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Wow...thanks, Ned! Your posts answered alot of my recent (since joining
the list) concerns (on my 'ability' to be a REAL unschooler).

Before joining, and only going by reading a few HEM magazines and J.
Holt books, I'd 'thought' I wanted to unschool. In fact, I acknowledged
to myself that we'd already been unschoolers since Emma was born (she's
now three). It felt natural to me, being a devotee to attachement
(child-led) parenting.

After reading a few of the threads, I began to worry....I began to think
that if I was an 'unschooler' that meant that I could never 'teach' my
daughter things. That word seemed to be a big NO NO here : )
Ever since, I've had a hard time trying to wrap my brain around the
concept of unschooling. Maybe I had it all wrong, I wondered?!

Now, with your post, it all begins to feel natural again! I can 'teach'
Em to cook since she loves it!). I can 'teach' her how a plant can grow
from a seed (since she's curious)! And when she asks, I can teach her
what different sounds letters make. I really didn't like being paranoid
of using that word....teach : )

Getting back to phonics books....Have you heard anything about Reading
Reflex? It's a'new(?) method of phonics where there are no rules to
learn...and they use terms like 'sound pictures' (the letters that
represent the sounds in words). I've a friend out in CA who is tutoring
using this book/method and she claims that it is the best thing she's
ever seen (and she's beena reading tutor for 20some years). I've just
ordered it and haven't had a chance to read yet, so I'd be very
interested in any feedback. I'm not intending to drill my dd with
it...but I am looking into finding a better way to answer some of her
'reading' questions than I how learned in ps....because frankly, I
cannot remember alot of what I learned (imagine that!)...but I do
remember that I had a hard time with all those rules : ).

~ Denise in Louisiana (which is ALSO a great state to learn at home)!