Our day out
kayb85
I've realized I seem to post here when I mess up and/or need advice a
lot so I thought I'd post a really good unschooling day. I made a
lot of unschooling vs. schooling observations and a lot of
observations about the way I relate to my children compared to the
way I used to relate to my children.
We went to the Crayola Factory yesterday, which is a 2 hour car trip
for us. We went at the request of Matt, who is usually a stay at
home kind of guy but really wanted to do this trip. I used to be
pretty anal about us getting up at 6 am and getting there as soon as
a place opens. I used to have this weird desire to take in every
single possible thing there is to take in about every single place we
go instead of just enjoying our trips in the moment. I realized that
everyone is grumpy when I do that, so I let us sleep in longer and we
didn't leave until 9:30. We still had a full day and enjoyed
ourselves thoroughly, so I'm glad I let go of that.
When we got there Matt looked out the window of the parking garage
and said, "Hey! It says Crayola!" He's had moments of frustration
lately that he's not reading yet and he wishes he could read, so I
said, "Cool! And how fun that you read that!" He said, "I didn't
read that. I just remember what that word looks like from the
crayons". I told him that's part of what reading is, and he seemed
happy about that.
When we got inside I realized that Alisha and I had forgotten our
cameras in the car. I suggested going back out and get them but all
the kids said that they really didn't want to go back out to the
garage, so I gave up my "need" to follow them around taking pictures
of everything they do and just had fun without the camera.
The very first thing we came to in the Crayola factory was a
demonstration of how they make crayons. We saw this 2 years ago when
we went to the Crayola factory and they didn't want to watch it. Nor
did they want to do a paper bag puppet craft. (They've made lots of
paper bag puppets at home). Instantly, a voice in my head starting
worrying that they wouldn't want to do enough cool things and that
feeling of wanting to do every single thing we possibly could do hit
me for a second, but instead of listening to that voice and that
feeling, I said, "Okay!" and we moved on to some neat stuff. Fun
house mirrors and writing on the glass wall with special markers.
At this time of the year there are often school groups at the Crayola
factory, and they're on a time schedule because they have to get back
to the school at a certain time. They're always in groups of about 4
plus an adult--I'm pretty sure that's a Crayola requirement. I
noticed when we were writing on the films with markers and putting
them under the light so that the picture is projected onto the wall
that the school kids got to do it for just a few minutes and then
were rushed on to the next activity. My kids played in that area for
a loooooong time and really did some creative slides.
In the model magic area, they gave out feathers and pipe cleaners
with the model magic and suggested making birds. They also had
cookie cutters and rolling pins available. I watched a lot of the
kids making their model magic creations and I didn't see any kids
other than mine who made things other than the suggested birds or
something from a cookie cutter. Not that there's anything at all
wrong with making the suggested bird or using a cookie cutter, but it
was fun to see that it was the unschooled kids making unusual
characters with funny names. They were also the only ones that I saw
laughing and having a REALLY good time with it. Not that the other
kids weren't having a pleasant time, but my kids were obviously
having a REALLY good time.
Another activity was a painting activity. You paint the paper and
then send it through a drying machine, then take it in and glue a
birds egg that looks like it's hatching onto it. Luke wanted to
paint because he wanted to use the drying machine but he didn't want
to do the rest of the activity. The old school-at-home me would have
insisted he did the craft the way they said to do it, but I let him
paint and do the drying machine and then move on. There were two
boys standing by the drying machine who looked very excited about
getting their pictures out of the drying machine and the 2 women with
them (I think their moms) kept yelling and nagging at them to not
touch the conveyer belt and not stand so close to the machine, and
just stupid stuff. Luke just stood there looking at those moms like
he couldn't figure them out (lol). When the boys' pictures were
through the machine, one of them wanted to send them through a
second time but the mom said, "No! We're doing something else now!
Get away from there!" Yikes! Why could the boys have not sent their
pictures through the drying machine again? Luke got his picture out
and happily went on his way. He knew I would have let him put it
through the drying machine as many times as he wanted.
On the top floor of the Crayola factory is the Canal Museum. There's
a really cool water canal table there and all 3 kids really got into
it. Then a school group of 4 girls came and just kind of pushed
their way into the table and took over. Alisha and Matt just backed
off and sat beside me on the bench but Luke played for awhile
longer. Alisha had me cracking up in her reactions to the chaperone
who was with them. It's hard to describe in written form the
dramatic tone of voice he used when talking to these kids, but it was
pathetic. Before they even got to the table he said (in a tone of
voice that indicated that he thought the people he was talking to had
very little intelligence and could barely understand English), before
you play in the water I want you to push up your sleeves. And if you
can't push them up, ROLL them up (and he gestured with his hand to
show what rolling up looked like, lol). These girls were maybe 7 or
8 years old. I hadn't even thought to tell my kids to roll up their
sleeves first. They did, without me telling them, and if they hadn't
I might have suggested it...but this guy didn't give these kids a
chance. And then he stood there trying to explain stuff to them
about how he thought they should build their canal pieces instead of
just letting them play and figure some things out on their own. He
gave them a lecture about how when they got to the gift shop they
were to pick something little and how big things are for Christmas
and birthdays but not school field trips (and used his hands to show
the difference between big and litle in case a 7 year old child
didn't know the difference. It was rather odd I thought, because I'm
assuming his point was that they shouldn't expect to spend a lot of
money there, but he described it as though expensive things are big
in size and inexpensive things are small in size). Then when it was
time to go he told them to make sure they stayed together because
he'd be SO SAD if he lost one of them. If you heard his tone of
voice you'd realize how hilarious yet sad it was. Alisha (who's 11)
had no idea that I was spending so much time thinking about the
differences between schooled kids on a field trip and unschooling
kids having a fun day out. She kept looking at me and raising her
eyebrows and rolling her eyes whenever he said something insulting to
the intelligence of those poor kids, and then when they left she
shook her head and did a perfect imitation of "So sad..." But then
she pointed out that the guy kept telling all them all kinds of
stupid stuff but didn't point out to them that they had just taken
over something that someone else was working on.
There's also a level of the canal museum about fabric. One part lets
you design an outfit on a dummy using material. Alisha designed an
outfit that she thought was neat and then wished she had her camera
because she wanted to remember it. I told her we could go out and
get it although there would be a chance that someone else would come
along and change the outfit. We took the chance and rushed to the
parking garage for the camera. They were running along the sidewalk
racing to the parking garage and I was tempted to complain about how
fast they were going but then I told myself to just consider it
exercise and to be glad to see them so excited about being out and
doing something like this. We got back up to the top floor with her
camera and it was still there. She took lots of pictures of it and
is now talking about trying to actually make a real outfit based on
that design. I'm going to have to really stretch myself to help her
out on that since I'm NOT good at sewing and the sewing machine
intimidates me. But I'm determined to not model a bad attitude about
it to her.
There's a weaving wall, where you get these big rubbery things and
weave them in and out of poles. Matt did his weaving the "right" way
on one side and Luke did his own thing on his side of the wall. When
Luke was done he announced that he had made the place where Petey
piranha lives (from Sunshine Mario). Then he got his model magic out
of his bag (he ended up making Petey Piranha with model magic, lol)
and Petey Piranha "hatched" out of his nest and went around the
museum looking for places where he could eat dirt (it's a Sunshine
Mario thing). We spent at least half an hour in the weaving
wall/fabric designing area and had SO much fun with it. It was
another area that made me say, "Wow!" with comparing another group
of kids. It was either a school group or maybe even a homeschool
group of very conservative Christian kids. The girls all had long
skirts and long hair pulled up in buns. They came to the weaving
wall, listened to the talk that the volunteer museum guide offered
about weaving, and dutifully each took a turn weaving exactly the way
they were "supposed" to. Then they moved on to the next display. I
didn't see much joy in their faces. I was sad for them, because it
was a place that was REALLY conducive to joy and creativity.
Luke was hungry and wanted to go to the mcdonalds that they have in
the building, so we went and got him a kids' meal. Alisha wanted a
kids meal for the toy, drink, and fries but didn't want the
cheeseburger or nuggets, so I got it for her anyway. (and it ended up
that Luke was extra hungry--growth spurt?--and ate her
cheeseburger). I remembered that even hanging out at Mcdonalds can
be a fun place to be and learn so I didn't rush them through to get
to the next "educational" part of the trip. We hung out in Mcdonalds
for awhile and played with the toys and it was just a really happy
time.
We got some fun stuff in the Crayola store and will have lots and
lots of fun with them at home.
We stopped at the Pez museum on the way to the parking garage and we
found that interesting. Alisha is now very interested in adding to
our Pez dispenser collection. (Which is cool because today while
shopping in a grocery liquidation store I found 6 pez dispensers for
a quarter each that I bought to add to our collection and she was
THRILLED).
Because I'm directionally challenged <grin>, I got us lost on the way
home. When we were driving to Easton (the city where the Crayola
factory is) on route 22E, I mentioned to the kids that it said that
Easton's exit is the last exit in Pennsylvania. Well, on the way
back instead of getting on route 22 W I somehow ended up in the next
city--which is in New Jersey. I found my way onto route 22W in that
city, but had to pay a 75 cent toll to get back into Pennsylvania.
We laughed when we saw the "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign. Luke
said, "Way to waste our money, Mom" in a way that wasn't rude or
disrespectful but just kind of dry humor. It was especially funny to
hear that kind of dry humor from a 5 year old, and very cool for me
to realize that he understood that we crossed a state line and came
back over it again and paid a toll to do so. I was glad that, even
though I was kind of stressed out until I knew where I was going, I
kept talking to the kids and let them know what was going on.
We stopped at a pizza place on the way home. The placemats were maps
of Italy, and Luke wanted to know if it was a map of all the pizza
places you could go to. ;) I explained that since this is an Italian
restaurant they had a map of Italy. Luke said okay, but he was going
to pretend it's a map of pizza places. Alisha read some of the facts
on the map to Matt, and they started being goofy and changing the
names of things to silly names. After we ate our pizza we shared a
large cannoli. It was the first time they'd ever eaten a Cannoli and
we all enjoyed it.
We got home and they told their dad all about their day before he
went to bed, and then we did our usualy night time routine of me
reading to Alisha and Matt and rubbing Luke's back to help him get to
sleep.
Sheila
lot so I thought I'd post a really good unschooling day. I made a
lot of unschooling vs. schooling observations and a lot of
observations about the way I relate to my children compared to the
way I used to relate to my children.
We went to the Crayola Factory yesterday, which is a 2 hour car trip
for us. We went at the request of Matt, who is usually a stay at
home kind of guy but really wanted to do this trip. I used to be
pretty anal about us getting up at 6 am and getting there as soon as
a place opens. I used to have this weird desire to take in every
single possible thing there is to take in about every single place we
go instead of just enjoying our trips in the moment. I realized that
everyone is grumpy when I do that, so I let us sleep in longer and we
didn't leave until 9:30. We still had a full day and enjoyed
ourselves thoroughly, so I'm glad I let go of that.
When we got there Matt looked out the window of the parking garage
and said, "Hey! It says Crayola!" He's had moments of frustration
lately that he's not reading yet and he wishes he could read, so I
said, "Cool! And how fun that you read that!" He said, "I didn't
read that. I just remember what that word looks like from the
crayons". I told him that's part of what reading is, and he seemed
happy about that.
When we got inside I realized that Alisha and I had forgotten our
cameras in the car. I suggested going back out and get them but all
the kids said that they really didn't want to go back out to the
garage, so I gave up my "need" to follow them around taking pictures
of everything they do and just had fun without the camera.
The very first thing we came to in the Crayola factory was a
demonstration of how they make crayons. We saw this 2 years ago when
we went to the Crayola factory and they didn't want to watch it. Nor
did they want to do a paper bag puppet craft. (They've made lots of
paper bag puppets at home). Instantly, a voice in my head starting
worrying that they wouldn't want to do enough cool things and that
feeling of wanting to do every single thing we possibly could do hit
me for a second, but instead of listening to that voice and that
feeling, I said, "Okay!" and we moved on to some neat stuff. Fun
house mirrors and writing on the glass wall with special markers.
At this time of the year there are often school groups at the Crayola
factory, and they're on a time schedule because they have to get back
to the school at a certain time. They're always in groups of about 4
plus an adult--I'm pretty sure that's a Crayola requirement. I
noticed when we were writing on the films with markers and putting
them under the light so that the picture is projected onto the wall
that the school kids got to do it for just a few minutes and then
were rushed on to the next activity. My kids played in that area for
a loooooong time and really did some creative slides.
In the model magic area, they gave out feathers and pipe cleaners
with the model magic and suggested making birds. They also had
cookie cutters and rolling pins available. I watched a lot of the
kids making their model magic creations and I didn't see any kids
other than mine who made things other than the suggested birds or
something from a cookie cutter. Not that there's anything at all
wrong with making the suggested bird or using a cookie cutter, but it
was fun to see that it was the unschooled kids making unusual
characters with funny names. They were also the only ones that I saw
laughing and having a REALLY good time with it. Not that the other
kids weren't having a pleasant time, but my kids were obviously
having a REALLY good time.
Another activity was a painting activity. You paint the paper and
then send it through a drying machine, then take it in and glue a
birds egg that looks like it's hatching onto it. Luke wanted to
paint because he wanted to use the drying machine but he didn't want
to do the rest of the activity. The old school-at-home me would have
insisted he did the craft the way they said to do it, but I let him
paint and do the drying machine and then move on. There were two
boys standing by the drying machine who looked very excited about
getting their pictures out of the drying machine and the 2 women with
them (I think their moms) kept yelling and nagging at them to not
touch the conveyer belt and not stand so close to the machine, and
just stupid stuff. Luke just stood there looking at those moms like
he couldn't figure them out (lol). When the boys' pictures were
through the machine, one of them wanted to send them through a
second time but the mom said, "No! We're doing something else now!
Get away from there!" Yikes! Why could the boys have not sent their
pictures through the drying machine again? Luke got his picture out
and happily went on his way. He knew I would have let him put it
through the drying machine as many times as he wanted.
On the top floor of the Crayola factory is the Canal Museum. There's
a really cool water canal table there and all 3 kids really got into
it. Then a school group of 4 girls came and just kind of pushed
their way into the table and took over. Alisha and Matt just backed
off and sat beside me on the bench but Luke played for awhile
longer. Alisha had me cracking up in her reactions to the chaperone
who was with them. It's hard to describe in written form the
dramatic tone of voice he used when talking to these kids, but it was
pathetic. Before they even got to the table he said (in a tone of
voice that indicated that he thought the people he was talking to had
very little intelligence and could barely understand English), before
you play in the water I want you to push up your sleeves. And if you
can't push them up, ROLL them up (and he gestured with his hand to
show what rolling up looked like, lol). These girls were maybe 7 or
8 years old. I hadn't even thought to tell my kids to roll up their
sleeves first. They did, without me telling them, and if they hadn't
I might have suggested it...but this guy didn't give these kids a
chance. And then he stood there trying to explain stuff to them
about how he thought they should build their canal pieces instead of
just letting them play and figure some things out on their own. He
gave them a lecture about how when they got to the gift shop they
were to pick something little and how big things are for Christmas
and birthdays but not school field trips (and used his hands to show
the difference between big and litle in case a 7 year old child
didn't know the difference. It was rather odd I thought, because I'm
assuming his point was that they shouldn't expect to spend a lot of
money there, but he described it as though expensive things are big
in size and inexpensive things are small in size). Then when it was
time to go he told them to make sure they stayed together because
he'd be SO SAD if he lost one of them. If you heard his tone of
voice you'd realize how hilarious yet sad it was. Alisha (who's 11)
had no idea that I was spending so much time thinking about the
differences between schooled kids on a field trip and unschooling
kids having a fun day out. She kept looking at me and raising her
eyebrows and rolling her eyes whenever he said something insulting to
the intelligence of those poor kids, and then when they left she
shook her head and did a perfect imitation of "So sad..." But then
she pointed out that the guy kept telling all them all kinds of
stupid stuff but didn't point out to them that they had just taken
over something that someone else was working on.
There's also a level of the canal museum about fabric. One part lets
you design an outfit on a dummy using material. Alisha designed an
outfit that she thought was neat and then wished she had her camera
because she wanted to remember it. I told her we could go out and
get it although there would be a chance that someone else would come
along and change the outfit. We took the chance and rushed to the
parking garage for the camera. They were running along the sidewalk
racing to the parking garage and I was tempted to complain about how
fast they were going but then I told myself to just consider it
exercise and to be glad to see them so excited about being out and
doing something like this. We got back up to the top floor with her
camera and it was still there. She took lots of pictures of it and
is now talking about trying to actually make a real outfit based on
that design. I'm going to have to really stretch myself to help her
out on that since I'm NOT good at sewing and the sewing machine
intimidates me. But I'm determined to not model a bad attitude about
it to her.
There's a weaving wall, where you get these big rubbery things and
weave them in and out of poles. Matt did his weaving the "right" way
on one side and Luke did his own thing on his side of the wall. When
Luke was done he announced that he had made the place where Petey
piranha lives (from Sunshine Mario). Then he got his model magic out
of his bag (he ended up making Petey Piranha with model magic, lol)
and Petey Piranha "hatched" out of his nest and went around the
museum looking for places where he could eat dirt (it's a Sunshine
Mario thing). We spent at least half an hour in the weaving
wall/fabric designing area and had SO much fun with it. It was
another area that made me say, "Wow!" with comparing another group
of kids. It was either a school group or maybe even a homeschool
group of very conservative Christian kids. The girls all had long
skirts and long hair pulled up in buns. They came to the weaving
wall, listened to the talk that the volunteer museum guide offered
about weaving, and dutifully each took a turn weaving exactly the way
they were "supposed" to. Then they moved on to the next display. I
didn't see much joy in their faces. I was sad for them, because it
was a place that was REALLY conducive to joy and creativity.
Luke was hungry and wanted to go to the mcdonalds that they have in
the building, so we went and got him a kids' meal. Alisha wanted a
kids meal for the toy, drink, and fries but didn't want the
cheeseburger or nuggets, so I got it for her anyway. (and it ended up
that Luke was extra hungry--growth spurt?--and ate her
cheeseburger). I remembered that even hanging out at Mcdonalds can
be a fun place to be and learn so I didn't rush them through to get
to the next "educational" part of the trip. We hung out in Mcdonalds
for awhile and played with the toys and it was just a really happy
time.
We got some fun stuff in the Crayola store and will have lots and
lots of fun with them at home.
We stopped at the Pez museum on the way to the parking garage and we
found that interesting. Alisha is now very interested in adding to
our Pez dispenser collection. (Which is cool because today while
shopping in a grocery liquidation store I found 6 pez dispensers for
a quarter each that I bought to add to our collection and she was
THRILLED).
Because I'm directionally challenged <grin>, I got us lost on the way
home. When we were driving to Easton (the city where the Crayola
factory is) on route 22E, I mentioned to the kids that it said that
Easton's exit is the last exit in Pennsylvania. Well, on the way
back instead of getting on route 22 W I somehow ended up in the next
city--which is in New Jersey. I found my way onto route 22W in that
city, but had to pay a 75 cent toll to get back into Pennsylvania.
We laughed when we saw the "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign. Luke
said, "Way to waste our money, Mom" in a way that wasn't rude or
disrespectful but just kind of dry humor. It was especially funny to
hear that kind of dry humor from a 5 year old, and very cool for me
to realize that he understood that we crossed a state line and came
back over it again and paid a toll to do so. I was glad that, even
though I was kind of stressed out until I knew where I was going, I
kept talking to the kids and let them know what was going on.
We stopped at a pizza place on the way home. The placemats were maps
of Italy, and Luke wanted to know if it was a map of all the pizza
places you could go to. ;) I explained that since this is an Italian
restaurant they had a map of Italy. Luke said okay, but he was going
to pretend it's a map of pizza places. Alisha read some of the facts
on the map to Matt, and they started being goofy and changing the
names of things to silly names. After we ate our pizza we shared a
large cannoli. It was the first time they'd ever eaten a Cannoli and
we all enjoyed it.
We got home and they told their dad all about their day before he
went to bed, and then we did our usualy night time routine of me
reading to Alisha and Matt and rubbing Luke's back to help him get to
sleep.
Sheila
Angela S
Sheila,
I enjoyed reading about your day. Good for you for relaxing and enjoying
the moment(s).
Angela
game-enthusiast@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I enjoyed reading about your day. Good for you for relaxing and enjoying
the moment(s).
Angela
game-enthusiast@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
Sheila- thanks for that terrific story. As a new unschooler, I so understand
what its like to let go of those rigid schooly ways, and how great it feels
when you see the results. Unschooling is as much about how we parent as how
our children learn, until the two really become inseparable. Even though I'm
not religious, I compare becoming an unschooler to being a Born Again; it makes
you feel so sad for those who aren't "saved." It makes me want to rescue all
those children trapped in a world where the adults can't or won't listen to
their needs.
Last night I took Skyler and Aric to see the highschool production of
Suessical, which was terrific. But the huge crowd of talking people was really
tough on my HS boys. We found seats, and I suggested I sit in the middle.
Aric seemed to panic, but couldn't tell me why. Somehow I realized he was
afraid to have a stranger sit next to him. Skyler really understood and
uncharacteristically gave up sitting next to me. He was proud to be Aric's "buffer."
Aric covered his ears until the show began, and then chewed his shirt till
intermission. It took a lot of silent reminders to myself, not to stop him for
the sake of the SHIRT?! At intermission, figuring it was too much for them, I
gave them the option of leaving. They totally wanted to stay! We found an
empty section of the lobby to have our snack, and Skyler began imitating
different animals, sliding and crawling around the floor and under a table. My knee
jerk reaction was Inappropriate! but I only said, "You're going to get dirty,"
hoping that would do the trick. It was so hard for me to have people seeing
him behave this way and worrying how that reflected on my parenting. Would
people think there was something wrong with this child? Well, he sat up, and
calmly announced,"I don't mind." So I stopped myself from saying anything and he
buffed up that floor for the next 10 minutes. A tiny boy, maybe two years
old, watched transfixed, then got down and slid around and crawled too. I was
telling myself, Skyler's "acting out" because he's stressed. But then it
finally occurred to me that This Was Fun! He may have been inspired by some of the
animal characters in the play and the acrobatic dancing, but mostly he was
just being my son, who sees this wide polished floor as a real opportunity for
fun. It made me sad to think how highschool kids never got to use it that way,
maybe never even saw the possibilities. At the end of intermission, we went
back in, all in a good mood, the boys because they'd had their freedom, me
because I'd had this ah ha moment.
We drove home making lots of silly Dr. Suess-like rhymes, laughing our
butts off the whole way. What a great night! The kind of night I once would
have avoided; would have called a recipe for disaster, because I just couldn't
let go of how others would perceive my children and myself. Thank God for
unschooling and all of my little mentors here on this list.
Kirsten (4/72)- mom to 3 sons: Skyler (5/96), Aric (5/97), and Sawyer (3/99),
wife to Carl (5/72)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
what its like to let go of those rigid schooly ways, and how great it feels
when you see the results. Unschooling is as much about how we parent as how
our children learn, until the two really become inseparable. Even though I'm
not religious, I compare becoming an unschooler to being a Born Again; it makes
you feel so sad for those who aren't "saved." It makes me want to rescue all
those children trapped in a world where the adults can't or won't listen to
their needs.
Last night I took Skyler and Aric to see the highschool production of
Suessical, which was terrific. But the huge crowd of talking people was really
tough on my HS boys. We found seats, and I suggested I sit in the middle.
Aric seemed to panic, but couldn't tell me why. Somehow I realized he was
afraid to have a stranger sit next to him. Skyler really understood and
uncharacteristically gave up sitting next to me. He was proud to be Aric's "buffer."
Aric covered his ears until the show began, and then chewed his shirt till
intermission. It took a lot of silent reminders to myself, not to stop him for
the sake of the SHIRT?! At intermission, figuring it was too much for them, I
gave them the option of leaving. They totally wanted to stay! We found an
empty section of the lobby to have our snack, and Skyler began imitating
different animals, sliding and crawling around the floor and under a table. My knee
jerk reaction was Inappropriate! but I only said, "You're going to get dirty,"
hoping that would do the trick. It was so hard for me to have people seeing
him behave this way and worrying how that reflected on my parenting. Would
people think there was something wrong with this child? Well, he sat up, and
calmly announced,"I don't mind." So I stopped myself from saying anything and he
buffed up that floor for the next 10 minutes. A tiny boy, maybe two years
old, watched transfixed, then got down and slid around and crawled too. I was
telling myself, Skyler's "acting out" because he's stressed. But then it
finally occurred to me that This Was Fun! He may have been inspired by some of the
animal characters in the play and the acrobatic dancing, but mostly he was
just being my son, who sees this wide polished floor as a real opportunity for
fun. It made me sad to think how highschool kids never got to use it that way,
maybe never even saw the possibilities. At the end of intermission, we went
back in, all in a good mood, the boys because they'd had their freedom, me
because I'd had this ah ha moment.
We drove home making lots of silly Dr. Suess-like rhymes, laughing our
butts off the whole way. What a great night! The kind of night I once would
have avoided; would have called a recipe for disaster, because I just couldn't
let go of how others would perceive my children and myself. Thank God for
unschooling and all of my little mentors here on this list.
Kirsten (4/72)- mom to 3 sons: Skyler (5/96), Aric (5/97), and Sawyer (3/99),
wife to Carl (5/72)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
TreeGoddess
On Mar 12, 2005, at 2:48 AM, kayb85 wrote:
-=-We went to the Crayola Factory yesterday-=-
Sheila, I loved reading about your day. Thanks for posting it! The
Crayola factory was recently featured on John Ratzenbrger's Made in
America on the Travel Channel and it looked like so much fun! I really
enjoy that show and get ideas for neat places to visit and see how
various things are made.
http://travel.discovery.com/fansites/jrmia/jrmia.html
-Tracy-
"Peace *will* enter your life, but you
need to clear a spot for her to sit down."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/12/2005 12:50:52 AM Mountain Standard Time,
sheran@... writes:
But then
she pointed out that the guy kept telling all them all kinds of
stupid stuff but didn't point out to them that they had just taken
over something that someone else was working on.
------------------------------------
School groups do tend to move through like it's miniature golf or an
obstacle course, sometimes. It's the school tradition of "They told us we had to
do this, and we did it; give us our credit."
Four to an adult is better than larger groups, but it does mean lots of the
adults will be parents who don't know those kids and aren't used to dealing
with kids. Not that teachers are always better than a volunteer adult, but
sometimes the adults are REALLY green to the level of communications the kids
need or can stand.
SOmetimes people criticize unschoolers (any homeschoolers) for badmouthing
school. Nothing causes school-shock in my kids like being in a public place
surrounded by a school group. I've tried to tell them that field trips are
the worst, because the kids are so excited to be OUT and have some room to
move and to see some new surroundings.
-=- Luke
said, "Way to waste our money, Mom" in a way that wasn't rude or
disrespectful but just kind of dry humor. It was especially funny to
hear that kind of dry humor from a 5 year old, and very cool for me
to realize that he understood that we crossed a state line and came
back over it again and paid a toll to do so. =-
Maybe mention to him that it's not standard to have to pay to cross state
lines, nor even to drive on roads. you're in a part of the country with more
turnpikes and toll roads than are normal for the country in general. He might
know that already, and he might not care yet. Or he might just think he's
saving a LOT Of money when he gets older and drives around the country for
free (not counting gas, snacks, car upkeep, motels.... <bwg>).
-=-We got home and they told their dad all about their day before he
went to bed, and then we did our usualy night time routine of me
reading to Alisha and Matt and rubbing Luke's back to help him get to
sleep.
-=-\
Cool day. Thanks for sharing it with us. (You kept it, right? That will
be cool to have in years to come, when they're grown.)
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
sheran@... writes:
But then
she pointed out that the guy kept telling all them all kinds of
stupid stuff but didn't point out to them that they had just taken
over something that someone else was working on.
------------------------------------
School groups do tend to move through like it's miniature golf or an
obstacle course, sometimes. It's the school tradition of "They told us we had to
do this, and we did it; give us our credit."
Four to an adult is better than larger groups, but it does mean lots of the
adults will be parents who don't know those kids and aren't used to dealing
with kids. Not that teachers are always better than a volunteer adult, but
sometimes the adults are REALLY green to the level of communications the kids
need or can stand.
SOmetimes people criticize unschoolers (any homeschoolers) for badmouthing
school. Nothing causes school-shock in my kids like being in a public place
surrounded by a school group. I've tried to tell them that field trips are
the worst, because the kids are so excited to be OUT and have some room to
move and to see some new surroundings.
-=- Luke
said, "Way to waste our money, Mom" in a way that wasn't rude or
disrespectful but just kind of dry humor. It was especially funny to
hear that kind of dry humor from a 5 year old, and very cool for me
to realize that he understood that we crossed a state line and came
back over it again and paid a toll to do so. =-
Maybe mention to him that it's not standard to have to pay to cross state
lines, nor even to drive on roads. you're in a part of the country with more
turnpikes and toll roads than are normal for the country in general. He might
know that already, and he might not care yet. Or he might just think he's
saving a LOT Of money when he gets older and drives around the country for
free (not counting gas, snacks, car upkeep, motels.... <bwg>).
-=-We got home and they told their dad all about their day before he
went to bed, and then we did our usualy night time routine of me
reading to Alisha and Matt and rubbing Luke's back to help him get to
sleep.
-=-\
Cool day. Thanks for sharing it with us. (You kept it, right? That will
be cool to have in years to come, when they're grown.)
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Heidi
Sheila! That sounds like a TERRIFIC day!
I'm hoping mine and katie's birding day out is as fun, today. Can
someone provide a link to a page describing "My Day" kinds of things?
That seems like what I need most, right now.
thanks
HEidiC
--- In [email protected], "kayb85" <sheran@p...>
wrote:
I'm hoping mine and katie's birding day out is as fun, today. Can
someone provide a link to a page describing "My Day" kinds of things?
That seems like what I need most, right now.
thanks
HEidiC
--- In [email protected], "kayb85" <sheran@p...>
wrote:
>a
> I've realized I seem to post here when I mess up and/or need advice
> lot so I thought I'd post a really good unschooling day. I made ato
> lot of unschooling vs. schooling observations and a lot of
> observations about the way I relate to my children compared to the
> way I used to relate to my children.
> We got home and they told their dad all about their day before he
> went to bed, and then we did our usualy night time routine of me
> reading to Alisha and Matt and rubbing Luke's back to help him get
> sleep.
>
> Sheila
Pam Sorooshian
I REALLY enjoyed reading about your day, Sheila. Thanks for taking the
time to write that all out - and especially for contrasting it to how
things "could have" gone if you'd stuck to old ways. What an amazing
difference, huh? Lucky lucky kids you have!
-pam
time to write that all out - and especially for contrasting it to how
things "could have" gone if you'd stuck to old ways. What an amazing
difference, huh? Lucky lucky kids you have!
-pam
On Mar 11, 2005, at 11:48 PM, kayb85 wrote:
> I've realized I seem to post here when I mess up and/or need advice a
> lot so I thought I'd post a really good unschooling day. I made a
> lot of unschooling vs. schooling observations and a lot of
> observations about the way I relate to my children compared to the
> way I used to relate to my children.
Heidi
When I was a kid we went to a church with a big Parish Hall, and the
floor was polished wood, with tables along the sides, and nothing in
the center, from the entry to the end. It was mine and my brother's
favorite thing to do, to take off our shoes, get a running start, and
slide along that floor! The priest's wife (Episcopalian priests
marry) was quite controlling. Not a bad soul, but definitely had her
ideas about what children should and shouldn't do. She always ALWAYS
scolded us for doing that.
So, we always ALWAYS waited for Mrs. E to be out of range, when we
started! LOL
And we ALWAYS started!
blessings, HeidiC
But then it
floor was polished wood, with tables along the sides, and nothing in
the center, from the entry to the end. It was mine and my brother's
favorite thing to do, to take off our shoes, get a running start, and
slide along that floor! The priest's wife (Episcopalian priests
marry) was quite controlling. Not a bad soul, but definitely had her
ideas about what children should and shouldn't do. She always ALWAYS
scolded us for doing that.
So, we always ALWAYS waited for Mrs. E to be out of range, when we
started! LOL
And we ALWAYS started!
blessings, HeidiC
But then it
> finally occurred to me that This Was Fun! He may have beeninspired by some of the
> animal characters in the play and the acrobatic dancing, but mostlyhe was
> just being my son, who sees this wide polished floor as a realopportunity for
> fun. >Sawyer (3/99),
> Kirsten (4/72)- mom to 3 sons: Skyler (5/96), Aric (5/97), and
> wife to Carl (5/72)
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/12/2005 7:33:37 AM Mountain Standard Time,
bunsofaluminum60@... writes:
Can
someone provide a link to a page describing "My Day" kinds of things?
That seems like what I need most, right now.
========
_http://sandradodd.com/typical_ (http://sandradodd.com/typical)
like that?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
bunsofaluminum60@... writes:
Can
someone provide a link to a page describing "My Day" kinds of things?
That seems like what I need most, right now.
========
_http://sandradodd.com/typical_ (http://sandradodd.com/typical)
like that?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Heidi
that's perfect. Thanks!
blessings, HeidiC
blessings, HeidiC
--- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> In a message dated 3/12/2005 7:33:37 AM Mountain Standard Time,
> bunsofaluminum60@h... writes:
>
> Can
> someone provide a link to a page describing "My Day" kinds of
things?
> That seems like what I need most, right now.
>
>
>
> ========
>
> _http://sandradodd.com/typical_ (http://sandradodd.com/typical)
>
> like that?
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
Holly and Marty and I went to the zoo for a few hours, rode the new little
train, saw a baby gorilla being raised by its OWN MOTHER!!!! WOW. The zoo has
another one, ten months old, being human-raised (and it spends its days
where people can see it, and it wears a diaper and plays with toys, and a person
rocks it can carries it all the time), but this younger one, four months, is
with his own mom and it was really sweet to see her carry him around. She
was captivity-born too, in Albuquerque too. (Yes, it would be better if no
gorillas had ever been in zoos, I know, but things being what they are, this was
relatively nice to see.)
New hippopotamus, some red river pigs (African pig with cool ears and little
mane all down the ridge of its back), some new monkeys who weren't labelled
yet.
We went to lunch and then went to Explora briefly to see their new heat
exhibit (what Marty called it). It's a thermal camera (I don't know its real
name) and whatever is warm shows whiter and whatever's cooler is darker. There
were sheets of metal and heat-sensitive plastic and plexiglass to play with,
for reflections and blockers and see-throughs. There was a purple balloon
that only showed up like a soap bubble (see-through). Holly's nose was BLACK,
because for some reason it was cold, and her fingers were dark too (cold) so
where she would touch her own face or Marty's, it made dark finger prints.
It was SO COOL.
Marty said when they toured a fire station (dad of some unschoolers is a
fireman and took some of the kids in one day to see a COOL tour), the most
expensive piece of equipment they had was thermal-imagery binoculars they could
use to try to find people who might be asleep or unconscious (I think that's
what they were for).
It was a fine afternoon, not planned in advance, just impromptu and sweet.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
train, saw a baby gorilla being raised by its OWN MOTHER!!!! WOW. The zoo has
another one, ten months old, being human-raised (and it spends its days
where people can see it, and it wears a diaper and plays with toys, and a person
rocks it can carries it all the time), but this younger one, four months, is
with his own mom and it was really sweet to see her carry him around. She
was captivity-born too, in Albuquerque too. (Yes, it would be better if no
gorillas had ever been in zoos, I know, but things being what they are, this was
relatively nice to see.)
New hippopotamus, some red river pigs (African pig with cool ears and little
mane all down the ridge of its back), some new monkeys who weren't labelled
yet.
We went to lunch and then went to Explora briefly to see their new heat
exhibit (what Marty called it). It's a thermal camera (I don't know its real
name) and whatever is warm shows whiter and whatever's cooler is darker. There
were sheets of metal and heat-sensitive plastic and plexiglass to play with,
for reflections and blockers and see-throughs. There was a purple balloon
that only showed up like a soap bubble (see-through). Holly's nose was BLACK,
because for some reason it was cold, and her fingers were dark too (cold) so
where she would touch her own face or Marty's, it made dark finger prints.
It was SO COOL.
Marty said when they toured a fire station (dad of some unschoolers is a
fireman and took some of the kids in one day to see a COOL tour), the most
expensive piece of equipment they had was thermal-imagery binoculars they could
use to try to find people who might be asleep or unconscious (I think that's
what they were for).
It was a fine afternoon, not planned in advance, just impromptu and sweet.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Heidi
Is the new hippo from Hogle Zoo in SLC? We just saw him at Hogle
yesterday, so it maybe isn't the same hippo. However,
Albuqur...Alberque...Albequerquie LOL
your zoo is getting a hippo from Hogle. His moving crate is in place
so he can get used to it. I don't know just when they'll be sending
him.
blessings, HeidiC
yesterday, so it maybe isn't the same hippo. However,
Albuqur...Alberque...Albequerquie LOL
your zoo is getting a hippo from Hogle. His moving crate is in place
so he can get used to it. I don't know just when they'll be sending
him.
blessings, HeidiC
--- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
> Holly and Marty and I went to the zoo for a few hours, rode the new
little
> train, saw a baby gorilla being raised by its OWN MOTHER!!!! WOW.
The zoo has
> another one, ten months old, being human-raised (and it spends its
days
> where people can see it, and it wears a diaper and plays with toys,
and a person
> rocks it can carries it all the time), but this younger one, four
months, is
> with his own mom and it was really sweet to see her carry him
around. She
> was captivity-born too, in Albuquerque too. (Yes, it would be
better if no
> gorillas had ever been in zoos, I know, but things being what they
are, this was
> relatively nice to see.)
>
> New hippopotamus, some red river pigs (African pig with cool ears
and little
> mane all down the ridge of its back), some new monkeys who weren't
labelled
> yet.
>
> We went to lunch and then went to Explora briefly to see their new
heat
> exhibit (what Marty called it). It's a thermal camera (I don't
know its real
> name) and whatever is warm shows whiter and whatever's cooler is
darker. There
> were sheets of metal and heat-sensitive plastic and plexiglass to
play with,
> for reflections and blockers and see-throughs. There was a purple
balloon
> that only showed up like a soap bubble (see-through). Holly's
nose was BLACK,
> because for some reason it was cold, and her fingers were dark too
(cold) so
> where she would touch her own face or Marty's, it made dark finger
prints.
> It was SO COOL.
>
> Marty said when they toured a fire station (dad of some unschoolers
is a
> fireman and took some of the kids in one day to see a COOL tour),
the most
> expensive piece of equipment they had was thermal-imagery
binoculars they could
> use to try to find people who might be asleep or unconscious (I
think that's
> what they were for).
>
> It was a fine afternoon, not planned in advance, just impromptu
and sweet.
>
> Sandra
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
kayb85
> Cool day. Thanks for sharing it with us. (You kept it, right?That will
> be cool to have in years to come, when they're grown.)I should keep it, good idea! I have had intentions of keeping a
journal of cool things about living an unschooled life so that they
could have it when they're grown. Every time I start that project it
lasts for a week or two and then stops. I think I need to stop being
such a perfectionist about it and just let myself journal when I
journal instead of stopping because I skipped a week.
Sheila
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/12/2005 9:38:24 P.M. Mountain Standard Time,
sheran@... writes:
I have had intentions of keeping a
journal of cool things about living an unschooled life so that they
could have it when they're grown. Every time I start that project it
lasts for a week or two and then stops. I think I need to stop being
such a perfectionist about it and just let myself journal when I
journal instead of stopping because I skipped a week.
I keep a diary in a WORD file on the computer, for each child. Sometimes I
write a lot, sometimes very little. Sometimes I write something online and
save it in one kid's diary or another, too. I should print them out so even
if computers melt or fritz it's somewhere. I have backups on disk, but
magnetic media... fragile.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
sheran@... writes:
I have had intentions of keeping a
journal of cool things about living an unschooled life so that they
could have it when they're grown. Every time I start that project it
lasts for a week or two and then stops. I think I need to stop being
such a perfectionist about it and just let myself journal when I
journal instead of stopping because I skipped a week.
I keep a diary in a WORD file on the computer, for each child. Sometimes I
write a lot, sometimes very little. Sometimes I write something online and
save it in one kid's diary or another, too. I should print them out so even
if computers melt or fritz it's somewhere. I have backups on disk, but
magnetic media... fragile.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Angela S
<<<I should keep it, good idea! I have had intentions of keeping a
journal of cool things about living an unschooled life so that they
could have it when they're grown. Every time I start that project it
lasts for a week or two and then stops.>>>
I love that I have my journal not only for me to go back and read, but for
my kids to have/read at some point. Sometimes I already go back and read
things to them, like on their birthdays of the past or the first week we had
our horse, or some such thing. It's really fun because I'd never have
remembered the details on my own.
I tried to journal for years. I'd start with good intentions and then stop.
I actually hate the process of writing.physically holding the pencil and
making words. What helped me was to get a journal program for the computer.
(I have Loki Diary, but there are a lot out there.) I don't mind typing at
all and that was the key to my success at keeping my journal. I dropped all
writing expectations and made my goal to write something, anything down each
day for a week. That got me started. Here and there I'd forget to write for
a week or so, but then I'd remember and start again. I haven't missed many
days this last year. I keep it right on my desk top so I see it when I sit
down at my computer.
I actually started out by saving emails I'd written and moved on to the
computer journal. It has search features too, so if I want to look up
something I can search by word.
Angela
game-enthusiast@....
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
journal of cool things about living an unschooled life so that they
could have it when they're grown. Every time I start that project it
lasts for a week or two and then stops.>>>
I love that I have my journal not only for me to go back and read, but for
my kids to have/read at some point. Sometimes I already go back and read
things to them, like on their birthdays of the past or the first week we had
our horse, or some such thing. It's really fun because I'd never have
remembered the details on my own.
I tried to journal for years. I'd start with good intentions and then stop.
I actually hate the process of writing.physically holding the pencil and
making words. What helped me was to get a journal program for the computer.
(I have Loki Diary, but there are a lot out there.) I don't mind typing at
all and that was the key to my success at keeping my journal. I dropped all
writing expectations and made my goal to write something, anything down each
day for a week. That got me started. Here and there I'd forget to write for
a week or so, but then I'd remember and start again. I haven't missed many
days this last year. I keep it right on my desk top so I see it when I sit
down at my computer.
I actually started out by saving emails I'd written and moved on to the
computer journal. It has search features too, so if I want to look up
something I can search by word.
Angela
game-enthusiast@....
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Ruth
Hi Angela
I started a unschooling journal for each child 4 years ago. Some weeks it is hard to fit in time to write it but I am glad I did as it is a brilliant record of life now. It also serves duel purpose as I can explain what we have done ot the education people as well. My older ones also keep journals of their own I have not sen and two do journals of places we visit with postcards in and tickets and pictures they have drawn and if they like the place or not lol e.t.c
Ruth
____________________________________________________________________________
This email and all attachments have been electronically scanned by Kingston
Communications' email Anti-Virus service and no known viruses were detected.
____________________________________________________________________________
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I started a unschooling journal for each child 4 years ago. Some weeks it is hard to fit in time to write it but I am glad I did as it is a brilliant record of life now. It also serves duel purpose as I can explain what we have done ot the education people as well. My older ones also keep journals of their own I have not sen and two do journals of places we visit with postcards in and tickets and pictures they have drawn and if they like the place or not lol e.t.c
Ruth
____________________________________________________________________________
This email and all attachments have been electronically scanned by Kingston
Communications' email Anti-Virus service and no known viruses were detected.
____________________________________________________________________________
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
Some of my best writings now have been because I came across a quote from
when the kids were little, written at the time and I can "update it" with what's
happened since. And on the other hand, some of the writings (things on the
webpage, articles that've been here or there) become records the kids can read
when they're grown and be reminded too.
I used to really love an essayist Home Education Magazine used to have,
Kathleen Creech. Her writing was the story of something that happened, and then
what she thought about it, almost always. Very quiet and uplifting.
Sandra
when the kids were little, written at the time and I can "update it" with what's
happened since. And on the other hand, some of the writings (things on the
webpage, articles that've been here or there) become records the kids can read
when they're grown and be reminded too.
I used to really love an essayist Home Education Magazine used to have,
Kathleen Creech. Her writing was the story of something that happened, and then
what she thought about it, almost always. Very quiet and uplifting.
Sandra
TreeGoddess
On Mar 13, 2005, at 8:53 AM, SandraDodd@... wrote:
-=-I used to really love an essayist Home Education Magazine
used to have, Kathleen Creech. Her writing was the story of
something that happened, and then what she thought about it,
almost always. Very quiet and uplifting.-=-
Sandra, thank you so much for mentioning this name. I went to HEM's
site and searched on her name to read some writings of hers. Loved it!
I especially loved the one called "The Door is Wide Open -- Come Out
and Play"
http://www.homeedmag.com/HEM/HEM144.97/144.97_clmn_ref.html
Truly lovely and I'm so glad that I got to read that. I'd likely have
never come across it on my own so thanks again for writing about that
columnist. :)
-Tracy-
"Peace *will* enter your life, but you
need to clear a spot for her to sit down."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/13/05 7:17:19 AM, treegoddess@... writes:
<< Truly lovely and I'm so glad that I got to read that. I'd likely have
never come across it on my own so thanks again for writing about that
columnist. :) >>
I should link some of those from my page too! It's a shame for them to fade
into the background totally. If anyone knows where she is and could hook
me up on the side to ask her, maybe she has other, more recent writings she'd
let me post.
Kathleen Creech. And I don't think that was her real, literal name (problems
with her ex, if I'm not confusing her with another mom), so maybe one of you
is her and just can't tell us. <g> That's always kind of comforted me, the
thought that I might meet her and not even know. Kind of a cool mystery.
Sandra
<< Truly lovely and I'm so glad that I got to read that. I'd likely have
never come across it on my own so thanks again for writing about that
columnist. :) >>
I should link some of those from my page too! It's a shame for them to fade
into the background totally. If anyone knows where she is and could hook
me up on the side to ask her, maybe she has other, more recent writings she'd
let me post.
Kathleen Creech. And I don't think that was her real, literal name (problems
with her ex, if I'm not confusing her with another mom), so maybe one of you
is her and just can't tell us. <g> That's always kind of comforted me, the
thought that I might meet her and not even know. Kind of a cool mystery.
Sandra
Pam Sorooshian
[email protected]
Not as utilized as it could be, but a collection is slowly forming.
-pam
Not as utilized as it could be, but a collection is slowly forming.
-pam
On Mar 12, 2005, at 6:31 AM, Heidi wrote:
> Can
> someone provide a link to a page describing "My Day" kinds of things?
> That seems like what I need most, right now.
MomtoLJ
As a child from Albuquerque, I had to learn to spell it.
Albuquerque, it's a fun word to spell out loud.
Joylyn
Heidi wrote:
Albuquerque, it's a fun word to spell out loud.
Joylyn
Heidi wrote:
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> Is the new hippo from Hogle Zoo in SLC? We just saw him at Hogle
> yesterday, so it maybe isn't the same hippo. However,
> Albuqur...Alberque...Albequerquie LOL
>
> your zoo is getting a hippo from Hogle. His moving crate is in place
> so he can get used to it. I don't know just when they'll be sending
> him.
>
> blessings, HeidiC
>
>
> --- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
> > Holly and Marty and I went to the zoo for a few hours, rode the new
> little
> > train, saw a baby gorilla being raised by its OWN MOTHER!!!! WOW.
> The zoo has
> > another one, ten months old, being human-raised (and it spends its
> days
> > where people can see it, and it wears a diaper and plays with toys,
> and a person
> > rocks it can carries it all the time), but this younger one, four
> months, is
> > with his own mom and it was really sweet to see her carry him
> around. She
> > was captivity-born too, in Albuquerque too. (Yes, it would be
> better if no
> > gorillas had ever been in zoos, I know, but things being what they
> are, this was
> > relatively nice to see.)
> >
> > New hippopotamus, some red river pigs (African pig with cool ears
> and little
> > mane all down the ridge of its back), some new monkeys who weren't
> labelled
> > yet.
> >
> > We went to lunch and then went to Explora briefly to see their new
> heat
> > exhibit (what Marty called it). It's a thermal camera (I don't
> know its real
> > name) and whatever is warm shows whiter and whatever's cooler is
> darker. There
> > were sheets of metal and heat-sensitive plastic and plexiglass to
> play with,
> > for reflections and blockers and see-throughs. There was a purple
> balloon
> > that only showed up like a soap bubble (see-through). Holly's
> nose was BLACK,
> > because for some reason it was cold, and her fingers were dark too
> (cold) so
> > where she would touch her own face or Marty's, it made dark finger
> prints.
> > It was SO COOL.
> >
> > Marty said when they toured a fire station (dad of some unschoolers
> is a
> > fireman and took some of the kids in one day to see a COOL tour),
> the most
> > expensive piece of equipment they had was thermal-imagery
> binoculars they could
> > use to try to find people who might be asleep or unconscious (I
> think that's
> > what they were for).
> >
> > It was a fine afternoon, not planned in advance, just impromptu
> and sweet.
> >
> > Sandra
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
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Kim J. Flowers
I am not in a state where record keeping is required by law, but I am very
curious how those of you who are, do keep track of what your children are
learning and if they are meeting the requirements. Also, how do you know
what the requirements are? I am very confident and comfortable with
unschooling, but my husband needs more reassurance. So I was thinking of
doing some of this record keeping and keeping track of things as we learn
them so he can see what we learn while we are unschooling. I am just not
sure how to do it. Does anyone have advice?
Also, I am very interested in opinions on guiding children. I do not force
my kids to do anything, but sometimes their creativity is lacking and I want
to make productive use of the "mom what do I do" time. So how would I pick
something that would be "useful" and gently guide them into wanting to learn
about something new?
I am sure I will have tons more questions as I am new to the group but have
been reading through the posts. Just a little about myself, we live in
Texas, and have 4 boys, ages 8,6,4, and 12 weeks. We have been
homeschooling pretty much from the get go, we have used a variety of methods
from unschooling, notebooking, curriculum, etc. I believe unschooling is
where I am happiest and so are they. I look forward to getting to know you
all!
Kim Flowers - Wife to Nolan for 9 years
Stay at Home Mama of 4 wonderful boys
"I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at
once."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
curious how those of you who are, do keep track of what your children are
learning and if they are meeting the requirements. Also, how do you know
what the requirements are? I am very confident and comfortable with
unschooling, but my husband needs more reassurance. So I was thinking of
doing some of this record keeping and keeping track of things as we learn
them so he can see what we learn while we are unschooling. I am just not
sure how to do it. Does anyone have advice?
Also, I am very interested in opinions on guiding children. I do not force
my kids to do anything, but sometimes their creativity is lacking and I want
to make productive use of the "mom what do I do" time. So how would I pick
something that would be "useful" and gently guide them into wanting to learn
about something new?
I am sure I will have tons more questions as I am new to the group but have
been reading through the posts. Just a little about myself, we live in
Texas, and have 4 boys, ages 8,6,4, and 12 weeks. We have been
homeschooling pretty much from the get go, we have used a variety of methods
from unschooling, notebooking, curriculum, etc. I believe unschooling is
where I am happiest and so are they. I look forward to getting to know you
all!
Kim Flowers - Wife to Nolan for 9 years
Stay at Home Mama of 4 wonderful boys
"I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at
once."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/13/2005 10:11:55 AM Mountain Standard Time,
pamsoroosh@... writes:
[email protected]
[email protected]_
(mailto:[email protected])
probably a "g" for -ing, yeah? Maybe.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
pamsoroosh@... writes:
[email protected]
[email protected]_
(mailto:[email protected])
probably a "g" for -ing, yeah? Maybe.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Pam Sorooshian
Yes- [email protected] -- right.
-pam
-pam
On Mar 13, 2005, at 10:41 AM, SandraDodd@... wrote:
> [email protected]
>
>
>
> [email protected]_
> (mailto:[email protected])
>
> probably a "g" for -ing, yeah? Maybe.
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/13/2005 12:03:33 AM Central Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
He may have been inspired by some of the
animal characters in the play and the acrobatic dancing, but mostly he was
just being my son, who sees this wide polished floor as a real opportunity
for
fun. It made me sad to think how highschool kids never got to use it that
way,
maybe never even saw the possibilities. At the end of intermission, we
went
back in, all in a good mood, the boys because they'd had their freedom, me
because I'd had this ah ha moment.
You ARE NOT ALONE MOM. You described my son to a T. After 3 years of
unschooling, I have watched, observed and tracked the different patterns that my
son exhibits. I learned what triggers different things, and through lots of
very gentle communication I have listened to my son's interpretations of
different actions. Now, he has adjusted his actions to different settings. I
totally understand what you used to react and how hard it is to resist those
urges. It's totally worth every minute of unschooling.
Spc in Mo
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected] writes:
He may have been inspired by some of the
animal characters in the play and the acrobatic dancing, but mostly he was
just being my son, who sees this wide polished floor as a real opportunity
for
fun. It made me sad to think how highschool kids never got to use it that
way,
maybe never even saw the possibilities. At the end of intermission, we
went
back in, all in a good mood, the boys because they'd had their freedom, me
because I'd had this ah ha moment.
You ARE NOT ALONE MOM. You described my son to a T. After 3 years of
unschooling, I have watched, observed and tracked the different patterns that my
son exhibits. I learned what triggers different things, and through lots of
very gentle communication I have listened to my son's interpretations of
different actions. Now, he has adjusted his actions to different settings. I
totally understand what you used to react and how hard it is to resist those
urges. It's totally worth every minute of unschooling.
Spc in Mo
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Heidi
thanks, Pam
I clicked on the link Sandra provided and found two of *my* days,
from two years ago, on there! What a boost THAT was, I'll tell you.
It really has been a rough couple of years, and pretty easy to fall
into old patterns. I think we stayed in mode, mostly, but I got even
more doldrum-y and introspective than usual.
I figure, that could just count as finishing up the deschooling
process for myself! right? Now time to get back in gear again.
blessings, heidiC
--- In [email protected], Pam Sorooshian
<pamsoroosh@e...> wrote:
I clicked on the link Sandra provided and found two of *my* days,
from two years ago, on there! What a boost THAT was, I'll tell you.
It really has been a rough couple of years, and pretty easy to fall
into old patterns. I think we stayed in mode, mostly, but I got even
more doldrum-y and introspective than usual.
I figure, that could just count as finishing up the deschooling
process for myself! right? Now time to get back in gear again.
blessings, heidiC
--- In [email protected], Pam Sorooshian
<pamsoroosh@e...> wrote:
> [email protected]things?
>
> Not as utilized as it could be, but a collection is slowly forming.
>
> -pam
>
> On Mar 12, 2005, at 6:31 AM, Heidi wrote:
>
> > Can
> > someone provide a link to a page describing "My Day" kinds of
> > That seems like what I need most, right now.
Heidi
When I click on that link, I get a page with a blank post screen on
it. As if I were creating a new thread/post.
HeidiC
-- In [email protected], Pam Sorooshian
<pamsoroosh@e...> wrote:
it. As if I were creating a new thread/post.
HeidiC
-- In [email protected], Pam Sorooshian
<pamsoroosh@e...> wrote:
> Yes- [email protected] -- right.
>
> -pam
>
> On Mar 13, 2005, at 10:41 AM, SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> > [email protected]
> >
> >
> >
> > [email protected]_
> > (mailto:[email protected])
> >
> > probably a "g" for -ing, yeah? Maybe.