Newbie in rhode island
jenjen71379
Hi everyone,
I'm Jen Long, 27 year old married stay at home mom. My husband Tom
and I have two beautiful kids: our daughter Courtney is 7 and our
son Joey is 4. We live in Cranston, RI and currently, both kids are
enrolled in a school program specifically because they both have
high functioning autism. So, I have no problem sending Joey to an
afternoon preschool where he will be getting his therapy and daily
interaction with some typical peers. Courtney on the other hand, has
always been anxious about school. She has some sensory issues going
on, loud noises bother her, teachers who yell obviously scare the
pants off of her, fire drills, etc... She's also, we think, behind
about a year emotionally and socially. She ACTS alot more innocent
about things than her typical peers. So we have decided that they
best environment for her would be keeping her home this year and
seeing how it goes.
Courtney I believe fits an unschooler to a T. When she's interested
in something, she dives into it. This summer, she was soooo into
Mummies. She liked to look at pictures of them and we ended up
renting a couple of documentaries about them-some specifically made
for kids, some for anyone and we all watched them together. Then, I
ran across a website about Zoobooks (a animal magazine) and so I
subscribed and when she got her first issue on Apes, she devoured
it! lol We LOVE that she likes to learn in this way. Her father also
loved learning things about different animals and stuff when he was
a kid-he said he would just see something on TV or read a book, and
he would instantly want books about sharks, foxes, ocean life,
etc... just cuz it fascinated him. He's also an airbrush artist and
we can see alot of that coming out in Courtney too-she's going to a
half day art camp this summer and she enjoys it alot-she likes
creating things.
I'm hoping thru this list, I can get some good ideas for how to
start our unschooling journey. I'd also LOVE to connect with some
local families in Rhode Island.
Thanks!!
Jen Long
Cranston, RI
I'm Jen Long, 27 year old married stay at home mom. My husband Tom
and I have two beautiful kids: our daughter Courtney is 7 and our
son Joey is 4. We live in Cranston, RI and currently, both kids are
enrolled in a school program specifically because they both have
high functioning autism. So, I have no problem sending Joey to an
afternoon preschool where he will be getting his therapy and daily
interaction with some typical peers. Courtney on the other hand, has
always been anxious about school. She has some sensory issues going
on, loud noises bother her, teachers who yell obviously scare the
pants off of her, fire drills, etc... She's also, we think, behind
about a year emotionally and socially. She ACTS alot more innocent
about things than her typical peers. So we have decided that they
best environment for her would be keeping her home this year and
seeing how it goes.
Courtney I believe fits an unschooler to a T. When she's interested
in something, she dives into it. This summer, she was soooo into
Mummies. She liked to look at pictures of them and we ended up
renting a couple of documentaries about them-some specifically made
for kids, some for anyone and we all watched them together. Then, I
ran across a website about Zoobooks (a animal magazine) and so I
subscribed and when she got her first issue on Apes, she devoured
it! lol We LOVE that she likes to learn in this way. Her father also
loved learning things about different animals and stuff when he was
a kid-he said he would just see something on TV or read a book, and
he would instantly want books about sharks, foxes, ocean life,
etc... just cuz it fascinated him. He's also an airbrush artist and
we can see alot of that coming out in Courtney too-she's going to a
half day art camp this summer and she enjoys it alot-she likes
creating things.
I'm hoping thru this list, I can get some good ideas for how to
start our unschooling journey. I'd also LOVE to connect with some
local families in Rhode Island.
Thanks!!
Jen Long
Cranston, RI
Melissa
Welcome...we're unschooling all of our kids with autism (aspergers,
severe, and dsi), and untherapying them as well. ;-) Unschooling
works for everyone!
Melissa
Mom to Josh (11), Breanna (9), Emily (7), Rachel (6), Sam (5), Dan
(3), and Avari Rose
share our lives at
http://360.yahoo.com/multimomma
severe, and dsi), and untherapying them as well. ;-) Unschooling
works for everyone!
Melissa
Mom to Josh (11), Breanna (9), Emily (7), Rachel (6), Sam (5), Dan
(3), and Avari Rose
share our lives at
http://360.yahoo.com/multimomma
On Aug 5, 2006, at 6:12 AM, jenjen71379 wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> I'm Jen Long, 27 year old married stay at home mom. My husband Tom
> and I have two beautiful kids: our daughter Courtney is 7 and our
> son Joey is 4. We live in Cranston, RI and currently, both kids are
> enrolled in a school program specifically because they both have
> high functioning autism.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Michelle/Melbrigða
On 8/5/06, jenjen71379 <jenjen71379@...> wrote:
with some "typical peers?" When he grows up he is not going to live in a
world with his "typical peers." He is going to live in a world with all
kinds of people. I have a child that falls into the autistic spectrum. We
did have a "case worker" who came into our home for a while but it just
didn't meet our unschooling lifestyle nor what we felt our son would benefit
from. There are other families on this list who also have children that are
in that autistic spectrum and have found a wonderful freedom for their
children through unschooling them! As you start to understand unschooling
better you will see the need for therapy to be less important as you will
find ways to allow your children to live joyfully the way that they are.
--
Michelle
aka Melbrigða
http://eventualknitting.blogspot.com
[email protected] - Homeschooling for the Medieval Recreationist
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>Just a little food for thought, but why is it important for him to interact
> Hi everyone,
> I'm Jen Long, 27 year old married stay at home mom. My husband Tom
> and I have two beautiful kids: our daughter Courtney is 7 and our
> son Joey is 4. We live in Cranston, RI and currently, both kids are
> enrolled in a school program specifically because they both have
> high functioning autism. So, I have no problem sending Joey to an
> afternoon preschool where he will be getting his therapy and daily
> interaction with some typical peers.
with some "typical peers?" When he grows up he is not going to live in a
world with his "typical peers." He is going to live in a world with all
kinds of people. I have a child that falls into the autistic spectrum. We
did have a "case worker" who came into our home for a while but it just
didn't meet our unschooling lifestyle nor what we felt our son would benefit
from. There are other families on this list who also have children that are
in that autistic spectrum and have found a wonderful freedom for their
children through unschooling them! As you start to understand unschooling
better you will see the need for therapy to be less important as you will
find ways to allow your children to live joyfully the way that they are.
--
Michelle
aka Melbrigða
http://eventualknitting.blogspot.com
[email protected] - Homeschooling for the Medieval Recreationist
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Jennifer Long
Michelle,
Thanks so much for your opinion. However, I'm not opposed to homeschooling him once he hits say, first grade, I just KNOW right now, that he does very well at preschool-he 's better suited for it then my daughter was which is why I'm going to unschool HER for now. He really does need the speech therapy that the schools provide right now and he made amazing progress in prek last year and really started to blossom with his social and speech skills.
Also, since I'm a new homeschooling mom this year, I want to make sure it's something that I can really do before I bring my son into it. Anyway, my son will be at home with us every morning-its only a half day pre k he'll be going to and I plan on incorporating him into all aspects of our mornings.
Jen L.
Michelle/Melbrigða <pamperedmichelle@...> wrote:
Thanks so much for your opinion. However, I'm not opposed to homeschooling him once he hits say, first grade, I just KNOW right now, that he does very well at preschool-he 's better suited for it then my daughter was which is why I'm going to unschool HER for now. He really does need the speech therapy that the schools provide right now and he made amazing progress in prek last year and really started to blossom with his social and speech skills.
Also, since I'm a new homeschooling mom this year, I want to make sure it's something that I can really do before I bring my son into it. Anyway, my son will be at home with us every morning-its only a half day pre k he'll be going to and I plan on incorporating him into all aspects of our mornings.
Jen L.
Michelle/Melbrigða <pamperedmichelle@...> wrote:
On 8/5/06, jenjen71379 <jenjen71379@...> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
> I'm Jen Long, 27 year old married stay at home mom. My husband Tom
> and I have two beautiful kids: our daughter Courtney is 7 and our
> son Joey is 4. We live in Cranston, RI and currently, both kids are
> enrolled in a school program specifically because they both have
> high functioning autism. So, I have no problem sending Joey to an
> afternoon preschool where he will be getting his therapy and daily
> interaction with some typical peers.
Just a little food for thought, but why is it important for him to interact
with some "typical peers?" When he grows up he is not going to live in a
world with his "typical peers." He is going to live in a world with all
kinds of people. I have a child that falls into the autistic spectrum. We
did have a "case worker" who came into our home for a while but it just
didn't meet our unschooling lifestyle nor what we felt our son would benefit
from. There are other families on this list who also have children that are
in that autistic spectrum and have found a wonderful freedom for their
children through unschooling them! As you start to understand unschooling
better you will see the need for therapy to be less important as you will
find ways to allow your children to live joyfully the way that they are.
--
Michelle
aka Melbrigða
http://eventualknitting.blogspot.com
[email protected] - Homeschooling for the Medieval Recreationist
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]