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I am in awe of my little girl, who will be 4 in July. There is something
about the age of three. There is no doubt watching her how learning happens.
I remember having the same awe about my oldest daughter when she was three,
and I sent her to preschool to encourage her brilliance :0(

The guilt of what I may have done to that exuberance for the world around her
just gets me. Getting a second chance to watch my second daughter not be
interfered with is such a blessing.

She does have a 4yo friend who is going off to kindergarten next year and has
told my 3yo. This child's mother works at home, and still sends her to
daycare a few times a week, or to my house, and she doesn't even really know
me. Her child can spend hours in my house unchecked. She even called me up
and offered me a fulltime childcare opportunity "because she heard I was
homeschooling now". Okay, I won't go there!

But my 3yo asked a few weeks ago could she go to kindergarten when she is
4yo. I said if she wants to, but she doesn't have to. She can stay home with
mommy if she wants. She told me a few days ago she doesn't want to go to K,
she wants to stay home with me and homeschool.

I have never used the word homeschool with her, maybe she picked it up by
hearing my oldest and I talk about it. She has been asking for "homework" so
she can homeschool now. She draws me pictures of chickens by tracing her hand
and putting a smiley face on the thumb.

I just discovered she can write a letter A(her name is Ashlyn). Brings back
memories of when my oldest was almost 4 and could write the letter M(her name
is Megan). They both taught themselves. I remember telling Megan M circle M
spelled MOM, and she started writing MOM everywhere.

I don't know why Ashlyn changed her mind about kindergarten. Maybe because
she heard Megan, who was deciding to go to 6th grade middle school next fall,
abruptly say she was never going back to school and that was that, and she
wouldn't care if I ever mentioned school again. She insists I didn't
influence her decision, she just came to her senses.

She said her 6th grader cousin was trying to lure her to school yesterday
with talk of band, dances, lockers, etc. She said she had a comeback for
everything the cousin brought up. She said she knows she can get those things
without school. She sounds much more confident about it than a few weeks ago.


YAY!!!!!!!!!

Ang
Unschooling mom to
Megan(10) Ashlyn(3) Christian(1.5)
<A HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/unolist/index.html">UNO Unschoolers Network of Ohio</A>
<A HREF="http://members.aol.com/megamom08/page1.html">My Links Page MEGAMOM08</A>


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