lindsaylou97330

Hi All,

I'm new to this list. My name is Lindsay and I'm 29 and living in the
beautiful state of Oregon. I took my son Jackson (7) out of school
about 4.5 months ago. I have 3 other, very young children, Kylie 2
and 6 month old twins, Willow and Annabelle.

I am struggling with the fact that due to the heavy load I must carry
with such young children that Jackson most probably will be back to
school in the Fall.

We are looking at enrolling him in a spanish immersion school here in
our town. I'm trying to seek the best place for him since being at
home isn't the best option -- for now at least.

Jackson is a brilliant child with a ton of energy. His mind is 50 and
his body is 7 (at least that is how it seems to me). Even if he does
go to school in the fall, we are dedicated to living a radical life.
Kind of like radical unschooling with a little school in the mix ;)

Anyway, I'm just looking for a place to get some of my thoughts out.
I'm hoping some who have been unschooling for awhile can share some
wisdom.

Cheers,
Lindsay

[email protected]

Hi Lindsay. I'm glad you found your way over here. This is a really good place to explore your unschooling options.

How is Jackson feeling about the idea of going back to school?

--
~Mary
http://zenmommasgarden.blogspot.com/

"The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the
green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly
alive."
~Thich Nhat Hanh

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "lindsaylou97330" <lindsay.baker@...>
> Hi All,
>
> I'm new to this list. My name is Lindsay and I'm 29 and living in the
> beautiful state of Oregon. I took my son Jackson (7) out of school
> about 4.5 months ago. I have 3 other, very young children, Kylie 2
> and 6 month old twins, Willow and Annabelle.
>
> I am struggling with the fact that due to the heavy load I must carry
> with such young children that Jackson most probably will be back to
> school in the Fall.
>
> We are looking at enrolling him in a spanish immersion school here in
> our town. I'm trying to seek the best place for him since being at
> home isn't the best option -- for now at least.
>
> Jackson is a brilliant child with a ton of energy. His mind is 50 and
> his body is 7 (at least that is how it seems to me). Even if he does
> go to school in the fall, we are dedicated to living a radical life.
> Kind of like radical unschooling with a little school in the mix ;)
>
> Anyway, I'm just looking for a place to get some of my thoughts out.
> I'm hoping some who have been unschooling for awhile can share some
> wisdom.
>
> Cheers,
> Lindsay
>
>
>
>
>
>
>





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

Michelle/Melbrigða

On 6/5/06, lindsaylou97330 <lindsay.baker@...> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I'm new to this list. My name is Lindsay and I'm 29 and living in the
> beautiful state of Oregon. I took my son Jackson (7) out of school
> about 4.5 months ago. I have 3 other, very young children, Kylie 2
> and 6 month old twins, Willow and Annabelle.
>
> I am struggling with the fact that due to the heavy load I must carry
> with such young children that Jackson most probably will be back to
> school in the Fall.


When my oldest daughter was 6 I panicked that I couldn't "do it all" since I
had a 3yo and a newborn in the house. I had "too much to do" to properly
homeschool her. I wish I had known about unschooling back then and realized
that I truly didn't need to "properly homeschool" her. I truly regret those
years she was in public school. Even though she had two pretty amazing
teachers, the years it has taken to deschool all the schoolish ways has been
hard on both of us. In reality, looking back, I probably created *more*
work than less by having her in school. I *had* to be up at 6am every
morning with her school uniform ready. I *had* to have a lunch packed for
her (she refused to eat school food). I *had* to take her to school every
morning by 7:15 (7:15 for a baby to start sitting in class all day!) and
pick her up everyday at 2:30 (she went to a magnate program school and we
lived outside of that district). Because I wanted to be involved in her
education this meant that I also had to drag an unwilling 3yo and a fussy
(because he wasn't doing what he wanted to do) baby to school functions,
field trips, class assisting, PTA meetings, and parent teacher conferences
(which this school required every 6 weeks in order to get report cards.)
Then there was homework that had to be done (yes; starting in kindergarden)
and other projects.

Oh if I had only known the joys of unschooling and joyful living and had
allowed my daughter to be the nightowl she has always been so she could go
to bed when she was tired and wake when she was rested rather than fight
each night about bedtime because she needed sleep in order to be on her best
for school the next day (which she rarely was as she was usually awake until
midnight anyway!) If I had only known how to let her enjoy living and trust
that she would learn the things she needed without school (which why I
thought she needed school after she taught herself to read at age 4 - with
*very little* help from me). How much simpler our lives would have been had
I known about unschooling back then, rather than having to stumble on it
now.

You pulled your son from school for a reason. Look back and remember what
that reason was and whether you think it is a good choice to put your son
back into that situation again. While it might seem like you will have more
time to focus on your younger children, is this really best choice for HIM?
Is this really the best choice for your family *as a whole*?





--
Michelle
aka Melbrigða
http://eventualknitting.blogspot.com
[email protected] - Homeschooling for the Medieval Recreationist


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

lindsaylou97330

He hates the idea. I don't know how he will feel in the Fall. I
still have my hopes up that we will all be functioning well enough
around here that he won't have to go back. It's hard to see that far
into the future though........

--- In [email protected], zenmomma@... wrote:
>
> Hi Lindsay. I'm glad you found your way over here. This is a really
good place to explore your unschooling options.
>
> How is Jackson feeling about the idea of going back to school?
>
> --
> ~Mary
> http://zenmommasgarden.blogspot.com/
>
> "The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the
> green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly
> alive."
> ~Thich Nhat Hanh
>
> -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: "lindsaylou97330" <lindsay.baker@...>
> > Hi All,
> >
> > I'm new to this list. My name is Lindsay and I'm 29 and living in
the
> > beautiful state of Oregon. I took my son Jackson (7) out of school
> > about 4.5 months ago. I have 3 other, very young children, Kylie
2
> > and 6 month old twins, Willow and Annabelle.
> >
> > I am struggling with the fact that due to the heavy load I must
carry
> > with such young children that Jackson most probably will be back
to
> > school in the Fall.
> >
> > We are looking at enrolling him in a spanish immersion school here
in
> > our town. I'm trying to seek the best place for him since being
at
> > home isn't the best option -- for now at least.
> >
> > Jackson is a brilliant child with a ton of energy. His mind is 50
and
> > his body is 7 (at least that is how it seems to me). Even if he
does
> > go to school in the fall, we are dedicated to living a radical
life.
> > Kind of like radical unschooling with a little school in the mix
;)
> >
> > Anyway, I'm just looking for a place to get some of my thoughts
out.
> > I'm hoping some who have been unschooling for awhile can share
some
> > wisdom.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Lindsay
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Lorraine

Hi Lindsay,

I'm new to the list too. I don't think I've even posted an
introduction yet, but I wanted to respond to your post because I can
relate so well.

I am 40 yrs old and the mother of five : Athena Grace-10, Jesse
Josiah-10, Malachi Jaedon-3, Isaiah Elias-2, Xanna Joy-9months. Yes,
the older ones are twins. I started homeschooling when the twins
were 7 and I was pregnant with Malachi. I lost Malachi's twin during
that pregnancy and had alot of other complications. Malachi was born
with a cleft lip and a heart condition. When we were trying to get
pregnant again, my husband was afraid I'd end up on bed rest again
and wouldn't be able to homeschool both twins, so he sent my
daughter to public school. Worst mistake ever. She's a social
butterfly and just loved being surrounded by friends(Miss
Popularity), but neglected to do any school work. I don't believe
she learned a thing in that year. So, we went back to homeschooling
her.

I have been homeschooling for four years and it has been a constant
struggle finding out how to school the twins. I wish I had known
about unschooling when I started. It's hard to get out of
the 'schooling' mentality. I'm still not totally there. However, if
you take time to write down everything the kids are learning without
being stuck at a table with books, it's amazing. My twins can run a
house by themselves including grocery shopping(comparitive price
shopping), cooking, changing babies, making formula, sterilizing
bottles, doing laundry, planting gardens, mowing & weeding, etc. My
husband owns an ACE Hardware Store so they also have had experience
with on-the-job training, customer service, organization, manners,
time cards, phone skills, paychecks, etc.

My 10 yr old is very active (Sometimes down right wild) but he
taught himself to read at 4 yrs of age and is great at retaining
what he's learned. He has a love for science, space, natural
disasters, weather, and history. Through videos, field trips, and
google searches, he has learned so much more that even I can
remember from being in pulbic schools my whole life.

I finally decided to stop giving weekly tests and just let the kids
learn. I was a straight A student in school and Valedictorian when I
graduated from high school. Went to college on a full scholarship.
However, I don't remember anything they I was ever taught in school
and none of what I was taught applies to the life I am living now.
I'd rather my kids follow their own interest and remember what
they've learned.

Lindsay, having little ones around can be difficult at times.
However, the 6 &7 year olds are very similar in age. Keeping tabs on
the 2 yr old may seem hard, but don't feel bad to allow him to watch
some educational tv while the older ones are involved in something
else. My 2&3 year old can both count to 10, recognize letters,
complete puzzles, build with legos, role play, and even say some
words in spanish. They have learned to be independent and share.
There are plenty of activities available for them to do alone. If
all else fails, incorporate your older kids in helping with the two
year old. If things get out of hand around here, I will have each of
the 10 yr olds take time with the toddler and baby. They will play
with them outside or read them books(a good way to enforce their own
reading skills). Just having them one on one with the little ones
controls the chaos.

All I can say is hang in there Lindsay. There are days I think it
would be so nice to ship them off to school, but I feel so called to
have them at home I know I'd really be miserable. Believe in the
choice you have made and believe in yourself. My husband doewsn't
help out at home, but I have his support in my endeavors and that
means the world to me. Find a support system. I'm learning adn
struggling right along with you. Feel free to drop me an e-mail if
you ever need to talk or vent.

Lorraine

--- In [email protected], "lindsaylou97330"
<lindsay.baker@...> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I'm new to this list. My name is Lindsay and I'm 29 and living in
the
> beautiful state of Oregon. I took my son Jackson (7) out of school
> about 4.5 months ago. I have 3 other, very young children, Kylie
2
> and 6 month old twins, Willow and Annabelle.
>
> I am struggling with the fact that due to the heavy load I must
carry
> with such young children that Jackson most probably will be back
to
> school in the Fall.
>
> We are looking at enrolling him in a spanish immersion school here
in
> our town. I'm trying to seek the best place for him since being
at
> home isn't the best option -- for now at least.
>
> Jackson is a brilliant child with a ton of energy. His mind is 50
and
> his body is 7 (at least that is how it seems to me). Even if he
does
> go to school in the fall, we are dedicated to living a radical
life.
> Kind of like radical unschooling with a little school in the mix ;)
>
> Anyway, I'm just looking for a place to get some of my thoughts
out.
> I'm hoping some who have been unschooling for awhile can share
some
> wisdom.
>
> Cheers,
> Lindsay
>

Pamela Sorooshian

Oh Lindsay, that is really tough. I wonder if you can put school out
of the picture and come up with other ways to deal with the
difficulties you're having.

Do you have help with the little ones - maybe for a couple of hours a
day? Can you get a mother's helper to come in and spend time with
your son?

An idea I've never heard mentioned - contact Girl Scouts and see if
there is a girl or two who might like to help you as part of a
service project. To earn badges and patches, they always have to do
some kind of service.

Another option that I've seen used, and it worked really really well,
is not to send the child to actual school, but just to sign him up
for an after-school (daycare) program. These CAN (you have to check
them out) be fun - with a lot of emphasis on games and activities and
projects. Also, parks and recreation departments often have after-
school programs -- these tend to be a bit more casual, less
regimented, than the ones offered at the actual schools. After-
school programs might run from 2 or 3 to 6 daily, that's 3 or 4 hours
of supervised playtime with other kids. Might not be your ideal
situation, but I think it would be a lot better than actual classroom
schooling.

-pam

On Jun 6, 2006, at 9:00 AM, lindsaylou97330 wrote:

> He hates the idea. I don't know how he will feel in the Fall. I
> still have my hopes up that we will all be functioning well enough
> around here that he won't have to go back. It's hard to see that far
> into the future though........

Unschooling shirts, cups, bumper stickers, bags...
Live Love Learn
UNSCHOOL!
<http://www.cafepress.com/livelovelearn>





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

Michelle/Melbrigða

On 6/6/06, lindsaylou97330 <lindsay.baker@...> wrote:
>
> He hates the idea. I don't know how he will feel in the Fall. I
> still have my hopes up that we will all be functioning well enough
> around here that he won't have to go back. It's hard to see that far
> into the future though........


Lindsey, don't try to look that far into the future. Think about what you
need and want to do right now. What are your priorities? What needs to get
done today? Obviously you have 2 wee ones that really need a lot of your
attention. What can you do to help the older 2 be more self-sufficient?
I'm not talking about housework (forbid!) or taking themselves to the
library, but simple things like having foods and drinks accessible. Cheese
that is already cut up or apples already sliced. Graham crackers that are
open and put in an easy to reseal container (like those ziploc sandwich
boxes that you just push to close). If your 2 yo drinks from a sippy cup,
what if she had several that were already made up ahead of time waiting for
her in the fridge or on the counter? A "story basket" set up beside
whatever chair you nurse your twins in? Or (as I did with my last child) a
"video basket" with videos that we could watch together while I sat down
with the baby (nursing or not - sometimes just to take a load off!) Someone
pointed out to me not long ago that laundry takes 10 minutes to do. 5
minutes to start a load and 5 minutes to "flip" a load. I've gotten to
where I pile the laundry on my bed and found that 2 loads of laundry a day
takes about 5 minutes to fold - 10 if it's whites (why is that? LOL!) And
some things just dont' need folding - underwear, dust or burp rags, and
diapers - not that I have those anymore - they're all dustrags LOL!) I have
a basket in each bedroom and in each bathroom. I ask people to aim towards
the baskets. It has helped immensly with the laundry struggles!

Your twins are 6 months old now, but at the end of the summer they are going
to be 9 months old and by the end of the year 12 months old. By this time
next year they are going to be busy little toddlers and you *will* have more
time (for yourself and your older children.) What is the worst that could
happen if your son didn't go to school and didn't do any formal studies this
year? You might surprise yourself to find that he will be immersed in his
passions and living life joyfully ............ and so will you!





--
Michelle
aka Melbrigða
http://eventualknitting.blogspot.com
[email protected] - Homeschooling for the Medieval Recreationist


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

[email protected]

>>Another option that I've seen used, and it worked really really well, is not to send the child to actual school, but just to sign him up for an after-school (daycare) program. These CAN (you have to check them out) be fun - with a lot of emphasis on games and activities and projects.>>

What a GREAT idea Pam!

Lindsay, is Jackson doing any summer day camp programs? If he likes going, that might really help to take the pressure off.
--
~Mary
http://zenmommasgarden.blogspot.com/

"The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the
green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly
alive."
~Thich Nhat Hanh

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Pamela Sorooshian <pamsoroosh@...>
> Oh Lindsay, that is really tough. I wonder if you can put school out
> of the picture and come up with other ways to deal with the
> difficulties you're having.
>
> Do you have help with the little ones - maybe for a couple of hours a
> day? Can you get a mother's helper to come in and spend time with
> your son?
>
> An idea I've never heard mentioned - contact Girl Scouts and see if
> there is a girl or two who might like to help you as part of a
> service project. To earn badges and patches, they always have to do
> some kind of service.
>
> Another option that I've seen used, and it worked really really well,
> is not to send the child to actual school, but just to sign him up
> for an after-school (daycare) program. These CAN (you have to check
> them out) be fun - with a lot of emphasis on games and activities and
> projects. Also, parks and recreation departments often have after-
> school programs -- these tend to be a bit more casual, less
> regimented, than the ones offered at the actual schools. After-
> school programs might run from 2 or 3 to 6 daily, that's 3 or 4 hours
> of supervised playtime with other kids. Might not be your ideal
> situation, but I think it would be a lot better than actual classroom
> schooling.
>
> -pam
>
> On Jun 6, 2006, at 9:00 AM, lindsaylou97330 wrote:
>
> > He hates the idea. I don't know how he will feel in the Fall. I
> > still have my hopes up that we will all be functioning well enough
> > around here that he won't have to go back. It's hard to see that far
> > into the future though........
>
> Unschooling shirts, cups, bumper stickers, bags...
> Live Love Learn
> UNSCHOOL!
> <http://www.cafepress.com/livelovelearn>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

[email protected]

>>He hates the idea. I don't know how he will feel in the Fall.>>

He'll probably feel resentful if you make him go when he doesn't want to. :-( It would be great if you get him some out of the house time without imposing the school bullsh*t on him. I really like Pam's suggestion of a daily after hours program.

>>I still have my hopes up that we will all be functioning well enough around here that he won't have to go back.>>

I hope so too!


--
~Mary
http://zenmommasgarden.blogspot.com/

"The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the
green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly
alive."
~Thich Nhat Hanh

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "lindsaylou97330" <lindsay.baker@...>
> He hates the idea. I don't know how he will feel in the Fall. I
> still have my hopes up that we will all be functioning well enough
> around here that he won't have to go back. It's hard to see that far
> into the future though........
>
> --- In [email protected], zenmomma@... wrote:
> >
> > Hi Lindsay. I'm glad you found your way over here. This is a really
> good place to explore your unschooling options.
> >
> > How is Jackson feeling about the idea of going back to school?
> >
> > --
> > ~Mary
> > http://zenmommasgarden.blogspot.com/
> >
> > "The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the
> > green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly
> > alive."
> > ~Thich Nhat Hanh
> >
> > -------------- Original message ----------------------
> > From: "lindsaylou97330" <lindsay.baker@...>
> > > Hi All,
> > >
> > > I'm new to this list. My name is Lindsay and I'm 29 and living in
> the
> > > beautiful state of Oregon. I took my son Jackson (7) out of school
> > > about 4.5 months ago. I have 3 other, very young children, Kylie
> 2
> > > and 6 month old twins, Willow and Annabelle.
> > >
> > > I am struggling with the fact that due to the heavy load I must
> carry
> > > with such young children that Jackson most probably will be back
> to
> > > school in the Fall.
> > >
> > > We are looking at enrolling him in a spanish immersion school here
> in
> > > our town. I'm trying to seek the best place for him since being
> at
> > > home isn't the best option -- for now at least.
> > >
> > > Jackson is a brilliant child with a ton of energy. His mind is 50
> and
> > > his body is 7 (at least that is how it seems to me). Even if he
> does
> > > go to school in the fall, we are dedicated to living a radical
> life.
> > > Kind of like radical unschooling with a little school in the mix
> ;)
> > >
> > > Anyway, I'm just looking for a place to get some of my thoughts
> out.
> > > I'm hoping some who have been unschooling for awhile can share
> some
> > > wisdom.
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > > Lindsay
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

[email protected]

-----Original Message-----
From: Lorraine <missrainydaze@...>

However, the 6 &7 year olds are very similar in age. Keeping tabs on
the 2 yr old may seem hard, but don't feel bad to allow him to watch
some educational tv while the older ones are involved in something
else.

-=-=-=-

Nice post.

I'd drop the "educational" part of the tv viewing.

ALL tv is educational, if you choose to see it that way! <g>


~Kelly

Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://liveandlearnconference.org

"The hardest problem for the brain is not learning, but forgetting. No
matter how hard we try, we can't deliberately forget something we have
learned, and that is catastrophic if we learn that we can't learn."
~Frank Smith
________________________________________________________________________
Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email
and IM. All on demand. Always Free.

crysvalsped

I just wanted to add what a GodSend Baby Einstein movies have been in
occupying my NT 4 year old while trying to deal with my 9 yo Aspie!
My Dh even commented that he loved Julie Clark one day and told me
(teasingly I think) that she did more for him those months than I ever
could!! :(
Seriously, I wish I was close to you, I can't ever get enough "baby
fix" (as DH calls it) and I'd LOVE to give you a pair ofextra hands
(though feeding would still be on you)!
Sending you hugs and best wishes!
Crystal

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lorraine <missrainydaze@...>
>
> However, the 6 &7 year olds are very similar in age. Keeping tabs on
> the 2 yr old may seem hard, but don't feel bad to allow him to watch
> some educational tv while the older ones are involved in something
> else.
>
> -=-=-=-
>
> Nice post.
>
> I'd drop the "educational" part of the tv viewing.
>
> ALL tv is educational, if you choose to see it that way! <g>
>
>
> ~Kelly
>
> Kelly Lovejoy
> Conference Coordinator
> Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
> http://liveandlearnconference.org
>
> "The hardest problem for the brain is not learning, but
forgetting. No
> matter how hard we try, we can't deliberately forget something we have
> learned, and that is catastrophic if we learn that we can't learn."
> ~Frank Smith
> ________________________________________________________________________
> Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email
> and IM. All on demand. Always Free.
>