Tori

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and ask a couple of
questions! I have been lurking with much interest for a while! My
name is Tori and I have a daughter, Jade, who will be 3 in June. We
live in New Brunswick, Canada. I have been interested in
homeschooling her since she was born, but when I stumbled across the
idea of unschooling, I KNEW that was what I wanted to do. I have alot
of faith in myself and Jade, and our ability to teach and learn from
each other... we have been doing that since she was born. My real
concern is the 'authorities'.

Here in NB, the laws are pretty good. I would have to fill out some
forms for an exemption and have a meeting to discuss my plans. Other
than that, there is no followup. My question is, did anyone tell the
'authorities' that you were unschooling? Or did you make up a
curriculum? What if you didn't happen to do the things you said...
did you run into problems getting an exemption the following year? Am
I asking too many questions? There are no support groups in my area
and I have done many internet searches to try to figure this out, but
to no avail!!! If anyone could help me, I would really appreciate it!

Also, if any of you out there are in Canada and have any advice I
would be very grateful for that too!!

This is an awesome group!!

Peace and happy thoughts!
Love, Tori

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/24/01 1:24:46 PM, rainbowlovespirit@... writes:

<< My question is, did anyone tell the
'authorities' that you were unschooling? Or did you make up a
curriculum? >>

You say "interest-based learning" and say books will be determined as needed,
in a unit-studies fashion, with weekly library visits (or extensive home
library, or whatever you want to say) and the child may choose from martial
arts, music, dance... (whatever classes are available, because they're
available even if your child doesn't take them---certainly schools list ALL
their available extra courses even though a kid might never get to take over
four or six of them).

There are ways to describe "the open classroom" in total educationalese.

Sandra

ambersand

Hi Tori. We are pretty far from you, Florida. In our state we don't have to tell the authorities about our program. We keep a log of "educational activities" and "sample of student produced materials." Everything they do falls into the "educational activities" and anything on paper that I can fit into a notebook, is a "sample." Once a year we get a certified teacher (my cousin) to evaluate this portfolio and submit the evaluation to the county. I write our evaluation, which, since the state law says the teacher must review this portfolio to determine if the student has progressed, we only include that the teacher has reviewed the portfolio and feels the student has progressed. That's all. Some parents opt to have their children take standardized tests and submit the results in stead of the eval. Luckily our state law is not too strict and seems to leave a lot of room for people to do what they want but some county officials can make it a
hassle, if they want. Some states are more free than this and some are worse. As long as the county schoolies (as I call them) leave me be and the state/federal laws don't change, I'm happy.

Welcome. ambersand.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Hi everyone!

I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and ask a couple of questions! I have been lurking with much interest for a while! My name is Tori and I have a daughter, Jade, who will be 3 in June. We live in New Brunswick, Canada. I have been interested in homeschooling her since she was born, but when I stumbled across the idea of unschooling, I KNEW that was what I wanted to do. I have alot of faith in myself and Jade, and our ability to teach and learn from each other... we have been doing that since she was born. My real concern is the 'authorities'.

Here in NB, the laws are pretty good. I would have to fill out some forms for an exemption and have a meeting to discuss my plans. Other than that, there is no followup. My question is, did anyone tell the 'authorities' that you were unschooling? Or did you make up a curriculum? What if you didn't happen to do the things you said... did you run into problems getting an exemption the following year? Am I asking too many questions? There are no support groups in my area and I have done many internet searches to try to figure this out, but to no avail!!! If anyone could help me, I would really appreciate it!

Also, if any of you out there are in Canada and have any advice I would be very grateful for that too!!

This is an awesome group!!

Peace and happy thoughts!
Love, Tori


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Tori

Hi Sandra!
Thanks for the advice! I was afraid I was going to have to lie, and
pretend I was going to follow some pre-set curriculum. I can see I
will have to be creative, but I can handle that!

I think I have a little fear of the 'authorities' telling me I'm not
'allowed' to do this.

Love, Tori

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> In a message dated 4/24/01 1:24:46 PM, rainbowlovespirit@y...
writes:
>
> << My question is, did anyone tell the
> 'authorities' that you were unschooling? Or did you make up a
> curriculum? >>
>
> You say "interest-based learning" and say books will be determined
as needed,
> in a unit-studies fashion, with weekly library visits (or extensive
home
> library, or whatever you want to say) and the child may choose from
martial
> arts, music, dance... (whatever classes are available, because
they're
> available even if your child doesn't take them---certainly schools
list ALL
> their available extra courses even though a kid might never get to
take over
> four or six of them).
>
> There are ways to describe "the open classroom" in total
educationalese.
>
> Sandra

Tori

Hi Ambersand!
Thanks for your reply. The laws here seem to be okay, but since I've
never dealt with them personally, I'm afraid the reality may be quite
different from what it appears to be on paper. (Well, on computer
screen.) I have to go through subject by subject and say what topics
I plan to cover and how much time per day will be devoted to a
particular area. Sometimes I just wish I could be responsible for my
own child, no questions asked. But I guess they are worried about
neglect. What did I see somewhere? The dept. of health doesn't knock
on your door to see if you are feeding your children correctly! Oh
well... sometimes I just have a bit of a hard time being the
non-mainstream person I am turning out to be!!!

Peace
Love, Tori

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "ambersand" <ambersand@m...> wrote:
> Hi Tori. We are pretty far from you, Florida. In our state we
don't have to tell the authorities about our program. We keep a log
of "educational activities" and "sample of student produced
materials." Everything they do falls into the "educational
activities" and anything on paper that I can fit into a notebook, is a
"sample." Once a year we get a certified teacher (my cousin) to
evaluate this portfolio and submit the evaluation to the county. I
write our evaluation, which, since the state law says the teacher must
review this portfolio to determine if the student has progressed, we
only include that the teacher has reviewed the portfolio and feels the
student has progressed. That's all. Some parents opt to have their
children take standardized tests and submit the results in stead of
the eval. Luckily our state law is not too strict and seems to leave
a lot of room for people to do what they want but some county
officials can make it a
> hassle, if they want. Some states are more free than this and some
are worse. As long as the county schoolies (as I call them) leave me
be and the state/federal laws don't change, I'm happy.
>
> Welcome. ambersand.
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> Hi everyone!
>
> I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and ask a couple
of questions! I have been lurking with much interest for a while!
My name is Tori and I have a daughter, Jade, who will be 3 in June.
We live in New Brunswick, Canada. I have been interested in
homeschooling her since she was born, but when I stumbled across the
idea of unschooling, I KNEW that was what I wanted to do. I have alot
of faith in myself and Jade, and our ability to teach and learn from
each other... we have been doing that since she was born. My real
concern is the 'authorities'.
>
> Here in NB, the laws are pretty good. I would have to fill out some
forms for an exemption and have a meeting to discuss my plans. Other
than that, there is no followup. My question is, did anyone tell the
'authorities' that you were unschooling? Or did you make up a
curriculum? What if you didn't happen to do the things you said...
did you run into problems getting an exemption the following year? Am
I asking too many questions? There are no support groups in my area
and I have done many internet searches to try to figure this out, but
to no avail!!! If anyone could help me, I would really appreciate
it!
>
> Also, if any of you out there are in Canada and have any advice I
would be very grateful for that too!!
>
> This is an awesome group!!
>
> Peace and happy thoughts!
> Love, Tori
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
---------------------~-~> ClubMom is the first free organization
dedicated to rewarding and celebrating Moms! Join today - it's free -
and get your chance to win
> in our $5,000 Family Vacation Sweepstakes!
> http://us.click.yahoo.com/4uwbpB/TFaCAA/NZ8EAA/0ETVlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------_
->
>
> Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more! Check
it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
> To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
> http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>
> Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
http://www.home-ed-magazine.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Betsy Hill

>Everything they do falls into the "educational activities" and anything on
paper
>that I can fit into a notebook, is a "sample."

And use a camera to "flatten" just about anything and add it to your
portfolio. (Anything tangible, that is.)

Betsy

Johanna

do you have anyone you know locally who has done it already? Maybe they could give you some imput on how to keep the records for the school district in a way they are happy with, that isn't that restrictive to you. Our school system has a form requesting subjects covered. The administratior is happy if it says "all subjects covered" and how many hours a day you have "school". I submit attendance at the end of the year and thats it.
Johanna
Life is the ultimate learning experience!
----- Original Message -----
From: Tori
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 8:45 PM
Subject: Re:[Unschooling-dotcom] intro and plea for help :)


Hi Ambersand!
Thanks for your reply. The laws here seem to be okay, but since I've
never dealt with them personally, I'm afraid the reality may be quite
different from what it appears to be on paper. (Well, on computer
screen.) I have to go through subject by subject and say what topics
I plan to cover and how much time per day will be devoted to a
particular area. Sometimes I just wish I could be responsible for my
own child, no questions asked. But I guess they are worried about
neglect. What did I see somewhere? The dept. of health doesn't knock
on your door to see if you are feeding your children correctly! Oh
well... sometimes I just have a bit of a hard time being the
non-mainstream person I am turning out to be!!!

Peace
Love, Tori

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "ambersand" <ambersand@m...> wrote:
> Hi Tori. We are pretty far from you, Florida. In our state we
don't have to tell the authorities about our program. We keep a log
of "educational activities" and "sample of student produced
materials." Everything they do falls into the "educational
activities" and anything on paper that I can fit into a notebook, is a
"sample." Once a year we get a certified teacher (my cousin) to
evaluate this portfolio and submit the evaluation to the county. I
write our evaluation, which, since the state law says the teacher must
review this portfolio to determine if the student has progressed, we
only include that the teacher has reviewed the portfolio and feels the
student has progressed. That's all. Some parents opt to have their
children take standardized tests and submit the results in stead of
the eval. Luckily our state law is not too strict and seems to leave
a lot of room for people to do what they want but some county
officials can make it a
> hassle, if they want. Some states are more free than this and some
are worse. As long as the county schoolies (as I call them) leave me
be and the state/federal laws don't change, I'm happy.
>
> Welcome. ambersand.
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> Hi everyone!
>
> I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and ask a couple
of questions! I have been lurking with much interest for a while!
My name is Tori and I have a daughter, Jade, who will be 3 in June.
We live in New Brunswick, Canada. I have been interested in
homeschooling her since she was born, but when I stumbled across the
idea of unschooling, I KNEW that was what I wanted to do. I have alot
of faith in myself and Jade, and our ability to teach and learn from
each other... we have been doing that since she was born. My real
concern is the 'authorities'.
>
> Here in NB, the laws are pretty good. I would have to fill out some
forms for an exemption and have a meeting to discuss my plans. Other
than that, there is no followup. My question is, did anyone tell the
'authorities' that you were unschooling? Or did you make up a
curriculum? What if you didn't happen to do the things you said...
did you run into problems getting an exemption the following year? Am
I asking too many questions? There are no support groups in my area
and I have done many internet searches to try to figure this out, but
to no avail!!! If anyone could help me, I would really appreciate
it!
>
> Also, if any of you out there are in Canada and have any advice I
would be very grateful for that too!!
>
> This is an awesome group!!
>
> Peace and happy thoughts!
> Love, Tori
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
---------------------~-~> ClubMom is the first free organization
dedicated to rewarding and celebrating Moms! Join today - it's free -
and get your chance to win
> in our $5,000 Family Vacation Sweepstakes!
> http://us.click.yahoo.com/4uwbpB/TFaCAA/NZ8EAA/0ETVlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------_
->
>
> Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more! Check
it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
> To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
> http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>
> Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
http://www.home-ed-magazine.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/


Yahoo! Groups Sponsor



Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com

To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
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Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
http://www.home-ed-magazine.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tori

Thanks for the suggestion... no I don't know anyone locally who has
been through this, I think that is why I am stressing a little. I
guess I will have to hunt someone down!! (There is a support group in
a town about an hour away... I think I'll try to make my way down
there.)

Love, Tori

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "Johanna" <saninocencio1@c...> wrote:
> do you have anyone you know locally who has done it already? Maybe
they could give you some imput on how to keep the records for the
school district in a way they are happy with, that isn't that
restrictive to you. Our school system has a form requesting subjects
covered. The administratior is happy if it says "all subjects covered"
and how many hours a day you have "school". I submit attendance at the
end of the year and thats it.
> Johanna
> Life is the ultimate learning experience!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tori
> To: Unschooling-dotcom@y...
> Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 8:45 PM
> Subject: Re:[Unschooling-dotcom] intro and plea for help :)
>
>
> Hi Ambersand!
> Thanks for your reply. The laws here seem to be okay, but since
I've
> never dealt with them personally, I'm afraid the reality may be
quite
> different from what it appears to be on paper. (Well, on computer
> screen.) I have to go through subject by subject and say what
topics
> I plan to cover and how much time per day will be devoted to a
> particular area. Sometimes I just wish I could be responsible for
my
> own child, no questions asked. But I guess they are worried about
> neglect. What did I see somewhere? The dept. of health doesn't
knock
> on your door to see if you are feeding your children correctly!
Oh
> well... sometimes I just have a bit of a hard time being the
> non-mainstream person I am turning out to be!!!
>
> Peace
> Love, Tori
>
> --- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "ambersand" <ambersand@m...>
wrote:
> > Hi Tori. We are pretty far from you, Florida. In our state we
> don't have to tell the authorities about our program. We keep a
log
> of "educational activities" and "sample of student produced
> materials." Everything they do falls into the "educational
> activities" and anything on paper that I can fit into a notebook,
is a
> "sample." Once a year we get a certified teacher (my cousin) to
> evaluate this portfolio and submit the evaluation to the county.
I
> write our evaluation, which, since the state law says the teacher
must
> review this portfolio to determine if the student has progressed,
we
> only include that the teacher has reviewed the portfolio and feels
the
> student has progressed. That's all. Some parents opt to have
their
> children take standardized tests and submit the results in stead
of
> the eval. Luckily our state law is not too strict and seems to
leave
> a lot of room for people to do what they want but some county
> officials can make it a
> > hassle, if they want. Some states are more free than this and
some
> are worse. As long as the county schoolies (as I call them) leave
me
> be and the state/federal laws don't change, I'm happy.
> >
> > Welcome. ambersand.
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> > Hi everyone!
> >
> > I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and ask a
couple
> of questions! I have been lurking with much interest for a
while!
> My name is Tori and I have a daughter, Jade, who will be 3 in
June.
> We live in New Brunswick, Canada. I have been interested in
> homeschooling her since she was born, but when I stumbled across
the
> idea of unschooling, I KNEW that was what I wanted to do. I have
alot
> of faith in myself and Jade, and our ability to teach and learn
from
> each other... we have been doing that since she was born. My real

> concern is the 'authorities'.
> >
> > Here in NB, the laws are pretty good. I would have to fill out
some
> forms for an exemption and have a meeting to discuss my plans.
Other
> than that, there is no followup. My question is, did anyone tell
the
> 'authorities' that you were unschooling? Or did you make up a
> curriculum? What if you didn't happen to do the things you
said...
> did you run into problems getting an exemption the following year?
Am
> I asking too many questions? There are no support groups in my
area
> and I have done many internet searches to try to figure this out,
but
> to no avail!!! If anyone could help me, I would really appreciate
> it!
> >
> > Also, if any of you out there are in Canada and have any advice
I
> would be very grateful for that too!!
> >
> > This is an awesome group!!
> >
> > Peace and happy thoughts!
> > Love, Tori
> >
> >
> > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> ---------------------~-~> ClubMom is the first free organization
> dedicated to rewarding and celebrating Moms! Join today - it's
free -
> and get your chance to win
> > in our $5,000 Family Vacation Sweepstakes!
> > http://us.click.yahoo.com/4uwbpB/TFaCAA/NZ8EAA/0ETVlB/TM
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------_
> ->
> >
> > Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
Check
> it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
> >
> > To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
> > http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
> >
> > Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
> http://www.home-ed-magazine.com
> >
> >
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>
>
>
> Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
> Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
> To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
> http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>
> Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
> http://www.home-ed-magazine.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/25/01 8:26:36 AM, ecsamhill@... writes:

<< And use a camera to "flatten" just about anything and add it to your
portfolio. (Anything tangible, that is.) >>

Even intangibles--music lessons, cooking processes, etc. Looking at the
ocean. You can photograph a kid doing something that you can't well put into
a box except in photo-form.

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/24/01 7:37:49 PM, rainbowlovespirit@... writes:

<< I think I have a little fear of the 'authorities' telling me I'm not
'allowed' to do this. >>

HSLDA might, if you tried to sign on with them, but I don't know of any state
(even Pennsylvania) in which unschoolers haven't figured out a way to fulfill
the law AND unschool.

Sandra