nellebelle

It's that time of year when aquaintances ask me if we continue homeschooling in the summer.

I try to explain that we don't homeschool differently in the summer, because the way we learn doesn't look like school anyway. I'm getting tired of trying to explain, and thought that I would just say, "we're taking the summer off", the next time I'm asked.

While pulling weeds this evening, I thought instead that I could say, "Oh, we make it a point to avoid all learning during the summer".

Now I'm eager for someone to ask!

Mary Ellen

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Heidi

This is GOOD, MaryEllen.

It's happening to me, too, and I haven't known just what to say,
though I think I helped one mom see the value of taking the summer to
just watch her kids. Told her a little bit about how I've watched
Katie (My most Unschooled child) learn so many things without me
teaching her, and said "Just relax. Take the whole summer off, and
watch your kids. Just observe them. They're learning, even when
you're NOT teaching them."

And then she wanted to talk about some very cool curriculum she'd
found at a homeschoolers' conference, and about how they tested their
boy (Katie's age...8...and a slow reader) and found out he has no
peripheral vision (gimme a break) AND how they have lenses they can
fit him with to help with that.

ugh. They have THAT kind of thing, at these homeschooler conferences?
Sheesh. But she wasn't going to get the lenses. Too expensive, but
she WAS so relieved to find out the reason WHY her son was such a
late starter and a slow reader...poor mom. Poor kids. Trapped in a
schoolish mentality, and the stress that comes with it.

Well, sheesh. Didn't mean to get all tangential there. :\

"We make it a point to avoid all learning in the summer." Good.

HeidiC


>
> While pulling weeds this evening, I thought instead that I could
say, "Oh, we make it a point to avoid all learning during the summer".
>
> Now I'm eager for someone to ask!
>
> Mary Ellen
>

Betsy

**While pulling weeds this evening, I thought instead that I could say,
"Oh, we make it a point to avoid all learning during the summer".

Now I'm eager for someone to ask!**

I'd be tempted to go the other way with a cheery "it's summer all the
time at my house". (Let them chew on that a little!) But I'm braver on
paper than in real life.

Betsy

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/27/03 1:05:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
nellebelle@... writes:

> While pulling weeds this evening, I thought instead that I could say, "Oh,
> we make it a point to avoid all learning during the summer".
>
>

I like that. I always say "Life happens year round." They always look at me
funny and then walk off. No one knows what to say to that and I get my point
across.
Pam G.


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Julie Bogart

--- In [email protected], genant2@a...
wrote:
> In a message dated 6/27/03 1:05:30 AM Eastern Daylight
Time,
> nellebelle@c... writes:
>
> > While pulling weeds this evening, I thought instead that I
could say, "Oh,
> > we make it a point to avoid all learning during the summer".
> >
> >
>
> I like that. I always say "Life happens year round." They always
look at me
> funny and then walk off. No one knows what to say to that and I
get my point
> across.


These are great! "Are you taking the summer off?"

Another one:
We do year round unschooling. No breaks. :)

Julie B

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/27/2003 1:05:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
nellebelle@... writes:


> Now I'm eager for someone to ask!
>
So Mary Ellen,

Will you continue to homeschool during the summer? Don't you give the kids a
vacation?

~Kelly <g>


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[email protected]

In a message dated 6/27/2003 10:42:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
ecsamhill@... writes:

> I'd be tempted to go the other way with a cheery "it's summer all the
> time at my house". (Let them chew on that a little!) But I'm braver on
> paper than in real life.

I say, "Every day is Saturday! Every month is July!"

~Kelly


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[email protected]

In a message dated 6/27/2003 11:12:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
julie@... writes:

> Another one:
> We do year round unschooling. No breaks. :)

Oh, but then they think you are some hard-ass slave driver! "Well, MY kids
get a break---after all, they've been learning ALL year!" :-P~~~~~

They REALLY don't understand.

Living is learning is unschooling is living is learning is unschooling.

~Kelly


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[email protected]

In a message dated 6/27/03 8:27:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
kbcdlovejo@... writes:

> Will you continue to homeschool during the summer? Don't you give the kids
> a
> vacation?
>

LOL

The first summer after I removed Kass and Kree from school, my own grandma,
the twins great-grandma, asked the same question. My aunts explained to her
that since my kids don't go to school, it doesn't really matter how we do summer.


My grandma, well, she went off. Saying that the girls are so smart they
deserve summer vacation. I tried to explain that we unschool, so they never really
stop learning. She had a fit and a half. She was stuck in that if all the
other kids in the world get a summer, then her great granddaughters deserved one
too! My aunts did no better and just got frustrated with trying to explain it.
Finally I gave in. "You're right Grandma, I won't make them learn anything for
the summer." She was happy and dropped the argument just after saying, "I may
be old, but I know everyone needs a vacation!"

So the topic was dropped and she felt like she had won. I guess what was
more important than the argument, was that my grandma made it clear she supported
our decision to not do school anymore, she just wanted to make sure my girls
had fun too and didn't work too hard during the summer. Even now she doesn't
get what we do, only that I don't make them do anything.

Rhonda


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Tia Leschke

>
> While pulling weeds this evening, I thought instead that I could say, "Oh,
we make it a point to avoid all learning during the summer".

One of my friends got a letter from her brother asking if they were taking
the summer off. She wrote a hilarious answer about how she tried and tried
to prevent their learning anything but they had thwarted her at every turn.
Tia

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." Ben Franklin
leschke@...

Fausey

----- Original Message -----
From: RJHill241@...
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2003 10:20 AM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] unschooling for the summer


Even now she doesn't
get what we do, only that I don't make them do anything.

Rhonda
******************************************
Well, you can tell she loves them and that is probably more important than that she understands what unschooling is.

Smile.

Nichole

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[email protected]

In a message dated 6/27/03 10:00:36 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
ms_fausey@... writes:

> Well, you can tell she loves them and that is probably more important than
> that she understands what unschooling is.
>
> Smile.
>
> Nichole
>

Yes, Nichole, you are so very right. It was my aunts who were frustrated, it
actually made me smile a lot. I think being the first born grandchild, even to
this day, gives me far more leeway where Grandma is concerned. Now she tells
my cousins who are just beginning to have children in the last 3 years, that
they better pay attention to what I do and not send their kids to school. LMAO
They just look and me and say "OK Grandma, we'll look into it." Then I get the
"Thanx a lot for another hot idea..." look from said cousins. Hehehe My
grandma's one and only concern is that we enjoy life. She also has an extreme
affection for my DH, she thinks he can walk on water! But that's for another
thread. LOL

Rhonda - The bad influence


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Julie Bogart

--- In [email protected], Tia Leschke
<leschke@s...> wrote:
>
> >
> > While pulling weeds this evening, I thought instead that I
could say, "Oh,
> we make it a point to avoid all learning during the summer".
>
> One of my friends got a letter from her brother asking if they
were taking
> the summer off. She wrote a hilarious answer about how she
tried and tried
> to prevent their learning anything but they had thwarted her at
every turn.
> Tia

Thought of another one:

We believe so much in taking breaks from school that we're on
permanent break...

Julie

[email protected]

I've said that unless they're in a coma, they're going to be learning, and
summer's the same as any weekend or any other day, because we have zero
"schooldays."

I'm not really positive that people don't learn when they're in a coma, but
if they're not dreaming, maybe so.

Sandra

momo3kaj

Guess I need a new unschooly answer but...
When we started homeschooling and questions arose (during school hours
or vacations when we were out and about) we would say "We homeschool
so we are either always in school or never in school depending on how
you look at it."

Beth in MD

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/27/03 8:13:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
scott-wecht@... writes:

> "We homeschool
> so we are either always in school or never in school depending on how
> you look at it."
>

That is EXACTLY what I always say. I usually say one or the other depending
on who is asking.. lol. Either, we are always in school. *wink wink.. Or we
are always on break *BG...

Teresa


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