kixlover2000

I have a twelve year old daughter and a fifteen year old son who have
been homeschooled for about four years. We have always used
traditional curriculum which I have hand-picked for each subject area.
It feels like we are pretty much doing public school at home.
Unschooling has always interested me and it seems to make a lot of
sense especially when I think about what I remember after being in
public school for twelve years. With them being older I wonder if
it's too late to start. Also,it frightens me that they will not be
motivated to learn on their own after having so much structure with
schooling. I don't have any funds to purchase a lot of resources to
have just laying around the house for them to just pick up and use.
We do;however, have some educational games and access to the local
library. If I knew that they could find their niche and "run" with it
on their own I wouldn't feel so uncomfortable, but what if they just
lay around the house all day wanting to watch T.V. or playing video
games? Also, what if they want to go on to college? How do I give
them credits on their high school transcripts? This whole idea of
unschoooling really frightens me, but it also makes so much sense as I
know most of what I'm teaching them now they will either have no use
for or they won't retain most of it. I also want them and myself to
have more fun in their school day.
Anyone who has any suggestions on how to unschool older kids who are
used to a lot of stucture or has been in my situation and can also
alleviate my fears, I welcome your comments. I look forward to
hearing from anyone soon.
Thanks a lot,
Joanne Barwick

Michelle Leifur Reid

On 9/17/06, kixlover2000 <kixlover2000@...> wrote:
> I have a twelve year old daughter and a fifteen year old son (snip) With them being older I wonder if
> it's too late to start.

It's never too late. I started unschooling myself about 3 years ago
and I'm old enough to be your children's mother. LOL!


>Also,it frightens me that they will not be
> motivated to learn on their own after having so much structure with
> schooling.

Are they motivated to *learn* what you give them or are they going
through the motions and regurjitation what you have given them to
"learn"? If you are "school at homing" then you are doing little
better for their education than if they were in school (except *you*
get to control what curriculum that they use). If you haven't bought
curriculum this year, set that money aside for all the things that
they want to pursue. Go on a vacation (literally or figuratively,
whichever your budget can afford) and then don't come back (mentally
of course unless you can afford to go on a lifelong vacation :) )
Start saying yes more and DESCHOOL! There are tons of articles at
http://www.sandradodd.com/unschooling and look through the various
blogs listed in people's siglines. Get the Teenage Liberation
Handbook and you and your children read it.

Also, please realize that unschooling isn't about them learning what
you feel is important. It's about them learning what they feel is
important and what they need to get to where they are going. Look
through the archives of this list at the yahoogroups and you will see
that quite a few people have concerns about "what happens after the
'high school years'"

It's never too late!

--
Michelle
Michelle Leifur Reid
YOUR Pampered Chef Consultant
850-474-0817
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/michellelr
Check out my homeschool cooking classes!

[email protected]

What's your goal? To have a diploma at age 18? If so, keep schooling
them at home.

If your goal is to give your children happy childhoods (now
teenagehoods <g>) with a love of learning and a deep, abiding trust in
you, then you've come to the right place. Unchooling can do that. It
can also allow you to give your children dipomas---BUT you have to be
willing to let go of those schoolish goals.

It's never too late, but you're pushing it with your son. Maybe
consider delaying the "diploma" with him so that he can heal. There's
no "end" of learning, but he's going to need to DEschool a while before
you can consider unschooling him. Average time is one month for each
year spent in school or school-at-home. Maybe more for sensitive
types---and maybe more if you don't quit nagging or start trusting them.

DEschooling *often* looks like watching tv all day. In my house, it
looked like sleeping, watching TV, talking on the phone, IMing friends,
and sleeping some more. I took Cameron (now 18) out of school at the
end of sixth grade when he was 13. His deschooling took 18
months---more than it *should* have, but *I* had a hard time not
nagging and pushing. I think we could have moved along more quickly had
*I* been more deschooled! <g>

They WON'T be motivated to learn, more than likely. There's always the
exception, of course, but they desperately need to heal. And THAT looks
like ...well....not much! It looks like tv and sleeping and lounging.
But that IS healing. AND there's learning going on there even if *you*
don't want to believe it! It's not easy to watch, I can tell you. But
if you TRUST them, they'll slowly start to trust *you* and get better.
Then they'll find new passions or resurrect old ones, and then they're
OFF!

How much in the way of funds do you have? You've BEEN buying curricula.
I KNOW *that's* expensive! Instead of a curriculum, buy an iPod or join
Netflix or a used PS2 with games. Plan travel---you can stay in
friends' homes all across the country.

Colleges are starting to pursue unschoolers because of their
interesting lives and passions. You don't necessarily make a typical
college transcript---although that's *possible*. Better to submit a
posrtfolio with lots of letters and references. Make your child's
education S T A N D O U T !!! from all the thousands that the
admissions director has to slog through. Don't even TRY to make his
transcript look "average"! Make it DIFFERENT! and EXCITING! and
LOOK-AT-ABLE!

The best thing I can tell you from a BTDT perspective is to free your
children and enjoy them. Make popcorn. Watch movies. GO places
together. Live life! THEN write down what learning you've seen
happening *after* the fact. You'll be surprised! They're learning
machines---*after* they get all that toxicity out of their systems.


~Kelly

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

"It's a small world...but a BIG life!" ~Aaron McGlohn. aged 6

-----Original Message-----
From: kixlover2000@...

I have a twelve year old daughter and a fifteen year old son who
have
been homeschooled for about four years. We have always used
traditional curriculum which I have hand-picked for each subject area.
It feels like we are pretty much doing public school at home.
Unschooling has always interested me and it seems to make a lot of
sense especially when I think about what I remember after being in
public school for twelve years. With them being older I wonder if
it's too late to start. Also,it frightens me that they will not be
motivated to learn on their own after having so much structure with
schooling. I don't have any funds to purchase a lot of resources to
have just laying around the house for them to just pick up and use.
We do;however, have some educational games and access to the local
library. If I knew that they could find their niche and "run" with it
on their own I wouldn't feel so uncomfortable, but what if they just
lay around the house all day wanting to watch T.V. or playing video
games? Also, what if they want to go on to college? How do I give
them credits on their high school transcripts? This whole idea of
unschoooling really frightens me, but it also makes so much sense as I
know most of what I'm teaching them now they will either have no use
for or they won't retain most of it. I also want them and myself to
have more fun in their school day.
Anyone who has any suggestions on how to unschool older kids who are
used to a lot of stucture or has been in my situation and can also
alleviate my fears, I welcome your comments. I look forward to
hearing from anyone soon.
Thanks a lot,
Joanne Barwick
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and
security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from
across the web, free AOL Mail and more.

taliasafa

I don't have any funds to purchase a lot of resources to
> have just laying around the house for them to just pick up and use.
> We do;however, have some educational games and access to the local
> library.

Hi,

I wanted to respond to your concern about having little money for
resources. You might want to brainstorm about the free resources you
have available to you where you live or already have (a few you
mentioned). There are tons of free ways for your kids to learn. If
your child has an interest in a certain profession they can find a
mentor or an appreciticeship. I am sure there are many people around
that know things or that will share their resources and are happy that
someone is interested in what they are interested in. Your kids may
want to be dropped off somewhere to just explore or you could travel
together and visit friends in other cities. Talk to them and see what
they think they would want to do if they had the freedom to do
anything. Then you can come up with ways to make that happen.

Have you looked into connecting with other unschoolers in your area
for support? They would be helpful in ideas for free resources as well
as giving your kids an idea of what fun they could be having. You also
may take comfort in seeing the results of unschooling first-hand.

Since your kids are older they may want to earn money themselves to
buy or do the things they are interested in. It could be making and
selling things or working for someone part-time.

You might think about taking the money you have been spending on
curriculum and giving them an allowance to buy their own resources or
discuss as a group how it should be spent on a monthly basis.

Yes, you will probably initially encounter a period of "doing nothing"
healing from schoolish learning. I know as a kid I had things that I
was interested in outside of school and maybe your kids have some too.
Give them to freedom to explore them and have a great time--all of
you! School it out!

_tal

taliasafa

sorry, I am horrible at checking my own messages for errors.

my message should say,"School is out!", but I am sure you guessed that.

_tal

kixlover2000

--- In [email protected], "taliasafa" <taliasafa@...>
wrote:
>
> I don't have any funds to purchase a lot of resources to
> > have just laying around the house for them to just pick up and use.
> > We do;however, have some educational games and access to the local
> > library.
>
> Hi,
>
> I wanted to respond to your concern about having little money for
> resources. You might want to brainstorm about the free resources you
> have available to you where you live or already have (a few you
> mentioned). There are tons of free ways for your kids to learn. If
> your child has an interest in a certain profession they can find a
> mentor or an appreciticeship. I am sure there are many people around
> that know things or that will share their resources and are happy that
> someone is interested in what they are interested in. Your kids may
> want to be dropped off somewhere to just explore or you could travel
> together and visit friends in other cities. Talk to them and see what
> they think they would want to do if they had the freedom to do
> anything. Then you can come up with ways to make that happen.
>
> Have you looked into connecting with other unschoolers in your area
> for support? They would be helpful in ideas for free resources as well
> as giving your kids an idea of what fun they could be having. You also
> may take comfort in seeing the results of unschooling first-hand.
>
> Since your kids are older they may want to earn money themselves to
> buy or do the things they are interested in. It could be making and
> selling things or working for someone part-time.
>
> You might think about taking the money you have been spending on
> curriculum and giving them an allowance to buy their own resources or
> discuss as a group how it should be spent on a monthly basis.
>
> Yes, you will probably initially encounter a period of "doing nothing"
> healing from schoolish learning. I know as a kid I had things that I
> was interested in outside of school and maybe your kids have some too.
> Give them to freedom to explore them and have a great time--all of
> you! School it out!
>
> _tal
>




















Hi,
Thanks so much to all of you who replied to my questons concerning
unschooling. Naturally I have more questions and fears. Let me
explain our situation a bit further.
We live in an extremely remote area on four acres in a trailer; trying
to build a house for the last three years. Having currently run out
of money to complete it we have curtailed this project. The town of
Winchester is about ten miles from our home. My son is involved in
Civil Air Patrol, but my daughter has no social outlets here.
Finances and the fact that we own eight (yes, eight) dogs interferes
with us going too far away from home. We are quite isolated. So,
although I am convinced that following a strict curriculum at home is
pretty much a waste of time as they will forget most of what I make
them learn and it will not be pertinent to what they eventually do
with their live I still wonder if unschooling will work in our situation?
I have three older boys, two of which were educated through the public
schools. My oldest had trouble in high school only because he
wouldn't do his homework and was totally unmotivated. He did however
manage to get himself into Pratt Institute in New York with a $10,000
scholarship and a GPA of 2.6. I believe it was his art portfolio that
accomplished this. He graduated this past May, one of only 160 with a
Bachelor's in Architecture. My 21 year old is on the west coast
learning computer graphics and 3d amimation to some day make computer
games. Please don't think I am telling you this to brag. I just made
the connection that both of them are doing things that they did not
learn in public school. I know they both love art. The second didn't
find out how talented he was until his senior year and then paid for
his own private lessons, put together his own portfolio and got into a
school that only accepted 50 new applicants a year. Obviously, his
career also stemmed from almost an addiction to playing video games.
By the way he first wanted to do the progamming part of gaming, but
switched to the animation because in the fall of his senior year he
found out he hated programming from the class he was taking in school!
They both took almost no basic courses in college; the ones that are
just a continuation of high school, but were able to start right in
with their majors. I won't go into my third son as this is getting
too long, but I now see that my older kids did what they wanted and it
virtually had nothing to do with publc school. Another reinforcement
for unschooling.
My fears with my other two come from our isolation, will they
eventually be motivated to get absorbed in something they are really
interested in, if they choose to go to college how will they get in
without the credits they need, is our situation so unique will
unschooling just not work for us, and lastly fear of ruining their
chance for success which I feel very responsible for? I hope you have
some positive answers and ideas for me. Is there anyone out there who
is in our situation or has been and has been successful? A friend of
mine who I spoke to about this I know thinks I'm completely crazy.
I am taking a religious excemption so I won't ever have to worry about
the authorities wanting test results and my intention to homeschool
including outling my curriculum.
Last week we spent the week doing no school and my kids and I pretty
much just layed around, read, watched T.V., etc. I was extremely
bored except for the day we went to town for a Dr.'s appointment. I
asked my son if he wanted to go back to doing school and he said no.
He has previously expressed wanting to go back to public school, but
I am against it. I guess I'm afraid he might get so bored that he
will want to again.
Well, I will stop. I know this is way too long, but I hope someone
will take the time to read it and possibly respond. I have been
reading the Teenage Liberation Handbook which I find reinforces the
way I feel about public schools. Thanks for listening,
Joanne Barwick

Elissa Jill Cleaveland

Joanne,
When you say near Winchester, do you mean Virginia?
I live about 20 minutes away from there.
Elissa Jill
A Kindersher saychel iz oychet a saychel.
"A Child's wisdom is also wisdom." ~Yiddish Proverb

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

taliasafa

Hi again,

> We live in an extremely remote area on four acres in a trailer; trying
> to build a house for the last three years. Having currently run out
> of money to complete it we have curtailed this project.

Well, you are not alone. I live in a remote area as well and we are
living in the very unfinished house that my husband built. We have
also run out of money and are only able to do projects with materials
we already have or that don't cost anything. My husband is going to
get started installing Internet Satellite Dishes and hopefully we will
be able to get some more projects done (like insulation and drywall,
siding, walls and doors, shower, etc.). Some would not find this place
livable, but we manage.

The town of
> Winchester is about ten miles from our home.

We live about an hour east of Shreveport, LA. (Which Winchester do you
live near?) There is not much to speak of here at first glance, but we
are always looking for learning opportunities. I do have to drive
quite a ways for certain things, but that is just the way it is out
here. We are not only far from a major city, but we are far from most
people who have alternative thinking like we do (especially any who
have organized themselves into a group or business). I remember
visiting my relatives in Massachusetts this summer and I loved that
you could be remote, but that there were often many interesting,
educated, eccentric people and businesses around these remote places.
What I wouldn't give to have these kind of resources around me. I
don't, so I have to look a my neighbors and area in a different light
or just search out further. There are people here who have different
talents and specialties to offer and occasionally we run across
another "freak in the woods". It helps that my husband's parents who
live 500 ft. away are fairly interesting people--lots of collected
junk and books to tinker with and enjoy.

My son is involved in
> Civil Air Patrol, but my daughter has no social outlets here.

I find the internet (and the inter-library loan system of books) very
important for me in my remoteness. It brings me close to friends who
are far way as well as has been a ways of finding new friends in my
area and beyond.

It has been a way for me to find out about many local opportunities
for fun and learning for my son (Though we haven't done much as of
yet. Once my husband gets a truck for his work and I have a car I can
use every day, there will be more.)

> Finances and the fact that we own eight (yes, eight) dogs interferes
> with us going too far away from home. We are quite isolated.

You said you can't travel much. Have you considered sending your kids
somewhere: to visit a brother or another relative or to a retreat of
some kind--maybe as counselors, so it won't cost so much. You can also
just explore and visit places your area on day or day and a half
trips, perhaps?

It is always difficult for me and my almost 3 year old to get up and
go somewhere like Shreveport or other nearby towns. We have a special
diet, so I have to prepared meals for us on the road. I have thought
about making a goal for at least one fun trip to the city a week.
Money is very tight right now, so we are worried about how much the
gas will cost for too much driving. I am optimistic though that we or
he will find the opportunities and resources that are needed when the
time comes, even though to outward seeming I live in an area devoid of
culture and interest.

I personally would try to expose them to lots of different things and
see where it takes you. Whatever you can find. Stay busy with things
(when they are ready and want to) and even if they reject them, at
least they will know more about what they DON'T like. While they are
unwinding from their school-at-home experience, you can wait for them
to reach out to you for suggestions on things to do or you could offer
some fun ideas, like lets rent or borrow a bunch of movies or go to an
amusement park or whatever. (if renting movies is costly, most
libraries have movies and if there is nothing there you like, they can
usually get a requested item through interlibrary loan. the louisiana
interlibrary loan catalog is online and i can browse it anytime. i
share this because most people don't think to use this resource,
though homeschoolers i'm sure are more savvy than your average library
patron. <g>)

> My fears with my other two come from our isolation, will they
> eventually be motivated to get absorbed in something they are really
> interested in, if they choose to go to college how will they get in
> without the credits they need, is our situation so unique will
> unschooling just not work for us, and lastly fear of ruining their
> chance for success which I feel very responsible for? I hope you have
> some positive answers and ideas for me. Is there anyone out there who
> is in our situation or has been and has been successful?

I know there are many homeschoolers and unschoolers who go onto
college. The "Unschooling Handbook" shows an example of a transcript
written for a child that was unschooled. The book also mentioned that
colleges may look favorably on homeschooler/unschoolers because they
may know better what they want (unlike so many college students who
have no direction) and they are motivated to learn. But if your kids
are like your other kids, they will find a way to get what they want,
once something sparks their interest. I have two art degrees and I
think I could have taught myself most of what I learned by working my
way up in a good graphic design studio and on my own or even explored
other areas of interest without the constraints of a degree.

Also, try not to feel so much pressure about them figuring things out
by the time they are 18, when most kids go to college. I took time off
in the middle of college and traveled and did some service. There may
be opportunities, paid, unpaid, and free for your kids to travel/learn
when they are old enough. I wish I had done more exploring internally
and physically before I went to college.

Would your kids be interest in volunteering/doing an intership (paid
or unpaid) somewhere that interests them? It might be a way for them
to make more social contacts. (I forget how old they are.)

> Last week we spent the week doing no school and my kids and I pretty
> much just layed around, read, watched T.V., etc. I was extremely
> bored except for the day we went to town for a Dr.'s appointment.

What are your interests? Maybe your kids need to see you unschool
yourself as well and pursue some of your own passions. Just an idea.

I hope you can find other unschoolers in your area/state for support.

I have no idea if any of this is helpful, but I thought I would share.
It is difficult to come up with the exact answers when I don't know
every detail of your situation and don't know your kids. You will be
their best guide, partner and companion in exploring themselves and
their world.

I have hope for you and for us all. I sincerely believe that
unschooling or not should not depend on where you are (if it is
legal). Life is everywhere.

best of luck!
_tal

kixlover2000

--- In [email protected], "Elissa Jill Cleaveland"
<MystikMomma@...> wrote:
>
> Joanne,
> When you say near Winchester, do you mean Virginia?
> I live about 20 minutes away from there.
> Elissa Jill
> A Kindersher saychel iz oychet a saychel.
> "A Child's wisdom is also wisdom." ~Yiddish Proverb
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
Hi,
Yes, I do live in Winchester, VA. Where do you live and what are the
ages of your children? Have you been unschooling for very long and do
you belong to any support groups? I would love to hear from you and
maybe we could get together. Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for writing,
Joanne

kixlover2000

--- In [email protected], "taliasafa" <taliasafa@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi again,
>
> > We live in an extremely remote area on four acres in a trailer; trying
> > to build a house for the last three years. Having currently run out
> > of money to complete it we have curtailed this project.
>
> Well, you are not alone. I live in a remote area as well and we are
> living in the very unfinished house that my husband built. We have
> also run out of money and are only able to do projects with materials
> we already have or that don't cost anything. My husband is going to
> get started installing Internet Satellite Dishes and hopefully we will
> be able to get some more projects done (like insulation and drywall,
> siding, walls and doors, shower, etc.). Some would not find this place
> livable, but we manage.
>
> The town of
> > Winchester is about ten miles from our home.
>
> We live about an hour east of Shreveport, LA. (Which Winchester do you
> live near?) There is not much to speak of here at first glance, but we
> are always looking for learning opportunities. I do have to drive
> quite a ways for certain things, but that is just the way it is out
> here. We are not only far from a major city, but we are far from most
> people who have alternative thinking like we do (especially any who
> have organized themselves into a group or business). I remember
> visiting my relatives in Massachusetts this summer and I loved that
> you could be remote, but that there were often many interesting,
> educated, eccentric people and businesses around these remote places.
> What I wouldn't give to have these kind of resources around me. I
> don't, so I have to look a my neighbors and area in a different light
> or just search out further. There are people here who have different
> talents and specialties to offer and occasionally we run across
> another "freak in the woods". It helps that my husband's parents who
> live 500 ft. away are fairly interesting people--lots of collected
> junk and books to tinker with and enjoy.
>
> My son is involved in
> > Civil Air Patrol, but my daughter has no social outlets here.
>
> I find the internet (and the inter-library loan system of books) very
> important for me in my remoteness. It brings me close to friends who
> are far way as well as has been a ways of finding new friends in my
> area and beyond.
>
> It has been a way for me to find out about many local opportunities
> for fun and learning for my son (Though we haven't done much as of
> yet. Once my husband gets a truck for his work and I have a car I can
> use every day, there will be more.)
>
> > Finances and the fact that we own eight (yes, eight) dogs interferes
> > with us going too far away from home. We are quite isolated.
>
> You said you can't travel much. Have you considered sending your kids
> somewhere: to visit a brother or another relative or to a retreat of
> some kind--maybe as counselors, so it won't cost so much. You can also
> just explore and visit places your area on day or day and a half
> trips, perhaps?
>
> It is always difficult for me and my almost 3 year old to get up and
> go somewhere like Shreveport or other nearby towns. We have a special
> diet, so I have to prepared meals for us on the road. I have thought
> about making a goal for at least one fun trip to the city a week.
> Money is very tight right now, so we are worried about how much the
> gas will cost for too much driving. I am optimistic though that we or
> he will find the opportunities and resources that are needed when the
> time comes, even though to outward seeming I live in an area devoid of
> culture and interest.
>
> I personally would try to expose them to lots of different things and
> see where it takes you. Whatever you can find. Stay busy with things
> (when they are ready and want to) and even if they reject them, at
> least they will know more about what they DON'T like. While they are
> unwinding from their school-at-home experience, you can wait for them
> to reach out to you for suggestions on things to do or you could offer
> some fun ideas, like lets rent or borrow a bunch of movies or go to an
> amusement park or whatever. (if renting movies is costly, most
> libraries have movies and if there is nothing there you like, they can
> usually get a requested item through interlibrary loan. the louisiana
> interlibrary loan catalog is online and i can browse it anytime. i
> share this because most people don't think to use this resource,
> though homeschoolers i'm sure are more savvy than your average library
> patron. <g>)
>
> > My fears with my other two come from our isolation, will they
> > eventually be motivated to get absorbed in something they are really
> > interested in, if they choose to go to college how will they get in
> > without the credits they need, is our situation so unique will
> > unschooling just not work for us, and lastly fear of ruining their
> > chance for success which I feel very responsible for? I hope you have
> > some positive answers and ideas for me. Is there anyone out there who
> > is in our situation or has been and has been successful?
>
> I know there are many homeschoolers and unschoolers who go onto
> college. The "Unschooling Handbook" shows an example of a transcript
> written for a child that was unschooled. The book also mentioned that
> colleges may look favorably on homeschooler/unschoolers because they
> may know better what they want (unlike so many college students who
> have no direction) and they are motivated to learn. But if your kids
> are like your other kids, they will find a way to get what they want,
> once something sparks their interest. I have two art degrees and I
> think I could have taught myself most of what I learned by working my
> way up in a good graphic design studio and on my own or even explored
> other areas of interest without the constraints of a degree.
>
> Also, try not to feel so much pressure about them figuring things out
> by the time they are 18, when most kids go to college. I took time off
> in the middle of college and traveled and did some service. There may
> be opportunities, paid, unpaid, and free for your kids to travel/learn
> when they are old enough. I wish I had done more exploring internally
> and physically before I went to college.
>
> Would your kids be interest in volunteering/doing an intership (paid
> or unpaid) somewhere that interests them? It might be a way for them
> to make more social contacts. (I forget how old they are.)
>
> > Last week we spent the week doing no school and my kids and I pretty
> > much just layed around, read, watched T.V., etc. I was extremely
> > bored except for the day we went to town for a Dr.'s appointment.
>
> What are your interests? Maybe your kids need to see you unschool
> yourself as well and pursue some of your own passions. Just an idea.
>
> I hope you can find other unschoolers in your area/state for support.
>
> I have no idea if any of this is helpful, but I thought I would share.
> It is difficult to come up with the exact answers when I don't know
> every detail of your situation and don't know your kids. You will be
> their best guide, partner and companion in exploring themselves and
> their world.
>
> I have hope for you and for us all. I sincerely believe that
> unschooling or not should not depend on where you are (if it is
> legal). Life is everywhere.
>
> best of luck!
> _tal
>


Hi,
Thanks for writing. I feel bad for the circumstances you are living
in, but it's nice to know that there is someone else out there that is
in almost the same situation. Sometimes it feels like there is no
light at the end of the tunnel. I don't know if you believe in God
and I hope I don't offend you, but I've decided to focus my energy on
Him and allow Him to take care of the rest.
Unfortunately, I live in Winchester, VA which is quite far from you.
If you have any other thoughts on unschooling, please let me know for
I need lots of ideas and reassurance. It makes a lot of sense to me,
but I feel like everyone else knows what they are doing and has more
resources, etc., etc. I quess I feel like if they really knew my
situation they'd tell me that what I am doing is wrong for us.
Once again, thanks a lot for writing and good luck with your
unschooling experience.
Joanne