Gary m and Mary Anne Taylor

I agree with Sandy that the responses to 'deadlines' have been fantastic. Just to let you know, Sandy, I believe that at least some of the problem with my 14dd has been just that 'learned helplessness' from school and from me directing her during earlier homeschooling. Even though we were more relaxed than most people around us, I was always pressuring them to do something 'educational', not fully realizing that they learn from everything and one thing leads to another. Don't know if this makes sense to you, a good short book on it is Frank Smith's 'Learning and Forgetting'.
Anyway, I think the answer with her is to be more 'unschooly', so that's why I was seeking suggestions here. Someone commented on 14 as an age of 'boy craziness', and that is sooo happenin' here. Think it's a big part of the boredom. That makes me feel better, to know it's more common. It brings back a lot of memories for me but my childhood was so unhappy that I didn't think of myself as normal.
Jennifer, we are in the same kind of 'no friends for oldest' situation as you. We have tried having her join a mostly unschooling group in a town an hour away, but that didn't click, either. May try again, though....
Nancy, thanks for the info about Farley Mowat- we'll try some more of his books.
Mary T.


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