjoys them.
Anyway, we have been home a lot the past 2 weeks and my husband and I were
talking about doing something today. The Atlanta History Center had a home
school day today, so we looked it up to see what the topic was going to be.
It was about the founders of our country and The Constitution. We decided
that this was something that our kids probably wouldn't get too into, so we
were going to look for something else. About an hour later, we sat down to
watch the new Simpsons episode on our DVR and it was about the same topics
that the history center was doing! The kids asked all kinds of questions
and actually knew more than I thought they did about the subject and were
really interested.
Sooo, what I'm trying to say is, look around at all the learning that is
happening. Don't dismiss their interest as "just watching Simpsons." You
never know where that 1 episode may lead you:)
Sadie Bugni
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=- But I said that if the child wanted to watch it and the parent was present and watching and commenting and helping the child understand behaviors, words, and actions, then I didn't see a problem.-=-
My kids have explained Simpsons references I didn't get, lots of times. :-)
I don't think any parent should force a child to watch The Simpsons, but I think if a child wants to watch it without a parent, there's little danger of him being marred by things he wouldn't understand without an explanation.
If he doesn't get it, it's fine for it to go right over his head. I think explanations can be more damaging than merry, clueless oblivion.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
My kids have explained Simpsons references I didn't get, lots of times. :-)
I don't think any parent should force a child to watch The Simpsons, but I think if a child wants to watch it without a parent, there's little danger of him being marred by things he wouldn't understand without an explanation.
If he doesn't get it, it's fine for it to go right over his head. I think explanations can be more damaging than merry, clueless oblivion.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
http://sandradodd.com/strew/simpsons
I added to that. I don't think people outside the U.S. can listen to the songs at the bottom, but if anyone is unfamiliar with "Canyonero" and has a minute and 17 seconds, it's pretty great.
Perhaps people out of range of that player could google it.
It was performed by Hank Williams Jr. "Who's that?" That could provide a few moments to hours or years of looking around into him, his dad, the music, the life, the movies, the recording industry, songwriting...
Oh right! It was about art and I'm off on music. That's how it goes, if you're lucky. :-)
Sandra
I added to that. I don't think people outside the U.S. can listen to the songs at the bottom, but if anyone is unfamiliar with "Canyonero" and has a minute and 17 seconds, it's pretty great.
Perhaps people out of range of that player could google it.
It was performed by Hank Williams Jr. "Who's that?" That could provide a few moments to hours or years of looking around into him, his dad, the music, the life, the movies, the recording industry, songwriting...
Oh right! It was about art and I'm off on music. That's how it goes, if you're lucky. :-)
Sandra
sebrina w
The other day my kids were having a discussion on the milky way. My 10 year old was asking what is the milky way and my 11 year old said it's the galaxy that contains our solar system. My 10 year didn't quite believe him so he decided to google search it and sure enough my 11 year old was right. So my 10 year old asked "how did you know that?" My 11 year olds response.. "I learned it from the Simpsons" :)
Sebrina
Sebrina
--- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
>
> http://sandradodd.com/strew/simpsons
>
> I added to that. I don't think people outside the U.S. can listen to the songs at the bottom, but if anyone is unfamiliar with "Canyonero" and has a minute and 17 seconds, it's pretty great.
> Perhaps people out of range of that player could google it.
> It was performed by Hank Williams Jr. "Who's that?" That could provide a few moments to hours or years of looking around into him, his dad, the music, the life, the movies, the recording industry, songwriting...
>
> Oh right! It was about art and I'm off on music. That's how it goes, if you're lucky. :-)
>
> Sandra
>