Pam Hartley

> they're all just glad they won't have to get up at 6:00 am and ride the bus
> for an hour again. :o)

Boy, that would make me glad, too! LOL. We're not morning people.

> Anyhow, I'm finding myself looking at catalogs, Internet sites, garage sales,
> wondering what to buy. Because we have always been a school at home family,
> we don't have many games other than the regular "milton bradley type" board
> games. I don't want to blow a bunch of money on stuff that will just sit. I
> also don't want to fall into buying a bunch of curriculum. I REALLY want to
do
> this right. If you were just beginning to unschool, knowing what you know
> now, and you had some money to spend of fun, cool stuff, what would you buy?

Here we have a weekly allowance for every man, woman and child to spend on
what they like; when we're "in funds" ;) we buy other stuff (we just
finished a big job that will allow us to buy a computer upgrade and a new
TV, for example). I would hand over the money to the kids and let them pick
now or save for later, their choice. Keep a portion of it yourself and buy
what interests YOU (whether that's gardening supplies or cooking stuff or
fancy mice or novels about regency England) and, if you're feeling
agreeable, share those interests with any interested child, and of course
take a keen interest in what they use their time and money on, too.

The money doesn't have to be spent now. "Back to school" time is only for
schools, you don't have to figure out a year's worth of interests and fun by
Sept. 1.

>
> Also, what would you do for a while? Would you take a good while and see
> what everyone wants to do? Am I getting ready to be pulled like taffy into 6
> different directions? :oO

Yes, and possibly yes. ;) Think of fun things you'd like to do and places
you'd like to go and invite them. They'll come up with their own, too, and
soon you'll all be so busy juggling schedules you'll wonder what you were
worried about.

>
> 2 of my boys can barely read, and it means a LOT to them to be able to. If
> learning to read is what a child REALLY wants, would any of you get some sort
> of aides or maybe computer games to help them with this? Would you just read
a
> lot to them?

I'd offer to help them in any way they wanted help. If you do start "a
curriculum" with them to read, make sure you make it clear that it's their
choice whether to start or continue, their choice when they want to end it,
and that if the curriculum doesn't happen to work out for them that it is
ITS fault, not theirs.

One thing my 8 year old enjoy these days is reading books with me -- she
reads the words she knows and I read the rest.

Pam