KT

>
>
>Do you think I should tell them up front that I don't plan on making
>my kids do anything they don't want to do or that the girls may quit
>if they are not into it?
>

Usually for me, that issue is handled on a case-by-case basis. I don't
send Will in alone to certain kinds of classes. I volunteer if I have
to (Zoo Academy), and then I run interference for him. I either quietly
tell him he doesn't have to do that sheet, or suggest a way to do it
that would be more palatable, or I suggest to the teacher/instructor
another way. At times, I've quietly stated his options to *him* in
response to a direct question by the teacher/instructor, subtley daring
her to impose her will on him through me. That has had to happen more
than once, unfortunately. I freaked out on this list over the Zoo
Academy pre-homework earlier this year, and it was all for naught. I've
been doing this kind of thing all Will's life, and I don't know where my
head was.

He participates in a lot of things without me now. He knows his
options. I wouldn't necessarily tell the woman who's organizing the
silk road thing what your children's options are, but I'd make sure your
kids knew them, and I would be prepared to deflect any criticism or
conflict over it.

Tuck