happy2be4family

Hi we have been a homeschooling/unschooling family for 12 years now.
As my daughter is turning 12 and I believe that learning begins at
birth, and we all really are our kids first teachers. I had decided
when my daughter was 2 to homeschool. At this time I knew very little
about it and had never even heard the term unschooling. It wasn't
until she was 5 and my family (and every one else that should not
have mattered)became concerned she wasn't in school that I began to
try to have some kind of school house in my house. After days and
weeks of fighting and tears at trying to make her "sit and do her
work" I knew this wasn't for me. She had learned so much more before
I started to try to please, and to prove to everyone else in our
lives that she didn't "have" to be enrolled in public school. Around
this time I found my first article on "unschooling". I read articles
and stories for 3 days straight. I thought gosh this is what I was
doing BEFORE I officially started "homeschooling". So we settled into
a comfortable schooling routine that wasn't nearly as strict. The
only thing is the pressures from the family, and people we never met
never went away. My children are quized on a regular basis to see how
much they "know". I managed well with these things until I became ill
4 years ago. We were away from home more during the "school hours"
and some places we were going to a lot, like doctors offices
were "concerned" why my kids weren't in school. I would explain that
they were homeschooled but this just made them more intense on how I
was schooling them being so sick. Well this escalated into a really
bad situation (I won't go into details) that drove me to fight my
kids once again to try and please other people. I had struggled for
about 2 years before giving in and trying it other peoples way. In
that time my children learned a lot of compassion for sick people.
They learned a lot about medications and side effects. about
illnesses and names of illnesses. They learned how to care for a
person that is sick, and they learned what to do in a medical
emergency. They were able to relay to paramedics my allergies, and
any medications I was on. I had to stop that when my daughters doctor
told me she didn't want her to know what kind of medication I am on
it makes her feel responsible for me. (I'm sorry am I only supposed
say the name of my medication after I lock her in her room (no I
don't do that)? She is smart and picks up on things) So back to
forcing this time 2 children to sit and try to learn. Well I have
done it for 2 years now, and it is not making any of us happy. So I
have found some unschooling groups on here, and have been getting
reinspired. I thank you all for sharing your ideas and inspiration
with each other as I am remembering the joys I had before I was
pushed back into a different lifestyle again. I hope to find friends
and share inspiration with all of you. If anyone has any ideas on how
to handle these situations with people threatening me and even some
taking action because my children are not hid from the world during
school hours I would really appreciate the advice.


Thanks,
and happy f-unschooling to all of you.