sharon childs

Bonni,

Thank you so much for that letter. It is the most informative thing I have
read so far on how to go about the daily routine. I am going to print this
and try to use it as a guide. It sounds so good. I love the way the whole
family fits into it. I like the idea of the family being involved, then it
truly is a lifestyle and that is exactly what I want. I have really started
including the two year old in the last couple of days and it is great. I
figured he would be too young to do anything constructive with but we have
been having a great time doing things I normally don't let him do much of.
Last night we had to go to Vegas and my son had to get his annual drug test
for the union (they have to do it every year on or near their birthday to
get a current "clean" card. ). The children and I waited for him in and
around the car for an hour and I thought it would really be a drag, but we
had a ball. WE played catch, we talked about the things surrounding us in
view, we laughed a lot and the time went so fast. When my son came out and
apologized for taking so long we told him we didn't care because we were
having a great time. He at first thought I was being sarcastic then
realized I wasn't.

I get so tired some times that I forget to have fun with them like I did my
kids when they (and I) were young.

You don't know what a help it is to get your routine run-down. When I
started homeschooling I asked homeschooler support groups for a "run down"
on their routine because I was unsure how to go about it but not one person
gave me any insight. The leader of the group wrote a nasty little reply and
said "Look, we are not going to come and homeschool your grand-daughter so
if you don't think you can do it you better put her in public school she is
not our problem". Needless to say I unsubbed and this is the first list I
have joined since then.

Homeschooling was far better than public school for us but it never turned
out to be what I thought it would. *Book study* is more pleasant at home
for her, but it is still *book study*. I really feel that unschooling is
going to be our way of life. I have been thinking of tactful ways to
present some of these ideas to my son bit by bit. So far it has been a
positive experience.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bonni Sollars" <BSOLLARS@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 11:24 AM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] STOP IT!


> Sharon, I only started unschooling in the fall and this group has helped
> me a lot. I hope that you realize your posts have really delighted me,
> and that you will not leave. I can usually tell the attitude or content
> by the first sentence of a post and will just delete it if it isn't for
> me. Every one has something to offer. Your questions are very
> thought-provoking and your comments interesting. Even though I started
> unschooling in the Fall, the way we unschool has changed considerably
> since then as my understanding has changed. The way we do things at my
> house is as we're getting ready for the day we talk about what we want to
> do-myself included- and where we want to go-usually this has nothing to
> do with subjects and everything to do with interesting, fun things. Then
> we write it all down so everyone gets included. At the start, I
> interviewed my children to hear what they are interested in. I wrote it
> down and posted it on the wall to remind myself to be on the lookout for
> things that my kids would be interested in. Each week we have a family
> meeting to discuss problems or ideas the children or I have. These are
> not necessarily academic. I have just started making a sort of newspaper
> to document what the children do from week to week. I intend to save
> these for future reference, and as documentation that they are learning.
> We go to the library at least twice a week so they can use the
> educational computer games or the internet. We usually check out lots of
> books too. My three boys have math textbooks that they at first thought
> they had to do because they weren't de-schooled yet. But now, they just
> use it as a reference book when they have a question. They write and
> email relatives and friends. They experiment with magnets, plants and
> draw and write books. They build things and make plans and know I will
> be there to help them and support them. The children are delighted that
> I listen to them and to their interests and help them find ways to
> explore these things. They play a lot of board games. We go out of
> doors a lot, down by the river or up to the mountains when we have gas.
> The coast is an hour or so away. I know that if I let them play, they go
> sort of in spurts of devouring different subjects, then a rest. I
> realize that this is how I learn, too. My daughter has had very little
> of my input about math- maybe around fifteen minutes of introducing
> little interesting things to her- and the rest she has figured out. I
> don't know how any more than I know how she learned to talk and walk.
> They figure things out as their curiosity leads them to ask questions and
> explore. If I show them something and they are not interested, I drop
> it. If they are interested, they carry it. Often they come to me with
> questions and we explore it together. I add it on the list of interests
> so I remember to look for it later.
> Is any of this of use to you?
> Is Chaelene involved in 4-H?
> Bonni
>
>
> 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/
>
>

Tia Leschke

>
>I get so tired some times that I forget to have fun with them like I did my
>kids when they (and I) were young.

I can sure relate to that. My toddler grandson can wear me out in less
than an hour!


>You don't know what a help it is to get your routine run-down. When I
>started homeschooling I asked homeschooler support groups for a "run down"
>on their routine because I was unsure how to go about it but not one person
>gave me any insight.

It's hard for unschoolers especially to help someone with routines because
we all do things so differently, even from day to day. On another list I'm
on we tend to laugh (not in an unfriendly way) when someone asks about a
typical day. But the person always gets some answers, even though they're
prefaced by, "Well, this isn't a typical day because there's no such thing,
but here's one of our days."

>The leader of the group wrote a nasty little reply and
>said "Look, we are not going to come and homeschool your grand-daughter so
>if you don't think you can do it you better put her in public school she is
>not our problem". Needless to say I unsubbed and this is the first list I
>have joined since then.

That list sounds like one we'd all want to avoid.
Tia

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