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>>Our neighborhood is filled with families of kids that all
go to school ( there is one other homeschool family in our immediate
neighborhood)neighborhood)<WBR>........they all play the same spo
activities, play together, etc etc.....and we are different, my kids
don't go to school, they do different activities and sports. They used
to play some town sports with some of these kids but they do different
things now.<<

This is about fear, and about wanting the absolute best for his kids. We're
taught so much that there are ways to ensure that the kids are getting the
best, and to question that is HARD!!! He must already see that for now the kids
seem to be doing great, but he's scared that you'll both do something weird
to mess 'em up and they won't be happy.

I'm not gonna lie to you -- unschooling might make your kids weird. My kid
is weird, and I can tell you that a ton of these other kids are weird too. Let
me tell you how mine happens to be weird.

He just turned 18, and he likes us and spends lots of time with us. That's
pretty weird right there. He just started college, and chose a weird college
that focuses on creativity and authentic learning (Goddard). He's political and
scary smart and really, really funny. He's super confident and has a
wonderful girlfriend and wants to be a professional musician. He's a major audio
geek -- not fancy stereos, pa systems and strange stuff I don't really
understand. He's just so cool. But definitely weird. Uniquely himself.

It's that Uniquely Yourself stuff that's so weird and different from the
Same People. Some kids come out of school with that uniqueness, but it's hard to
do.

Okay, this is only going to come close to working if your husband is NOT a
"same" guy. I suspect he can't be if he's been on board, despite the fears, so
far. When I read what you wrote above I immediately thought of "Little
Boxes."

You know the song "Little Boxes?" It's by the amazing Malvina Reynolds:

Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of tickytacky
Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same
There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.
And the people in the houses all went to the university
Where they were put in boxes and they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and there's lawyers, and business executives
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.
And they all play on the golf course and drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children and the children go to school
And the children go to summer camp and then to the university
Where they are put in boxes and they come out all the same.
And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.
If you haven't heard it you can go to this web site and hear a zillion
versions because Showtime is using as the theme song to the show "Weeds."
_http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/music.do?music=season1_
(http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/music.do?music=season1)
Hang in there...embrace the weird...much better than living in a box.
Kathryn

Come to the Northeast Unschooling conference Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-25
2008 in Peabody, Massachusetts _www.northeastunschoolingconference.com_
(http://www.northeastunschoolingconference.com/)



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BRIAN POLIKOWSKY

KathrynJB@... wrote:

LOL I just have to say that I have met Her son at L & L and he is adorable, nice, cool, confident, funny and delightful.
I hope mine grows up weird like that!
Alex


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Deb

LOL I loved reading all that. We often say between us (me and DH and
DS) that we are definitely *weird* Isn't it great? People don't quite
know what to make of 9 yr old DS when he starts discussing his love of
sushi and sashimi and Dr. Who (the new series...he's counting the days
until season 3 hits the stores on DVD - Nov 6). He was a Cyberman (Dr.
Who character) for Halloween, not your usual type costume. I chose to
go to a local arcade and play skeeball for my birthday recently - how
many 47 yr old moms take the day off from work to spend their birthday
with their family *at an arcade*?!! LOL We're weird and loving every
minute of it! Sometimes too, we'll just agree that we're weird and
plan to stay that way when we bump up against mainstream parenting and
family relationships (limits on all sorts of stuff, "no dessert if you
don't do what I say/stop doing what you're doing", etc). It can be
fun, though, to actually stop to talk to the survey taker folks that
sometimes pop up at shopping malls - two questions and we're done
usually because we're "weird" in so many ways - we don't fit into
their little demographic boxes.


Weird and loving it
--Deb
sitting here in a t shirt and half finger gloves because my hands are
what is cold

jane doe

--- KathrynJB@... wrote:
> I'm not gonna lie to you -- unschooling might make
> your kids weird. My kid
> is weird, and I can tell you that a ton of these
> other kids are weird too.

Thank you so much for using the word "weird". It
strikes such an chord with me. You have made my day,
maybe even my week by feeling free enough to describe
your kid as weird. My kids are weird too, a magical,
mystical weird that I adore. I just wish everyone
could embrace their weirdness...
Thanks--ELISA

We have a collective responsibility to the least of us-Phil Ramone

We can do no great things; only small things with great love- Mother Teresa

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asmb65

Hey, I learned something today. I always thought that was a Pete Seeger
song.

Susan
>
> You know the song "Little Boxes?" It's by the amazing Malvina
Reynolds:
>
> Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of tickytacky
> Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same

Robert Saxon

re: "Little Boxes" response

Thank you for posting this. It helps me b/c I wanted to be a 'same' guy
growing up, but they wouldn't let me in. Still feel the sting of it. And
fight myself to let my kids be weird and NOT make them the 'same.' It helps
being reminded that this 'sameness' just may NOT be healthy.

--Rob
"Daddy!" to Elissa (4.5) and Genevieve (almost 6!)
DH to Seana for 10 years


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