I make my child do......
下川 誉志彦
There are some things I make my 2yr old son do - he must finish his
bread - no leaving the crust. He must clean up when he spills. And
when he's old enough, he must help out around the house. I'm not mean
about it. He just knows what's expected of him, and even though he
doesn't like to pick up his toys, he does because he's a big boy now and
he has his own room. He's learning to do things he doesn't like to do.
He knows if he doesn't keep his room clean, then he won't be able to
have his own room (though he still sleeps in our room). He knows that
he can't wear his favorite shirt every single day, and that his teddy
bear must be washed once in a while. He knows that when we only have
about half an hour before Daddy gets home, that he has to help me
straighten things up before I read to him. DH is supportive of
homeschooling, but not unschooling, and insists we get started early, so
I've made the few minutes before DH gets home story time. DH has no
clue that DS doesn't sit at the table doing worksheets all day.
Whenever DS does do a worksheet, which he likes to do on occasion, I
save it in a folder, and when DH asks to see what DS has been doing, I
show him the folder. I also tell him all our activities in eduspeak,
and DH is quite proud of his "genius" son. Whatever works. I guess I'm
getting good practice for when MIL asks why we're not sending our son to
baby genius school (she does sometimes...).
And, sure, I survived the ps system - barely. I still have almost no
confidence in myself, and am afraid of meeting people in person. I've
lost all my creativity, and fear any kind of book, except the books I
got in trouble for reading at school. I have no motivation except
unschooling. Whenever I think about it, I just fill with adrenaline. I
can't sleep in anymore because the second I think I might be starting to
wake up, I remember my decision to unschool ds (and also myself, I
guess) and wonder why I would want to waste such a wonderful morning.
I jump out of bed as soon as possible, and get so excited about all the
wonderful things I can learn - without having to sit in front of a
textbook listening to a boring lecture about things I already know,
or things I don't care about. The last time I woke up early on my own
because I wanted to was after about a month of summer vacation in
elementary school.
Sorry to ramble. I think I wrote this for my own benefit more than
anything else. hehe
Love, Melanie in Japan
bread - no leaving the crust. He must clean up when he spills. And
when he's old enough, he must help out around the house. I'm not mean
about it. He just knows what's expected of him, and even though he
doesn't like to pick up his toys, he does because he's a big boy now and
he has his own room. He's learning to do things he doesn't like to do.
He knows if he doesn't keep his room clean, then he won't be able to
have his own room (though he still sleeps in our room). He knows that
he can't wear his favorite shirt every single day, and that his teddy
bear must be washed once in a while. He knows that when we only have
about half an hour before Daddy gets home, that he has to help me
straighten things up before I read to him. DH is supportive of
homeschooling, but not unschooling, and insists we get started early, so
I've made the few minutes before DH gets home story time. DH has no
clue that DS doesn't sit at the table doing worksheets all day.
Whenever DS does do a worksheet, which he likes to do on occasion, I
save it in a folder, and when DH asks to see what DS has been doing, I
show him the folder. I also tell him all our activities in eduspeak,
and DH is quite proud of his "genius" son. Whatever works. I guess I'm
getting good practice for when MIL asks why we're not sending our son to
baby genius school (she does sometimes...).
And, sure, I survived the ps system - barely. I still have almost no
confidence in myself, and am afraid of meeting people in person. I've
lost all my creativity, and fear any kind of book, except the books I
got in trouble for reading at school. I have no motivation except
unschooling. Whenever I think about it, I just fill with adrenaline. I
can't sleep in anymore because the second I think I might be starting to
wake up, I remember my decision to unschool ds (and also myself, I
guess) and wonder why I would want to waste such a wonderful morning.
I jump out of bed as soon as possible, and get so excited about all the
wonderful things I can learn - without having to sit in front of a
textbook listening to a boring lecture about things I already know,
or things I don't care about. The last time I woke up early on my own
because I wanted to was after about a month of summer vacation in
elementary school.
Sorry to ramble. I think I wrote this for my own benefit more than
anything else. hehe
Love, Melanie in Japan
Lisa Bugg
Can I ask a question. I don't mean to sound, well, nosy.... but why can't
a 2 your old NOT like bread crust??? I have 4 kids and only one doesn't
like bread crust, so she doesn't eat it. I do have one child that likes
spinach, so I fix it and she eats it, but I surely don't. :)
Lisa
-----Original Message-----
From: $B2 <@n!!M@;VI'>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Wednesday, June 16, 1999 6:21 PM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] I make my child do......
a 2 your old NOT like bread crust??? I have 4 kids and only one doesn't
like bread crust, so she doesn't eat it. I do have one child that likes
spinach, so I fix it and she eats it, but I surely don't. :)
Lisa
-----Original Message-----
From: $B2 <@n!!M@;VI'>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Wednesday, June 16, 1999 6:21 PM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] I make my child do......
>From: =?ISO-2022-JP?B?GyRCMjxAbiEhTUA7VkknGyhC?= <RXP10715@...>
>
>There are some things I make my 2yr old son do - he must finish his
>bread - no leaving the crust. He must clean up when he spills. And
>when he's old enough, he must help out around the house. I'm not mean
>about it. He just knows what's expected of him, and even though he
>doesn't like to pick up his toys, he does because he's a big boy now and
>he has his own room. He's learning to do things he doesn't like to do.
>He knows if he doesn't keep his room clean, then he won't be able to
>have his own room (though he still sleeps in our room). He knows that
>he can't wear his favorite shirt every single day, and that his teddy
>bear must be washed once in a while. He knows that when we only have
>about half an hour before Daddy gets home, that he has to help me
>straighten things up before I read to him. DH is supportive of
>homeschooling, but not unschooling, and insists we get started early, so
>I've made the few minutes before DH gets home story time. DH has no
>clue that DS doesn't sit at the table doing worksheets all day.
>Whenever DS does do a worksheet, which he likes to do on occasion, I
>save it in a folder, and when DH asks to see what DS has been doing, I
>show him the folder. I also tell him all our activities in eduspeak,
>and DH is quite proud of his "genius" son. Whatever works. I guess I'm
>getting good practice for when MIL asks why we're not sending our son to
>baby genius school (she does sometimes...).
>
>And, sure, I survived the ps system - barely. I still have almost no
>confidence in myself, and am afraid of meeting people in person. I've
>lost all my creativity, and fear any kind of book, except the books I
>got in trouble for reading at school. I have no motivation except
>unschooling. Whenever I think about it, I just fill with adrenaline. I
>can't sleep in anymore because the second I think I might be starting to
>wake up, I remember my decision to unschool ds (and also myself, I
>guess) and wonder why I would want to waste such a wonderful morning.
>I jump out of bed as soon as possible, and get so excited about all the
>wonderful things I can learn - without having to sit in front of a
>textbook listening to a boring lecture about things I already know,
>or things I don't care about. The last time I woke up early on my own
>because I wanted to was after about a month of summer vacation in
>elementary school.
>
>Sorry to ramble. I think I wrote this for my own benefit more than
>anything else. hehe
>
>Love, Melanie in Japan
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>http://www.onelist.com
>At ONElist - the most scalable and reliable service on the Internet.
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Check it out!
>http://www.unschooling.com
>
>
Brown
Hey Lisa - A child that likes spinach??!! I find this concept overwhelmingly
unbelievable. Are you sure your child wasn't swapped at birth for an alien?
<vbg>
My kids eat what is put in front of them - or go make a sandwich or whatever. I
wasn't made to eat anything I didn't like as a child - except the once, and
after dealing with the resulting mess, my mother never did it again! My cousin
on the other hand was made to eat everything put in front of her (I won't go
into details of what 'made to eat' meant in that family, as I don't want to
totally gross everyone out), and when she first left home and went flatting
with me she was very boastful of the fact that she ate everything. Six months
later she was the ultimate fussy eater and remained that way, while as I got
older I gradually ate more and more things. Even spnach :-)
Carol
Lisa Bugg wrote:
unbelievable. Are you sure your child wasn't swapped at birth for an alien?
<vbg>
My kids eat what is put in front of them - or go make a sandwich or whatever. I
wasn't made to eat anything I didn't like as a child - except the once, and
after dealing with the resulting mess, my mother never did it again! My cousin
on the other hand was made to eat everything put in front of her (I won't go
into details of what 'made to eat' meant in that family, as I don't want to
totally gross everyone out), and when she first left home and went flatting
with me she was very boastful of the fact that she ate everything. Six months
later she was the ultimate fussy eater and remained that way, while as I got
older I gradually ate more and more things. Even spnach :-)
Carol
Lisa Bugg wrote:
> From: "Lisa Bugg" <LisaBugg@...>
>
> Can I ask a question. I don't mean to sound, well, nosy.... but why can't
> a 2 your old NOT like bread crust??? I have 4 kids and only one doesn't
> like bread crust, so she doesn't eat it. I do have one child that likes
> spinach, so I fix it and she eats it, but I surely don't. :)