Bonni Sollars

I've been having a difficult few weeks, what with taxes and trying to get
a loan, my husband out of work, then starting a new job with tons of
paperwork to fill out, his mood not his usual gregarious, and adjusting
to his new schedule. But I am starting to come out of it. I went
several times with no sleep, complete insomnia, probably from
internalizing all my worrying. That was almost like working graveyard
again:( So, I don't feel I've been giving my children the attention I
normally do. On the other hand, unschooling has come through again.
My son Rex has done nothing but read books non stop, one after the other,
from morning to night! And he always avoided books when he was going to
ps.
My son Caleb has been playing a lot of chess, monopoly, yahtzee and
building games with his younger siblings, as well as watching a lot of
educational public television. He is the one who usually loves to read.
He has been coming up with new jokes every day. He wants to make movies
when he grows up, preferably comedies.
My son Seth is a theorist who is always testing and figuring out how the
universe works. He looks sort of like a mad scientist. He talks my ear
off with his ideas. He has been writing letters to others, addressing
and stamping the envelopes and mailing them. He asks me to correct his
spelling, then he rewrites them. At bedtime he has been reading books
until quite late.
My daughter Phoebe, in addition to playing boardgames, has been reading
and making books. She has a book she made called How I Feel. Whenever
there is a trying time in her young life, she writes in it. She feels
the stress we've been under lately. She taught herself cursive, and
writes a lot for the family, like shopping lists and our daily plan.
(Every morning we talk about what we want to do and then make a list so
no one gets overlooked.) It amazes me how well she spells. She just
asks me if she doesn't know, and I tell her. She often emails her aunt
and grandma who live out of state. Using spell check has helped her
spelling, too, I suppose. Somehow, I don't know how, because she
absolutely doesn't want me to teach her math and she never breaks out the
math workbooks, but she already knows almost as much as her older
brothers do. Maybe because of the boardgames, and maybe because of
playing with the calculator. But at the beginning of the year, she hated
numbers and avoided math like the plague. Now she can keep up with her
brothers who are two and four years older than her when they try to
figure out how much things will cost or how many things there are to
split between them. She still only uses the bedroom clock because she
hasn't memorized the hand clock and thinks it's a waste of time to count
by fives when she can just run into my room and read the digital.
My kids are all very sociable and have felt lonely lately, since I've had
my head in paperwork and not taken them on as many outings as is usual
for us. We live in a trailer park full of kids, but most of the neighbor
kids are grounded lately. My older ones aren't interested in going to
teen center anymore because, they say, the kids there only care about
telling dirty jokes, cussing and looking good. I told my son Rex that if
he goes for a walk he will run into some kids his age. I said that is
what I used to do when I was young, and how I met some of my best
friends. I hope that is not too lame.
Bonni

Camille Bauer

my kids are ding various things. My son started the day by reading a few
bob books to me in bed, since I would read to him, then he was working on
handwritting, and it looks like he's moved onto phonics now. The baby is
looking for some sort of trouble to cause, there has got to be a mess to
make somewhere you know. the middle on is watching whinnie the pooh, and
eating grahm crackers.>>

Just thought I would change the title :)

Today, we have fought pirates, & battled Pokemon. The boys are right now "doing homework" (this is my oldest newest thing)...which means playing in the sink with water, LOL! Dora The Explorer is on the tv, and I'm finishing my newsletter :)

CamilleGet more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com


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[email protected]

In a message dated 4/10/2002 2:48:32 PM US Mountain Standard Time,
BSOLLARS@... writes:


> . I hope that is not too lame.
> Bonni
>

LAME?? Good Lord Bonni with all of that on your plate (I can relate because
my plate is stacked in buffet style portions for a death row inmate) your
kids' schooling is just the way I've learned homeschooling to be for us. She
pretty much does most of it on her own. Some people wonder how much time it
takes and when I say "30 minutes to 4 hours" they can't believe it. The four
hour ones are usually when we go somewhere specific for that time (museum,
performance, etc.)
Kelli has been devouring every resource she can in order to work with
animals. Last week she called vets and asked them some prepared questions.
She's very articulate and I'm proud of her for that. We arranged an hour
long visit at the animal hospital where a vet showed her the animals there
and described what their status was, problems they had and how some could
have been prevented. She wants to start pet-sitting and today she exhausted
me with that! We called other pet sitting businesses and she got ahold of
two women that talked to her for awhile about the business and what she could
and shouldn't do, what to charge, what they did, etc. She took notes and I
typed them right after the call. Took us a lot of dials to make connections
(I guess they were all out pet sitting dangit!) She asked me to draft an
advertisement flyer on the computer (I had been promising it for awhile)
since she hasn't learned all the tricks and tools of MSWord and her typing
isn't so hot. She's using Mavis Beacon to learn home row and the right
reaches so she can type instead of writing some day. I guess that's one area
that I need to be more consistent in requiring her to do, she wants to write
so much but gets frustrated at how sore her hands get. Being a writer myself
I can relate so I want her so much to get typing skills, but its going to be
at her own speed - you can't FORCE that at all =)
She's spent time this afternoon going to talk to neighbors with animals and
giving a couple of the flyers out, desperately hoping for a job!! We talked
about volunteering and called the places and left messages. Being 10 and
DYING TO WORK WITH ANIMALS is hard on her. We have two kitties and they are
old hat by now =/ LOL
She's been devouring her Chicken Soup For the Pet Lover's Soul, a book of Cat
Stories by Herriott (great vet and author), and I'm reading aloud one of the
"All things Wise and Wonderful" books (he's written a few.)
I guess you could say we are just animals animals animals here and that's all
that is on the brain!
We didn't use a textbook today, although if I find an ANIMAL reading
comprehension story in her book I'll bet she'd do it Hehehehehehe Same thing
with an ANIMAL math problem.
Our day...today...very enjoyable and very focused!
Kristine



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Lynda

We just got back from the beach and had a long discussion on the way back
about how people treat their animals. We took Tuff E (our newest 4 legged
family member) and another puppy (older, about 6 months) came running up and
half cowering. It wouldn't go back to the owners when they called it.
Youngest kidlet got it to chase her down the beach and back to the owners.
The woman immediately grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and drug it to
the man who clipped it up along side the head.

We then discussed that that sort of treatment is what causes so many pit
bulls, pit bull types and pit bull crosses to be mean.

When we got home they did a net search to find out what other breeds had
been declared "evil" before and which actually had the most bite cases.

Now they are off riding their bicycles and have declared tomorrow to be
clean the attic day which translates into "we want to find the water stuff
because it is almost time to head up to the lakes."

Earlier today eldest was explaining geometry and physics to a kid who goes
to the local high school. They headed over to a friend's house to use the
pool table to show the relationship between angles and force and which way a
ball will travel.

Lynda
----- Original Message -----
From: "Camille Bauer" <goddessofwisdom2@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 11:00 AM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Our day


> my kids are ding various things. My son started the day by reading a few
> bob books to me in bed, since I would read to him, then he was working on
> handwritting, and it looks like he's moved onto phonics now. The baby is
> looking for some sort of trouble to cause, there has got to be a mess to
> make somewhere you know. the middle on is watching whinnie the pooh, and
> eating grahm crackers.>>
>
> Just thought I would change the title :)
>
> Today, we have fought pirates, & battled Pokemon. The boys are right now
"doing homework" (this is my oldest newest thing)...which means playing in
the sink with water, LOL! Dora The Explorer is on the tv, and I'm finishing
my newsletter :)
>
> CamilleGet more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download :
http://explorer.msn.com
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Visit the Unschooling website:
> http://www.unschooling.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/10/02 7:11:29 PM, balikris@... writes:

<< She's using Mavis Beacon to learn home row and the right
reaches so she can type instead of writing some day. I guess that's one area
that I need to be more consistent in requiring her to do, she wants to write
so much but gets frustrated at how sore her hands get. >>

My boys type very fast. We have typing programs, and they've played around
with them, but I never required it, and they're not really typing "by the
book," necessarily.

Kirby bought a computer, and gathered components from here and there. A
friend gave him a keyboard which is split and angled, with the left hand keys
totally separate from the right. I asked him if that was going to be a
problem, and he said no. It's not. He's still zipping along. I'm wondering
whether it would be a problem for me, and I learned "right."

I think requiring it will not be a benefit.

<< Some people wonder how much time it
takes and when I say "30 minutes to 4 hours" they can't believe it. >>

I bet she learns the rest of the day too.

Sandra

Tia Leschke

>She asked me to draft an
>advertisement flyer on the computer (I had been promising it for awhile)
>since she hasn't learned all the tricks and tools of MSWord and her typing
>isn't so hot. She's using Mavis Beacon to learn home row and the right
>reaches so she can type instead of writing some day. I guess that's one area
>that I need to be more consistent in requiring her to do, she wants to write
>so much but gets frustrated at how sore her hands get. Being a writer myself
>I can relate so I want her so much to get typing skills, but its going to be
>at her own speed - you can't FORCE that at all =)

Do you see the inconsistency here? You can't FORCE that but you should be
more consistent in requiring it? If she wants to write and her hands get
sore, I'd think *she* would be the one to want to practise typing. <g>
It sounds like you had a great day.
Tia

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
*********************************************
Tia Leschke
leschke@...
On Vancouver Island

Lyonness

oo don't you love the beach, I only live about a mile from it. Last week we
went and the kids got tons of shells. I think were going to make stepping
stones out of them. hubby has got to make the molds, but the chicken coop
has to be finished this weekend and then the goat chewed on my Lan phone
line, got to fix that. My 6 year old and almost 3 year old are going to
make incredible handy men later on!

Bec,
Camano Island Homeschoolers,
Washington Unschoolers,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Washingtonunschoolers/

----- Original Message -----
From: Lynda
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 7:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Our day


We just got back from the beach


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Lynda

We are there at least twice a week, sometimes more. Right now we have a
piece of your state in our harbor, the Lady Washington. Wish we had the
money to take a trip on her but for five it would cost over $200.

The kidlets have started more learning adventures from a day at the beach
than anyother thing we've done, I swear. And, besides they just love the
freedom of running in the wind. One of our favorite things to do is to go
out there when there is a high wind and stand on a dune and lean on the
wind.

Lynda
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lyonness" <Lyonness@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 9:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Our day


> oo don't you love the beach, I only live about a mile from it. Last week
we
> went and the kids got tons of shells. I think were going to make stepping
> stones out of them. hubby has got to make the molds, but the chicken coop
> has to be finished this weekend and then the goat chewed on my Lan phone
> line, got to fix that. My 6 year old and almost 3 year old are going to
> make incredible handy men later on!
>
> Bec,
> Camano Island Homeschoolers,
> Washington Unschoolers,
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Washingtonunschoolers/
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lynda
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 7:00 PM
> Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Our day
>
>
> We just got back from the beach
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
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>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Visit the Unschooling website:
> http://www.unschooling.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

[email protected]

Rosie (11) had one friend stay overnight and another come over early this
morning - they worked on making a newspaper called Dumbledore's Pride. It has
a wordsearch and some articles that they wrote - they are made-up stories
about things that might have happened at Hogwarts. The newspaper is 5 pages
long and they printed up a half-dozen copies to give out to people at our
park day. I had nothing to do with it other than eavesdropping a little, just
because we were in the same room, and helping them with the printer, which
wasn't cooperating.

Roya (17) went to work (she commutes with my dh) at 7 this morning. She works
at Laguna Clay Company - one of the largest manufacturers of clay and glazes.
She works in the office part of the time, typing up orders, etc., and in the
retail store part of the time. Ceramics is her passion - she's been involved
with a ceramics studio for about 4 years and she will be minoring in ceramics
and majoring in creative writing when she transfers from the community
college to UC Santa Cruz. She came home from work and spent some hours
working on a website, creating collages out of pictures of friends, and also
printed up some stationary with pictures of friends along the edges. She and
her dad went to a bookstore and bought some sort of feminist book, as she
described it, but I haven't seen it yet so I'm not sure what it is.

Cyrus (my dh) took Roya to work and went to his work and picked Roya up early
and went to an optometrist appointment. Then he came home and worked on our
taxes and took Roya to the bookstore. Judging from the dirty dishes in the
kitchen, he concocted something from rice-a-roni and eggs and I think he also
watched a soccer game that he'd taped from this morning.

Roxana (14) was staying overnight at her friend's house. They met Rosie and
me and her friends at the park around 1 and the kids all played in the park
for the afternoon while the moms and dads talked. I left around 4 with
Roxana; Rosie stayed with friends at the park.

Roxana and I went to the Los Angeles Music Center (about 30 minutes from us)
to see the LA Opera perform The Magic Flute. I'd never seen it and didn't
know anything about it and I can now report that it was the GOOFIEST thing
I've ever seen <G>.

DH and Roya were asleep when we got home around midnight, Rosie was watching
the Cosby Show on the couch but fell asleep within minutes of us getting
home. Rox and I heated up some canned baked beans and she's reading an Agatha
Christie book while I'm online.

The dog didn't eat anything chocolate today. <G>

--pamS

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/10/2002 7:55:09 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:


> << Some people wonder how much time it
> takes and when I say "30 minutes to 4 hours" they can't believe it. >>

Somebody asked me this lately - this was someone who KNOWS about how we live
and that we don't do school, but had a momentary lapse. I laughed and said,
"Well, luckily, none of us spent any time in a coma today, so we didn't miss
a minute."

--pam


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Camille Bauer

My 6 year old and almost 3 year old are going to
make incredible handy men later on!>>

Let them start now :) My 4 yr old goes to work with dh every saturday, and is a great helper... plus they get special time together

CamilleGet more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com


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Tia Leschke

>
>Somebody asked me this lately - this was someone who KNOWS about how we live
>and that we don't do school, but had a momentary lapse. I laughed and said,
>"Well, luckily, none of us spent any time in a coma today, so we didn't miss
>a minute."

I like that one. I often say, "none of my time and all of my time." Since
we don't ever (anymore) "do school", it doesn't take any of my time. But
I'm always on duty in the sense of observing, listening, keeping an eye out
for interesting resources, helping when asked, etc.
Tia

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
*********************************************
Tia Leschke
leschke@...
On Vancouver Island

Tia Leschke

>
>Let them start now :) My 4 yr old goes to work with dh every saturday, and
>is a great helper... plus they get special time together

My son had his first paying job when he was 4. He was with his dad cutting
up firewood at a constuction site. The drywallers asked if he wanted to
make some cash cleaning up after them. He wouldn't stop until he had
finished the job to *his* satisfaction. Around the same time, they came
home with a load of firewood. Dh backed the truck into the yard and then
went off briefly to do something else. When he came back, Lars had almost
the whole load off the truck. That was when I knew I didn't need to worry
about his being able to make some kind of a living. He has saved us
service calls for appliances a few times by insisting on having a look
first. Kids love to do useful things.
Tia

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
*********************************************
Tia Leschke
leschke@...
On Vancouver Island

Lyonness

<<<Let them start now :) My 4 yr old goes to work with dh every saturday,
and is a great helper... plus they get special time together>>>>>

Actually they do help my hubby, that was what I was referring to.

Bec,
Camano Island Homeschoolers,
Washington Unschoolers,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Washingtonunschoolers/


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