[email protected]

Hello all,

It is now one year since my now 15 y/o daughter Anya spent her last day in school.

To recap-my daughter should have been unschooled from day one, but that was not in the cards due to some circumstances. She begged me to "home teach" her all through first through third grades. (broke my heart) She had a few good years, 4th and 5th grades, due to some "hippie teachers." By the end of eighth grade, she was a dismal unhappy mess, and decided of her own accord to blow off high school. I gave her "The Teenage Liberation Handbook" and pointed her in the direction of Not Back To School Camp. It was at NBTSC that she discovered Unschooling and chose that over Homeschooling.

The last year has been a journey, to say the least. Nothing went as planned. I had planned to quit my job to facilitate her interests (not wanting to "leave her to her own devices") and I had made some financial arrangements to make it happen (real estate investments) but life intervened, the real estate market tanked, I lost some money, my husband had back surgery knocking him out of commission for six months, ( putting me in primary breadwinner position)- long story short I could not quit my job.

Anya did a whole lot of sleeping for several months. She told me her dreams were more vivid and enjoyable than ever, and she was experamenting with "lucid dreaming." All fine with me. She spent time downloading music, maintaining her Myspace pages, surfing youtube, watching TV and reading whatever she wanted.

We moved and had no money for awhile while we carried three mortgages. No furniture in the new house, no money for any extras, but the other house finally sold and we bought furniture. She painted her new room turquoise, bought a black rug and black furniture, and put up music posters. Cut her long hair super short. Remarked that "when you unschool you have lots of time to get to know yourself. School keeps you too stressed out to have an original thought."

(How may times is my mother going to ask me if "anyone from the district is monitoring her progress?" )

I noticed that she has "dictionary.com" bookmarked on her computer. She has read about 10 different books, all her own choices. She reads the paper and bakes cookies. Works out at the gym. Travels up to our vacation home in the Tahoe area and hangs out in our cabin. (for sale, BTW, any takers?) She took a college course in Digital Photography. She goes to SKA band concerts. AND -She got certified as a junior open water SCUBA diver!! We went to Belize for 10 days where we spent four days diving the reef and four days in the jungle where she met a Belizean archaelogist and spent an entire evening discussing Mayan history and the lack of regard showed by the Discovery Channel while filming something they are calling "Adventures of the Bone Detective. " (written by a hollywood script writer with no interest in either archaeology or history).

Anya also got a job! I am proud of her because its pretty competitive in the teenage entry level market but she would not let anyone tell her she was too young. She found out the loopholes in the work permit system, and started applying everywhere. At one point, she was offered a job bussing tables at a restaurant but then they found out she was 14 and took back the offer. She finally got hired by Coldstone Creamery. She worked there for four months until the franchise was sold and the new owners laid everyone off.
I am noticing she is far more focused somehow than her schooled friends. Her mental arithmatic has improved as well.
Anya will be at Not Back To School Camp in Oregon this summer for both sessions. She has no desire to go back to school. Life is so much better now that she is happier. She plans to find a job when she gets back, and still talks about passing the CHSPE, only now she wants to pass it for a different reason: to get the school district off her back about working. The permit process is B.S.
Kathryn

Watched "The Secret"? Get 7 free lessons now at:
http://klk.thesgrprogram.com

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

Kathleen Gehrke

--- In [email protected], airokat@... wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> It is now one year since my now 15 y/o daughter Anya spent her last
day in school.
>

WOW Kathryn,

Sharing your families journey was a wonderful read for me....

UNSCHOOLING ROCKS>

Kathleen

Mara

That is a wonderful story, thanks for sharing. All the
best to you all!
Mara

--- airokat@... wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> It is now one year since my now 15 y/o daughter
> Anya spent her last day in school.
>
> To recap-my daughter should have been unschooled
> from day one, but that was not in the cards due to
> some circumstances. She begged me to "home teach"
> her all through first through third grades. (broke
> my heart) She had a few good years, 4th and 5th
> grades, due to some "hippie teachers." By the end of
> eighth grade, she was a dismal unhappy mess, and
> decided of her own accord to blow off high school. I
> gave her "The Teenage Liberation Handbook" and
> pointed her in the direction of Not Back To School
> Camp. It was at NBTSC that she discovered
> Unschooling and chose that over Homeschooling.
>
> The last year has been a journey, to say the least.
> Nothing went as planned. I had planned to quit my
> job to facilitate her interests (not wanting to
> "leave her to her own devices") and I had made some
> financial arrangements to make it happen (real
> estate investments) but life intervened, the real
> estate market tanked, I lost some money, my husband
> had back surgery knocking him out of commission for
> six months, ( putting me in primary breadwinner
> position)- long story short I could not quit my job.
>
>
> Anya did a whole lot of sleeping for several months.
> She told me her dreams were more vivid and enjoyable
> than ever, and she was experamenting with "lucid
> dreaming." All fine with me. She spent time
> downloading music, maintaining her Myspace pages,
> surfing youtube, watching TV and reading whatever
> she wanted.
>
> We moved and had no money for awhile while we
> carried three mortgages. No furniture in the new
> house, no money for any extras, but the other house
> finally sold and we bought furniture. She painted
> her new room turquoise, bought a black rug and black
> furniture, and put up music posters. Cut her long
> hair super short. Remarked that "when you unschool
> you have lots of time to get to know yourself.
> School keeps you too stressed out to have an
> original thought."
>
> (How may times is my mother going to ask me if
> "anyone from the district is monitoring her
> progress?" )
>
> I noticed that she has "dictionary.com" bookmarked
> on her computer. She has read about 10 different
> books, all her own choices. She reads the paper and
> bakes cookies. Works out at the gym. Travels up to
> our vacation home in the Tahoe area and hangs out in
> our cabin. (for sale, BTW, any takers?) She took a
> college course in Digital Photography. She goes to
> SKA band concerts. AND -She got certified as a
> junior open water SCUBA diver!! We went to Belize
> for 10 days where we spent four days diving the reef
> and four days in the jungle where she met a Belizean
> archaelogist and spent an entire evening discussing
> Mayan history and the lack of regard showed by the
> Discovery Channel while filming something they are
> calling "Adventures of the Bone Detective. "
> (written by a hollywood script writer with no
> interest in either archaeology or history).
>
> Anya also got a job! I am proud of her because its
> pretty competitive in the teenage entry level market
> but she would not let anyone tell her she was too
> young. She found out the loopholes in the work
> permit system, and started applying everywhere. At
> one point, she was offered a job bussing tables at a
> restaurant but then they found out she was 14 and
> took back the offer. She finally got hired by
> Coldstone Creamery. She worked there for four months
> until the franchise was sold and the new owners laid
> everyone off.
> I am noticing she is far more focused somehow than
> her schooled friends. Her mental arithmatic has
> improved as well.
> Anya will be at Not Back To School Camp in Oregon
> this summer for both sessions. She has no desire to
> go back to school. Life is so much better now that
> she is happier. She plans to find a job when she
> gets back, and still talks about passing the CHSPE,
> only now she wants to pass it for a different
> reason: to get the school district off her back
> about working. The permit process is B.S.
> Kathryn
>
> Watched "The Secret"? Get 7 free lessons now at:
> http://klk.thesgrprogram.com
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>




____________________________________________________________________________________
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Tracy

Kathryn, thanks for sharing your family's journey to unschooling. I
found it refreshing and encouraging to read!

~ Tracy

ivy papa-goze

hello. i'm new here. my daughter is only ten months old, but i had decided long before i even had a child that i was going to homeschool. i am strongly leaning towards unschooling, but i need to do more research; that's why i joined this group. however, i'd just like to say that the more i read about it, the more i really want to go for it. posts like kathryn's leave me very inspired and wishing i had been unschooled myself. hope you all have a good one. :)

ivy



http://spinninglovelydays.blogspot.com

---------------------------------
Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story.
Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games.

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

Meredith

--- In [email protected], airokat@... wrote:
>Remarked that "when you unschool you have lots of time to get to know
yourself. School keeps you too stressed out to have an original
thought."
**************

That's such a wonderful comment. I've seen Ray spend lots of
time "getting to know himself" since leaving school. He's a much more
thoughtful and introspective person than I had previously realized.

---Meredith (Mo 6, Ray 13)

[email protected]

Kathryn!
Love your update, very inspiring!

--
*^^^Andrea^^^*

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

kel9769

>
> It is now one year since my now 15 y/o daughter Anya spent her
last day in school.
>
> To recap-my daughter should have been unschooled from day one, but
that was not in the cards due to some circumstances. She begged me
to "home teach" her all through first through third grades. (broke
my heart) She had a few good years, 4th and 5th grades, due to
some "hippie teachers." By the end of eighth grade, she was a dismal
unhappy mess, and decided of her own accord to blow off high school.
I gave her "The Teenage Liberation Handbook" and pointed her in the
direction of Not Back To School Camp. It was at NBTSC that she
discovered Unschooling and chose that over Homeschooling.
>
>
Hi Kathryn
Wow! Anya and my Lizzy could practically be twins. I gave her her
freedom this past February, half way thru 8th grade. SHe is going
to the Vermont session of NBTSC next month and is so excited to meet
some other kids "as weird as she is". I am so happy to see the
changes in her as she heals and gets to know herself. Lizzy also
cut her hair short and is frustrated by the ageism that is
everywhere, especially in the job market. We had a conversation
yesterday about how everyone should be treated as a person not
as "just" a kid. SHe doesn't want to be treated as an adult but as
a person. It is so clear now how much more she can express herself
now that all her energy isn't taken up just trying to get by
emotionally & socially in addition to academically. She always says
now she has room in her brain to think. Her friends are starting to
notice how much basic information she has picked up "just" by
watching things that interest her on TV & on the computer.

After entering this subculture I am amazed how many really bright,
interesting, articulate teenagers are opting out of high school.
Now knowing it is possible I look around and see how many more would
like to or would probably benifit but don't know it's an option.
Then I remember how I felt at 16 & 17 impatient for my "real" life
to start. Anxious to get to college and learn what I wanted.
Anxious to find a "real" job. I am so happy to give my daughter
this opportunity and hope she will be an inspiration to others.
Kelly

[email protected]

-----Original Message-----
From: kel9769 <kel9769@...>


Wow! Anya and my Lizzy could practically be twins. I gave her her
freedom this past February, half way thru 8th grade. SHe is going
to the Vermont session of NBTSC next month and is so excited to meet
some other kids "as weird as she is".

-=-=-=-

Tell her to look up Cameron---he'll probably be hugging on somebody!
<g> He's been to NBTSC/Vermont three years. Two years ago he went to
both east coast and west coast sessions. Each year he comes back even
more excited about life. It's been a very positive force in his life,
and he has friends from all over the country that he's met through camp.

-=-=-=-=-=-

It is so clear now how much more she can express herself
now that all her energy isn't taken up just trying to get by
emotionally & socially in addition to academically. She always says
now she has room in her brain to think. Her friends are starting to
notice how much basic information she has picked up "just" by
watching things that interest her on TV & on the computer.

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

Same here---he's much more "at peace" with himself and has time to
*think*.

-=-=-=-=-=

After entering this subculture I am amazed how many really bright,
interesting, articulate teenagers are opting out of high school.
Now knowing it is possible I look around and see how many more would
like to or would probably benifit but don't know it's an option.


-=-=-=-=-=-

The Teen Panel at the conference is always a big hit. There are so many
new unschooling fanilies with young children, and to
hear/see/experience teens that are *whole* and interested and
interesting is so very inspiring and helpful (and hopeful! <G>).


~Kelly

Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://www.LiveandLearnConference.org
________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free
from AOL at AOL.com.

kel9769

>
> Tell her to look up Cameron---he'll probably be hugging on somebody!
> <g> He's been to NBTSC/Vermont three years. Two years ago he went to
> both east coast and west coast sessions. Each year he comes back
even
> more excited about life. It's been a very positive force in his
life,
> and he has friends from all over the country that he's met through
camp.
>
>

Hi Kelly
I have heard so many awesome things about NBTSC I know Lizzy is going
to have a great time. A myspace friend of mine from Washington was
telling me her daughter had a call from Cameron saying the people in
VT are even nicer, lol. I must have recongnized 3 or 4 of the kids on
the camper list from these groups and/or books I've read. It's almost
like meeting someone famous to me. I got all excited when I got an
email from Grace. It was silly. It is a small world!
Kelly

[email protected]

Anya tells me NBTSC is her favorite place. She calls it "the most non-judgmental environment I have ever been in." She really felt at home there, like she had found her tribe. She was also very impressed with the caliber of the teenagers there and that many of them had never been in a classroom in their lives but were "really accomplished...and at more than one thing!"

I cant emphasize enough how removing her from school was the best decision I/we have ever made. Her last days at school were a disaster-showing up at noon, doing no work, getting disrespected by teachers, but for some reason she wanted to finish the eighth grade even tho I told her to just quit. I was whispered about by other parents for not disciplining her to conform. (Thank god I dont have to see those parents anymore what a bonus! I never really fit in either)

I am so impressed with how much she has grown and how much she has learned not being in school. She is a different person now, or I should say she can now completely be who she really is. Its unfortunate that her best friend Carley still has to go to school, her parents are caught up in the whole charade of "got-to-go-to-the-best-high-school-or-you-wont-get-into-a-good-college" crap. This girl desparately wants to quit school but can't.

I am at work, cant ramble on, I am not supposed to be on the internet.
Kathryn

-------------- Original message --------------
From: "kel9769" <kel9769@...>
>
> Tell her to look up Cameron---he'll probably be hugging on somebody!
> <g> He's been to NBTSC/Vermont three years. Two years ago he went to
> both east coast and west coast sessions. Each year he comes back
even
> more excited about life. It's been a very positive force in his
life,
> and he has friends from all over the country that he's met through
camp.
>
>

Hi Kelly
I have heard so many awesome things about NBTSC I know Lizzy is going
to have a great time. A myspace friend of mine from Washington was
telling me her daughter had a call from Cameron saying the people in
VT are even nicer, lol. I must have recongnized 3 or 4 of the kids on
the camper list from these groups and/or books I've read. It's almost
like meeting someone famous to me. I got all excited when I got an
email from Grace. It was silly. It is a small world!
Kelly




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

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/14/2007 11:12:51 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
airokat@... writes:

NBTSC


Kathryn, I wish your daughter could meet mine. I NEED her to meet some
unschooled kids ;) (Yes, *I* need it, she is not too sure of this whole thing, but
I'm steady! lol!)

She sounds like a great person. An interesting young woman that I wish I
*could* meet in person. She inspired me, well your writing of her, to just
continue the process, watch it unfold and see what I can do to gently direct along
the way. I'm struggling with Grace being a schooled child while I attempt an
unschooled lifestyle - anyway, lol, I'm so happy to read about her
development and your development. It's so encouraging!

Karen



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

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/14/2007 12:27:21 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
kel9769@... writes:

I have heard so many awesome things about NBTSC I know Lizzy is going
to have a great time.


My daughter, Brenna (18 by camp time) and my son, Logan (14) will be there.
NBTSC has been such a wonderful experience for Brenna the past 3 years (this
will be her 4th) and Logan will be going the first time.

I think Lizzy will have a wonderful time. Both my kids are getting so
excited about it. I need to get out and buy a sleeping bag liner for Logan...It
is quite cold there at night in September especially for Florida kids!

Gail



************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour


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