aworthen

----- Original Message -----
From: Nicole Brown <nbrown@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2000 4:00 PM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] New Member - intro and reading list request


Welcome Nicole,
I'm Amy, unschooling, AP mom to girls ages 7, 4, and 2. We live in MA with
my dh Keith, our dog and 2 cats. One terrific parenting book is Everyday
Blessings: The Inner Work Of Mindful Parenting by Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn.
It talks about really being there for your kids and parenting "in the
moment". I also recomend anything by Dr. Sears and anything on attachment
parenting.
Amy
Mom to Samantha, Dana, and Casey
The World Is Our Classroom


>
> Hi all,
>
> I just subscribed about a week ago, and have been lurking... thought it
> was about time I introduced myself. My name is Nicole, I'm 29 and
> pregnant with my first, due in about 3 weeks! My boyfriend (or
> "baby-daddy" in talk-show lingo) Terry and I live in rural Kentucky.
>
> While Terry is more traditional about things, I tend to research and
> look for the best alternative... which is usually NOT the way "most
> people" do things. At least not the people we know. For instance, I find
> a vegetarian lifestyle the best way to live, for my own health and
> karma. Terry likes to grill burgers and hotdogs. I have decided on
> homebirth with a trained midwife as the best way to go - and although
> Terry still thinks it'd be "safer" to have the baby in the hospital, he
> is going along with me on this one. Homeschooling/unschooling sounds
> like a terrific idea to me, although I was not quite as poisoned by
> public school as most folks have been... I went to "alternative" schools
> in Kansas grades K-6, where kids are given more autonomy and
> resposibility and learn stuff outside the 3 R's (i.e. we had a garden
> and a class in geology, made papier mache volcanoes, etc.).
>
> I realize now that the stuff I learned because I took it upon myself -
> outside of school - is the stuff I still know and use today. Stuff that
> was drilled into my head in high school and college, I don't know
> anymore and could give a rat's butt. ~:^ ) I did have some meaningful
> social interaction in school, and a few really terrific teachers, but
> was not involved in much extracurricular activity.
>
> Terry had a traditional ps education, and says his parents never had any
> interest in his schooling at all - didn't care whether he did his
> homework, etc. He has a phobic aversion to reading, whereas I am a
> compulsive reader! Anyway, we've been lightly discussing the
> homeschooling topic, and he seems to be open to it, though not to the
> extent that I'd like. One thing that helps is the dubious quality of the
> public schools around here, and the fact that they'll hire anyone off
> the street to be a teacher because they're desperate. Another thing is
> that he thinks I'd be an excellent teacher (he thinks I ought to get one
> of those jobs - no thanks!), and so well suited to educating our
> daughter. I touched on the philosophy of unschooling (vs.
> homeschooling), but he's one that takes his knowledge a little bite at a
> time, so we'll see.
>
> I'd like to hear more on the discipline topic, please. The Aletha Solter
> excerpts make sense, but how do her ideas work in the real world?
>
> How about a recommended reading list? Not just for educating but for
> parenting in general. I need something to take to the small-town
> library, see if I can challenge them a bit to find what I want to read.
> ~:^ )
>
> Thanks y'all!
>
> Nicole
> barefoot AND pregnant in KY (yes I HAVE shoes, but who wants to wear
> them? Besides, my feet are swollen...)
>
> Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
> Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
> Addresses:
> Post message: [email protected]
> Unsubscribe: [email protected]
> List owner: [email protected]
> List settings page: http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>
>

[email protected]

In a message dated 9/6/2000 3:05:01 PM Central Daylight Time,
nbrown@... writes:

> Nicole
> barefoot AND pregnant in KY (yes I HAVE shoes, but who wants to wear
> them? Besides, my feet are swollen...)
>

Nicole, you're so cute! If somebody had told me when I was pregnant (8+
years ago) with my first that 5 years later I'd be homeschooling (let alone
unschooling), I've have drawn up the committment papers. In fact, I hadn't
even heard of homeschooling until about a year before that. I still remember
my first words to that homeschooling mom, "Is that LEGAL?"

Carron

Sonia Ulan

Hi and welcome Nicole;

Congratulations and very best wishes to you and "baby daddy" and baby!
I'm up TOO early with my soon- to-be 2 year old (on Sept.
25th...September is a nice month for a baby...not too hot, not too
cold!) and in my sleep deprived state wanted to tell you about a good,
basic, all-purpose parenting book you may be interested in: "Creative
Parenting" by Dr. William Sears. It's a good starter. So is "The
Womanly Art of Breast-Feeding" as a lot of issues are covered in that
book in addition to breast-feeding. Keep us posted on the birth etc.
and good luck with all your research!

Sonia in Saskatchewan, Canada
Mom to 3: ages 11, 8 and 23mo.

Nicole Brown wrote:
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> I just subscribed about a week ago, and have been lurking... thought it
> was about time I introduced myself. My name is Nicole, I'm 29 and
> pregnant with my first, due in about 3 weeks! My boyfriend (or
> "baby-daddy" in talk-show lingo) Terry and I live in rural Kentucky.
>
> While Terry is more traditional about things, I tend to research and
> look for the best alternative... which is usually NOT the way "most
> people" do things. At least not the people we know. For instance, I find
> a vegetarian lifestyle the best way to live, for my own health and
> karma. Terry likes to grill burgers and hotdogs. I have decided on
> homebirth with a trained midwife as the best way to go - and although
> Terry still thinks it'd be "safer" to have the baby in the hospital, he
> is going along with me on this one. Homeschooling/unschooling sounds
> like a terrific idea to me, although I was not quite as poisoned by
> public school as most folks have been... I went to "alternative" schools
> in Kansas grades K-6, where kids are given more autonomy and
> resposibility and learn stuff outside the 3 R's (i.e. we had a garden
> and a class in geology, made papier mache volcanoes, etc.).
>
> I realize now that the stuff I learned because I took it upon myself -
> outside of school - is the stuff I still know and use today. Stuff that
> was drilled into my head in high school and college, I don't know
> anymore and could give a rat's butt. ~:^ ) I did have some meaningful
> social interaction in school, and a few really terrific teachers, but
> was not involved in much extracurricular activity.
>
> Terry had a traditional ps education, and says his parents never had any
> interest in his schooling at all - didn't care whether he did his
> homework, etc. He has a phobic aversion to reading, whereas I am a
> compulsive reader! Anyway, we've been lightly discussing the
> homeschooling topic, and he seems to be open to it, though not to the
> extent that I'd like. One thing that helps is the dubious quality of the
> public schools around here, and the fact that they'll hire anyone off
> the street to be a teacher because they're desperate. Another thing is
> that he thinks I'd be an excellent teacher (he thinks I ought to get one
> of those jobs - no thanks!), and so well suited to educating our
> daughter. I touched on the philosophy of unschooling (vs.
> homeschooling), but he's one that takes his knowledge a little bite at a
> time, so we'll see.
>
> I'd like to hear more on the discipline topic, please. The Aletha Solter
> excerpts make sense, but how do her ideas work in the real world?
>
> How about a recommended reading list? Not just for educating but for
> parenting in general. I need something to take to the small-town
> library, see if I can challenge them a bit to find what I want to read.
> ~:^ )
>
> Thanks y'all!
>
> Nicole
> barefoot AND pregnant in KY (yes I HAVE shoes, but who wants to wear
> them? Besides, my feet are swollen...)
>
> Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
> Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
> Addresses:
> Post message: [email protected]
> Unsubscribe: [email protected]
> List owner: [email protected]
> List settings page: http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom