[email protected]

On 1 Apr 00, at 9:27, Joshua Heath wrote:

> Sue, I looked at your web-site, and you said you were planning on going to
> the farm in 1998. Did you end up going, and for how long? I would love to
> hear how it went.
> Joshua

Hi Joshua,

Well yes I did go to the farm in 1998, I arrived exactly two years
ago yesterday and I'm still here!!

Check out the farm website... it's my son Nathan's work with Dick's
ramblings, I did some of the wording on "The Compost Happens"
page and I did the visitors page. The two little girls on the first
page are my little ones

I really need to update my website and say that I'm now living on
the farm and tell a bit more about it.





- Sue -

The Winona Farm in Minnesota Welcomes Unschoolers All Year Round
My website: http://members.xoom.com/sue_m_e
Farm website: http://homepage.rconnect.com/winfarm
Farm newsletter: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/Winonafarm

"To believe in something, and not to live it, is to be dishonest."
-Mahatma Gandhi

Lisa Bugg

>
> Now my partner wonders what you share with your children. He
> seems to have a problem with Dads staying at home with the kids
> as he wonders what example they are setting.
>
>
What example does he think they are setting? What example is he setting by
going off to work (if he does) every day?

My dh is setting a terrible example this week. He's worked away from home
too much, matter of fact, he's gone now. The example I'm setting reminds
everyone of an old, wet, hen......

Hope everyone's Saturday is better than mine. <G>

Lisa

[email protected]

> > Now my partner wonders what you share with your children. He
> > seems to have a problem with Dads staying at home with the kids
> > as he wonders what example they are setting.
> >
> >
> What example does he think they are setting?

I'm really not sure. Dick is old you see, so you have to realise he
comes from a different world to most of us(-;

> What example is he setting by
> going off to work (if he does) every day?

He had two families, with his first he and his wife both worked [he
was a teacher] and she a nurse, so mostly while she worked he
played domestic engineer and looked after the children.
He and his second wife ran a dairy herd, and the kids participated,
then when the farm almost went under he drove semi and would
often take his children on the road with him.
Now with my kids he talks with them a lot, he read every one of
"The Little House on the Prairie" books to them last winter, he
listens and treats them with respect.


> My dh is setting a terrible example this week. He's worked away from home
> too much, matter of fact, he's gone now.

My ex was like that, I'm afraid the example he often set was that
work was the most important thing in his life.

> The example I'm setting reminds
> everyone of an old, wet, hen......

You're probably not that bad Lisa.

>
> Hope everyone's Saturday is better than mine. <G>
>
Hope your day improves.




- Sue -

The Winona Farm in Minnesota Welcomes Unschoolers All Year Round
My website: http://members.xoom.com/sue_m_e
Farm website: http://homepage.rconnect.com/winfarm
Farm newsletter: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/Winonafarm

"To believe in something, and not to live it, is to be dishonest."
-Mahatma Gandhi

Joshua Heath

> Now my partner wonders what you share with your children. He
> seems to have a problem with Dads staying at home with the kids
> as he wonders what example they are setting.

I have thought a lot about this aspect... It seems to me that "society"
presents us with two acceptable schemes for supporting a family.
1. Dad works and mom stays home.
2. (more recently) Both parents work, and use PSing as daycare.
It seems to me the time is ripe for a new a new scheme where both parents
contribute financially, but niether has to work so much that them can not
also contribute to the "domestic engineering" aspects of life. Eventually I
hope to create that kind of life... but for now my wife is full-time(+).
The opposite extreme...
As to the example i set... I also think it is important for my sons to
have an image of their father as a "contributor" so I emphasize the value in
the work I do do- cooking, cleaning, etc... also they have seen me do lots
of different jobs including last summer and this summer upcoming when my
wife will take 2 months of and I will work planting trees for 3 months.
Last summer the highlight of thier summer was when they camped out in the
treeplanting camp where I was working for 2 weeks... It was so much fun, and
I do think it is important for all children to value the work that both
parents are doing otherwise it undermines thier respect for them.

But mostly I feel it is the fathers that miss out by working so much... I
can't imaging it any more. Not after I have experienced the difference in
the depth of my connection to them. In an ideal world I think both parents
should have the privledge of experiencing this closeness with their
children.

Joshua Heath

Sue, I looked at your web-site, and you said you were planning on going to
the farm in 1998. Did you end up going, and for how long? I would love to
hear how it went.
Joshua
----- Original Message -----
From: <sue.m.e@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, April 01, 2000 12:21 AM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Domestic dads Out of Hiding


>
> > > Hi! I'm Kyle and my wife is Paula. We have two children, Steven
13
> > > and Kayla 9> Being the primary domestic engineer for the past six
> > years I would
> > > love to here from any other homedads if there are any of you out
there.
> > > Kyle
> > Hi Kyle,
> > My name is Joshua and my wife is Selina. We have 2 boys, Jordan (8) and
> > Daylon (just about 6). I too am the "primary domestic engineer" in our
> > household.
>
> Wow, I'm impressed two Dads who not only stay home as the
> primary domestic engineers [I love that] but also homeschool!!
>
> Now my partner wonders what you share with your children. He
> seems to have a problem with Dads staying at home with the kids
> as he wonders what example they are setting.
>
> In defense of you guys, I asked him what example his Mother
> showed him and pointed out that all his strong traits [he's a
> scrounge] and interests were fostered by his Mother and what she
> did. Way back when he was a child his Mother was very frugal,
> she was divorced but never took a job, instead she rented rooms
> and lived simply. This rubbed off on Dick and he worked many
> hours as a teen, was in the marines for three years during the
> Korean thing, and saved most of his money and had a sizeable
> sum to put down as a deposit on the farm. She was a keen
> gardener and knew the benefits of adding organic matter to the
> sandy soil to improve it. This has turned Dick into an organic
> fanatic, you should see the size of our compost pile... we even
> composted the neighbours dead cow!! She was very interested in
> birds and at an early age Dick learned all he could about birds in
> an unschooled way. Also his Mother was a very tidy person, and
> while this didn't rub off onto him the desire for order did, making for
> some frustrations, as sometimes we have a bit too much to do
> here for the place to be kept orderly.
>
> So hopefully he may now look at the role of stay-at-home parents
> of any gender as the most important job there is.
>
>
>
>
> - Sue -
>
> The Winona Farm in Minnesota Welcomes Unschoolers All Year Round
> My website: http://members.xoom.com/sue_m_e
> Farm website: http://homepage.rconnect.com/winfarm
> Farm newsletter: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/Winonafarm
>
> "To believe in something, and not to live it, is to be dishonest."
> -Mahatma Gandhi
>
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