psychomom95

Hi, my name is Vanessa. I pulled my kids from public school at the
end of the school year. (hubby wanted them to finish the year.) We
will begin our journey of unschooling this year, and would love any
suggestion/help anyone can offer.

There were too many bullying problems, which none were getting taken
care of, and my kids didn't feel safe, and were not happy in the
public schools. Things have changed alot, since I was in school.

I have two kids-Tyler will be 11 in October, and has taken the brunt
of bullying (even though the school says there is none aloud-lol),
and I also have a daughter Alexandra who is 9. She also has been
bullied, but not as bad as my son. I am hoping to get them out of
the groove of public schools, and have them feel more relaxed, and
ready to have some fun learning new things with me. I feel like they
have lost their love for learning, and their excitement too.

I have researched different types of homeschooling, and have found
that unschooling fits our lifestyle more. I don't want the kids to
sit at the kitchen table for 3 hours a day, and do nothing but crack
open books. They did that enough in public schools, but for a lot
longer. We live in South Lyon, and have been here for about 5
years. So I am still kind of new to this area.

I am looking for fun/but cheap/free things to do with my kids, since
money is tight, and we are a single income family. I haven't had a
chance to read any books about unschooling all the way through, but
have read some chapters of a couple of books. Any help anyone could
give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again, and have a great weekend.

Deb

Take a vacation. Starting when school starts in your area. Maybe even
plan a special event with the kids - lunch out at a favorite place or
a picnic at the beach or whatever to 'kick things off' - the start of
a long vacation. General rule of thumb for deschooling (which everyone
needs, not just the kids) is one month for every year of school. Which
mean the grown ups need at least a year to slowly unwind the tapes
that say "but you should be doing this" and "you're supposed to know
that" and so on. So, wait until somewhere around spring cleaning time,
at the earliest to see the buds of curiousity start blooming in your
kids. The time from now to then might feel a bit nervous to you, keep
in mind you need more time than they do even.

If you feel like you're still 'new' to your area, great! Go to the
local chamber of commerce or the town/state website and find out all
the stuff they commend to tourists...then go do it. Lots of free stuff
usually (they don't want tourists to think it's really expensive to
vacation there) - state parks, music concerts for free on the town
green, festivals and carnivals and parades and such. And deliberately
stash aside x amount per week (or pay period) so that when stuff that
does cost cash comes up (a state fair, a renaissance faire, a movie at
the drive in, etc) you'll have it available without killing the
budget. Be a tourist in your own town. Even just going to the "other"
side of town and checking out the ethnic markets can be a fun time.

--Deb