velvet jiang

maybe instead of looking to others for the info,you could take a leap of
faith (based on the fact that it is something your interested in) and try it
on your own for a year. if you decide that it isn't working,then you only
have one year worth of "work" to catch up on. no one here can show you how
great it is or how well it will work for you.

when i decided to homeschool my dd, i had no idea where to start. i spent
the first year reading everything i could. then i joined a hs group and went
out to meet people. when i met the people i liked and i liked the way they
interacted with their children, then i "studied" them. i asked questions
about their lives. it turned out that all of the people i was drawn to were
very relaxed or unschoolers (at the time i didn't know that term). i set
goals for myself to get rid of the things in my life that felt negative or
weren't working for the family as a whole. it was a bigger learning process
for me than for my dd (even a little bigger for dh). when the process was
well under way (never complete imo) unschooling was what we were doing.

i don't need other peoples stories for proof (just for enjoyment or further
learning).
i have built my own.
when i find out i am wrong or something isn't working, i change it and
apoligize if necessary. i only look to others for advice when my journey is
stuck and i know that i don't want to do "this" but i'm not sure what else
to do.

you could start today and evaluate as you go along. i don't think anyone
here ever stops thinking about what they are doing and how it is affecting
others (that's why they are here). i don't think anyone here just says "i'll
do anything i want today and the hell with the consequences."
things are thought out and my choice is to do something different because i
believe that it is a better way to live.

velvet
who has taken many leaps of faith since having my dd and has never regretted
any of them.
>
>
>

[email protected]

In a message dated 10/22/04 5:16:19 PM, jiangvelvet@... writes:

<< i set
goals for myself to get rid of the things in my life that felt negative or
weren't working for the family as a whole. >>

I think that's where the edge blurs, isn't it?
And I don't mind that a bit, for myself, as we were doing attachment
parenting, child-led weaning, children falling asleep in parents' arms or laps or on
the floor near them, or in bed with them--all that before we thought about
homeschooling at all.

So when I showed up on Prodigy and later AOL and people asked why it was
working so well for us, those factors were a real part of it at our house. Why
did my kids trust me? Why did I trust my kids' abilities? We had years of
trust building and confidence making before we thought "Oh! Kirby might do better
just staying home."

-=-my choice is to do something different because i
believe that it is a better way to live.-=-

Nice, Velvet.

People with a better 18 years behind them are bound to have a more glorious
year #19 than those who have had 18 years of just getting more and more
frustrated, ignored, and finally shoved out. Two families I know said "When you're
18 you're out." One boy is working right where Marty is working (he's 18,
Marty is 15, and I honestly don't think the other boy will last there because
he's not soft and happy, as Marty is; he has no gratitude, just resentments; he's
not glad to be learning). The other boy is in air force basic training. He
will be paid to become a man, and his mom can check it off her list.

I think there is a better way to live.

Sandra

Sandra