Danielle E. Conger

At 01:48 PM 1/2/2004 +0000, kayb85 wrote:
>We've just kind of gotten used
>to the idea that if we want to do anything cool we have to drive.

Yeah, that describes us perfectly. We do a lot of driving to different
places and take lots of cool trips. It's not about having things in your
backyard--okay, it's not *only* about having things in your backyard. <LOL>

We live about 40 min. outside of DC, on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake
Bay. We have the best of both worlds, in my opinion. There are many great
museums and historical sites within a 3 hour drive, but much of the stuff
that we do on a daily basis is local. The Chesapeake is rich in fossils. We
can take a 2 mile hike in the woods to get to a great beach where we can go
fossil hunting and enjoy a beautiful day outside. We have nature walks
through cypress swamp lands nearby, and the beach and boardwalk are a half
mile drive from our home.

In our backyard, we have a really great pond, stocked with comets and koi.
It attracts tons of frogs, dragonflies and the occasional box turtle. We
maintain bird feeders, which are such a joy! We get Carolina Chickadees,
Juncos, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Titmice, Nuthatches, House Wrens, House
Finches, Gold Finches, Downy Woodpeckers, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Yellow
Shafted Flickers and the occasional Eastern Blue Bird. We back up against
deciduous woodlands and wetlands, and we occasionally see a Pileated
Woodpecker out there. Within a short drive there's a whole host of
different birds--water birds that are amazingly graceful to watch. Last
year, we watched a mating dance between two Yellow Shafted Flickers, and it
was very cool! I love my birds!

I don't think I'd give up all this nature to be closer to the city. Nature
is just too important to me. We drive, and enjoy it all!

Danielle E. Conger

At 05:26 PM 1/2/2004 +0000, Brandy wrote:
>Geocaching with the kids has
>taken me to places literally five minutes from my house, that I never
>knew existed. Cool landmarks, hidden parks, awesome nature preserves.

I have been reading more about letterboxing, and we're definitely going to
be doing that this spring! It seems like so much fun!

--danielle

Danielle E. Conger

At 04:17 PM 1/2/2004 -0500, LauraBourdo@... wrote:
>Dreams of quiet country living will have to be deferred. (I truly envy the
>Chesapeake Bay poster, though -- was that danielle? What an idyllic set-up
>that is. :-)

Yeah, that was me. And I forgot to mention all the bald eagles nesting on
the shore line. That was truly a marvelous sight the first time I saw one
soaring in the wild!

We have friends who live in Takoma Park--in the city, but with it's own
small town center. It's easy to be envious of them, too--being able to walk
down their main street or jump on a metro into the museums.

Really, though, we're only about 45 minutes door to parking space for the
Smithsonian and about an hour and a quarter from Baltimore's Inner Harbor,
so it truly is an ideal location. We're about 4.5 hours from dh's family,
which is also pretty great. They have a shore house up in Jersey and live
on the train line to NYC. I'm looking forward to doing the Statue of
Liberty this Spring.

I feel very lucky to live where we do; I would truly hate to leave.

--danielle

Danielle E. Conger

At 09:13 PM 1/2/2004 -0500, Mattamandab@... wrote:
>Although today we did rearrange
>our scrapbook supplies, do playdough, read books, play a game, play the
>piano,
>sing songs, and hang paper snowflakes in the windows... not too bad. But
>I'd
>love to have had warm weather instead.

You're the second person today who mentioned playdough. We just bought two
new four packs today, and there's nothing like new playdough! All those
bright colors, and it's so nice and soft. It just makes me happy! And each
four pack only cost $1.49--made me realize that I just don't buy new
playdough often enough!

--danielle

[email protected]

I'm wondering if anyone has any thought on unschooling in the suburbs Vs. the
country or city. We currently live in the suburbs of a city that doesn't
have all those great things that people cite about being great to unschool in the
city with. There is one children's museum for small kids, but NO art museum,
science museum, zoo, aquarium,etc. It think that WashingtonDC or NYC or
Boston here on the east coast would be ideal it seems, but we're definately not
moving to any of those areas.

We are considering moving closer to my family in a small upstate NY town
several hours away from the closest city. My parents would be nearby & they love
the kids, live on a lake, near farm land,etc. Unfortunately there aren't many
jobs in that area and dh doesn't know what he could do in that area. He's a
geologist...not alot of work in small towns.
So many of the books of personal accounts on unschooling the family either
lives in the country on a farm (which we know nothing about but are interested
in) or in a great city with tons of stuff to do and activities to join.
What have been other people's experiences?
Thanks, Amanda


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

kayb85

We live in a little town. The nearest city is Harrisburg PA, about
an hour away. Baltimore is 2 hours. There's nothing culturally
going on here at all. But we do day trips to those kinds of places.
Our library doesn't have much, so we travel to other libraries
sometimes. With the PA Access sticker on the library card you can
use any library in the state. There are children's museums within an
hour's drive in several directions. We've just kind of gotten used
to the idea that if we want to do anything cool we have to drive.

Museums are good, but unschooling isn't all about museums. It's more
about living day to day life. Ordinary days lived to the fullest.

Sheila

--- In [email protected], Mattamandab@a... wrote:
> I'm wondering if anyone has any thought on unschooling in the
suburbs Vs. the
> country or city. We currently live in the suburbs of a city that
doesn't
> have all those great things that people cite about being great to
unschool in the
> city with. There is one children's museum for small kids, but NO
art museum,
> science museum, zoo, aquarium,etc. It think that WashingtonDC or
NYC or
> Boston here on the east coast would be ideal it seems, but we're
definately not
> moving to any of those areas.
>
> We are considering moving closer to my family in a small upstate NY
town
> several hours away from the closest city. My parents would be
nearby & they love
> the kids, live on a lake, near farm land,etc. Unfortunately there
aren't many
> jobs in that area and dh doesn't know what he could do in that
area. He's a
> geologist...not alot of work in small towns.
> So many of the books of personal accounts on unschooling the family
either
> lives in the country on a farm (which we know nothing about but are
interested
> in) or in a great city with tons of stuff to do and activities to
join.
> What have been other people's experiences?
> Thanks, Amanda
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

gehrkes

I live hours and hours from museums, and culture in Montana means
going to the bar on Saturday night.. Well its not that bad.. but
close. We do have small museums, local, that are very interesting.
We like to take several trips a year. Next one planned the Oregon
Coast to watch the whales go north. We also watch lots of TV> Last
night it was Eddie Izzard on HBO>>> Very good.I feel a pang of envy
for those folks who are a short distance away from museums and
zoos'.I can't wait to see what the next year will bring. Since I am
working on my need to control and force feed my kids info.
Kathleen







--- In [email protected], "kayb85" <sheran@p...>
wrote:
> We live in a little town. The nearest city is Harrisburg PA,
about
> an hour away. Baltimore is 2 hours. There's nothing culturally
> going on here at all. But we do day trips to those kinds of
places.
> Our library doesn't have much, so we travel to other libraries
> sometimes. With the PA Access sticker on the library card you can
> use any library in the state. There are children's museums within
an
> hour's drive in several directions. We've just kind of gotten
used
> to the idea that if we want to do anything cool we have to drive.
>
> Museums are good, but unschooling isn't all about museums. It's
more
> about living day to day life. Ordinary days lived to the fullest.
>
> Sheila
>
> --- In [email protected], Mattamandab@a...
wrote:
> > I'm wondering if anyone has any thought on unschooling in the
> suburbs Vs. the
> > country or city. We currently live in the suburbs of a city
that
> doesn't
> > have all those great things that people cite about being great
to
> unschool in the
> > city with. There is one children's museum for small kids, but
NO
> art museum,
> > science museum, zoo, aquarium,etc. It think that WashingtonDC
or
> NYC or
> > Boston here on the east coast would be ideal it seems, but we're
> definately not
> > moving to any of those areas.
> >
> > We are considering moving closer to my family in a small upstate
NY
> town
> > several hours away from the closest city. My parents would be
> nearby & they love
> > the kids, live on a lake, near farm land,etc. Unfortunately
there
> aren't many
> > jobs in that area and dh doesn't know what he could do in that
> area. He's a
> > geologist...not alot of work in small towns.
> > So many of the books of personal accounts on unschooling the
family
> either
> > lives in the country on a farm (which we know nothing about but
are
> interested
> > in) or in a great city with tons of stuff to do and activities
to
> join.
> > What have been other people's experiences?
> > Thanks, Amanda
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Wife2Vegman

--- "Danielle E. Conger" <danielle.conger@...>
wrote:
>
> We live about 40 min. outside of DC, on the Western
> Shore of the Chesapeake
> Bay. We have the best of both worlds, in my opinion.


You're right, you do!

We love the bay, and the VAEclectic homeschooling list
has made Breezy Point like the hot spot for the spring
and summer and early fall. There's always a bunch of
us heading over to hunt for shark's teeth, usually
starting in late April/early May. Lots of unschoolers
on that list.

You should join us this year when we go!




=====
--Susan in VA
WifetoVegman

What is most important and valuable about the home as a base for children's growth into the world is not that it is a better school than the schools, but that it isn't a school at all. John Holt

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[email protected]

We live 30 miles east of Houston and I have always driven everywhere. The
only place that isn't 30 miles plus away is the grocery store and, even then, I
sometimes drive into the specialty store in Houston. lol We are blessed with
a good library though and my ds loves to go and look at books and just hang
out and read. I love to do this too so we have a great time. We like checking
out PBS videos from the library as well and then coming home and watching them
with popcorn and a coke. I have learned more history and geography since we
started homeschooling then I ever did in school or college.

Hang in there and look around you, there are probably more things available
then you think.

Good Luck and have fun,
Laura


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/2/04 6:30:18 AM, Mattamandab@... writes:

<< So many of the books of personal accounts on unschooling the family either
lives in the country on a farm (which we know nothing about but are
interested
in) or in a great city with tons of stuff to do and activities to join.
What have been other people's experiences? >>

I live in Albuquerque. There are lots of things to do.

Families who have moved way out of town have kids who are frustrated at not
being able to get to town, and parents who are tired of the long drives.

We looked many times for land or a house we liked, east of town, in the
mountains, before we had kids and when Kirby was little. Now I am THRILLED that
we never found something we loved. We did move to a bigger house in town. We
can walk to Kinko's or Hollywood Video in two minutes. We used to have a
grocery store that close but it closed. We can walk to Lowe's (a big home
improvement store). The city bus stops within view of our back yard. Kirby has
had a job for three years at a gaming shop a mile from us. He can walk if he
needs to. We can decide to go to a movie twenty minutes before it starts.
Holly can walk to friends' houses.

We're not where "suburbs" in the isolated sense are a reality. The only
thing I've seen of that personally are the newer "bedroom communities" outside of
big cities in California. They have restaurants and stores, but other things
are in the older cities.

Luckily, our choices in New Mexico are towns or country.

Sandra

J. Stauffer

<<What have been other people's experiences?>>

I think the main thing is simply to do stuff you love doing, no matter where
you are. We love animals and growing food.....but we actually live inside
the city limits of a small town that will be a suburb of San Antonio in a
few years. We simply bring what we love with us.

We sometimes go to museums but not often because of the drive.....We have to
limit our animals because we do have neighbors....But what we mainly do is
make the most of the things around us, the things that make where we live
great. The kids go with me to all the stores....the owners know the kids
because it is a very small town and the kids often get an "inside" view into
things they wouldn't in a large city... Our mailman knows us and lets the
kids help with the mail....We know the people who have the adult foster care
facility and when one of the ladies wanders off, my kids have been known to
very caringly show them back to safety.

Bloom where you are planted <grin>

Julie S.
----- Original Message -----
From: <Mattamandab@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, January 02, 2004 7:13 AM
Subject: [UnschoolingDiscussion] unschooling in the suburbs


> I'm wondering if anyone has any thought on unschooling in the suburbs Vs.
the
> country or city. We currently live in the suburbs of a city that doesn't
> have all those great things that people cite about being great to unschool
in the
> city with. There is one children's museum for small kids, but NO art
museum,
> science museum, zoo, aquarium,etc. It think that WashingtonDC or NYC or
> Boston here on the east coast would be ideal it seems, but we're
definately not
> moving to any of those areas.
>
> We are considering moving closer to my family in a small upstate NY town
> several hours away from the closest city. My parents would be nearby &
they love
> the kids, live on a lake, near farm land,etc. Unfortunately there aren't
many
> jobs in that area and dh doesn't know what he could do in that area. He's
a
> geologist...not alot of work in small towns.
> So many of the books of personal accounts on unschooling the family either
> lives in the country on a farm (which we know nothing about but are
interested
> in) or in a great city with tons of stuff to do and activities to join.
> What have been other people's experiences?
> Thanks, Amanda
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
> "List Posting Policies" are provided in the files area of this group.
>
> To unsubscribe from this send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Visit the Unschooling website and message boards:
http://www.unschooling.com
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnschoolingDiscussion/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>

Mary

When we were looking for our house a few years ago, location was very
important to me. Joe and I had always talked about a lot of land and animals
but that was before kids. What we talked about was out in the boonies. And
even recently, Joe was still talking that way. But now that the kids are
older and really wanting to *do* things and have friends to do them with,
he's changed his mind. At least for now.

We are not big walkers unless we are actually just taking a walk. We do
drive everywhere. Tara can be at school in 5 minutes and at work in less
than 15. If I'm lucky to miss the red light at the intersection, I can be at
the shopping plaza in less than 5 minutes. I can grocery shop, go to Office
Depot, the movies, drug store, Bed, Bath and Beyond, (my new favorite store)
Burger King, Chili's and quite a few others. If I take the 15 minutes, I can
hit clothes, shoes, K Mart, Home Depot and many others. I completely stay
away from malls!!!

We can do 2 different libraries within 10 minutes and if I take 20, we can
hit the big one at the community college. A favorite park is just 10 minutes
away. They have a water park there too.

Museums, zoos and such will take a bit longer. Anywhere from a half hour to
a little over 1 hour. Still not bad at all. We love where we live. The
neighborhood couldn't be more diverse and friendly. I have all the comforts
of the town, even though we aren't actually near it, and still far enough
away not to feel cramped and hurried.

Mary B.
http://www.homeschoolingtshirts.com

Brandy

I'm taking a break from organizing the closet, but I wanted to chime
in here...

We're in Huntington Beach, which I guess would be considered a suburb
of Los Angeles. We travel up there (about 40 minutes depending on
traffic) whenever the kids want to go to the Natural History Museum,
which is usually the first Tuesday of the month when it is free :)

We spend almost all of our time here in West Orange County. One of
the coolest things that we have discovered is a treasure hunting game
called geocaching. You hunt for caches (usually a tupperware
container filled with trinkets) with a GPS device. The reason that I
mention this is that I have lived in this area for my whole life,
with the exception of a year in Arizona. Geocaching with the kids has
taken me to places literally five minutes from my house, that I never
knew existed. Cool landmarks, hidden parks, awesome nature preserves.

I'm sure that there are some neat places right where you live, just
waiting to be discovered :)

If you're interested in geocaching, they have a website...

www.geocaching.com

Brandy...off to organize again!

Michelle

There is also letterboxing, which is like geocaching, but you do not have to have a gps to do it. If you are interested in this, you can check them out at www.letterboxing.org.

Michelle

Brandy <bdel99@...> wrote:
I'm taking a break from organizing the closet, but I wanted to chime
in here...

We're in Huntington Beach, which I guess would be considered a suburb
of Los Angeles. We travel up there (about 40 minutes depending on
traffic) whenever the kids want to go to the Natural History Museum,
which is usually the first Tuesday of the month when it is free :)

We spend almost all of our time here in West Orange County. One of
the coolest things that we have discovered is a treasure hunting game
called geocaching. You hunt for caches (usually a tupperware
container filled with trinkets) with a GPS device. The reason that I
mention this is that I have lived in this area for my whole life,
with the exception of a year in Arizona. Geocaching with the kids has
taken me to places literally five minutes from my house, that I never
knew existed. Cool landmarks, hidden parks, awesome nature preserves.

I'm sure that there are some neat places right where you live, just
waiting to be discovered :)

If you're interested in geocaching, they have a website...

www.geocaching.com

Brandy...off to organize again!



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

I live in Syracuse, NY, a few blocks from downtown. It's not a big city, but
we do have a fairly large science museum w/children and adult type exhibits,
an art museum, a wonderful zoo, a professional theater company, a major
university w/the wonderful research libraries that come along with it...

A fifteen minute drive can take us to a variety of rural areas with hiking
and lots of nature exploration.

I don't like a lot of things where I live (Weather!!!), but I think it's a
wonderful place to unschool. I grew up in a very rural area with no other
houses for over a mile and no major city within easy driving distance, and although
I sometimes find myself wishing that my children had that more idyllic life
style, I also remember being bored a lot and wishing that I lived somewhere
with playgrounds, playmates, and a library that I could walk to!

--Jacqueline, who as a child only visited a zoo twice and a museum once


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Michelle

We have had a great time letterboxing. When we travel, we also include some time to get at least one box in the state we travel to. It gets us outdoors and moving. Lots of things to see and lots of intersting questions come up in our travels.

Michelle

"Danielle E. Conger" <danielle.conger@...> wrote:
At 05:26 PM 1/2/2004 +0000, Brandy wrote:
>Geocaching with the kids has
>taken me to places literally five minutes from my house, that I never
>knew existed. Cool landmarks, hidden parks, awesome nature preserves.

I have been reading more about letterboxing, and we're definitely going to
be doing that this spring! It seems like so much fun!

--danielle



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/2/04 11:37:37 AM Central Standard Time,
mummy124@...
writes:


> When we were looking for our house a few years ago, location was very
> important to me. Joe and I had always talked about a lot of land and animals
> but that was before kids. What we talked about was out in the boonies. And
> even recently, Joe was still talking that way. But now that the kids are
> older and really wanting to *do* things and have friends to do them with,
> he's changed his mind. At least for now.
>

Everyone in my family (myself included) has fantasies about living out in a
small town about an hour out of the city. We looked, longingly, at a place
about a month ago that would have been perfect for our dreams, but the reality of
it is that while I'm unschooling Liam, easy and speedy access to the
conveniences of the city are simply more important. At least, for him and for me. I
know that every family is different, and this does not specifically address
the question of the original poster.

It's just that his interests are only going to be satisfied by being close
in. Yes, we would develop other interests if we were in a small town
environment, but he's only got a year or so left until he goes off to college, and his
direction is pretty much set by now.

Dreams of quiet country living will have to be deferred. (I truly envy the
Chesapeake Bay poster, though -- was that danielle? What an idyllic set-up
that is. :-)

I work, however, with large numbers of homeschoolers from all around the
Houston Metroplex area, including many who live in small towns around the
periphery, and I would have to agree with the statement that it just takes a
willingness to drive for what is seen as truly important. Of course, metropolitan
unschooling means a lot of driving, too -- and in traffic. I'm on the road a
great deal of the time.

Point being, in some ways there isn't that big a difference between time
spent in the car for small town (suburb) or city families.

I guess it's a question of interests and of priorities.

Laura B.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

J. Stauffer

<<<<--Jacqueline, who as a child only visited a zoo twice and a museum
once>>>

I grew up in small town Texas. I had never been to a zoo until I was grown
and married. My dad used to take us to the cowboy history museum in Canyon.
He read every plaque and I was so bored.

I remember going into Amarillo in the mid-to-late 70's and the big thrill
was the underpass. There was actually a dip down about the height of a car
to go under another road. After those flat, flat roads all over the
panhandle, my stomach would jump like we were on a rollercoaster.

Dh who grew up just outside Philadelphia finds that rather sad and pathetic
<grin> but it is one of my favorite memories.

Julie S.

----- Original Message -----
From: <ivorygrace7@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, January 02, 2004 1:50 PM
Subject: Re: [UnschoolingDiscussion] unschooling in the suburbs


> I live in Syracuse, NY, a few blocks from downtown. It's not a big city,
but
> we do have a fairly large science museum w/children and adult type
exhibits,
> an art museum, a wonderful zoo, a professional theater company, a major
> university w/the wonderful research libraries that come along with it...
>
> A fifteen minute drive can take us to a variety of rural areas with hiking
> and lots of nature exploration.
>
> I don't like a lot of things where I live (Weather!!!), but I think it's a
> wonderful place to unschool. I grew up in a very rural area with no other
> houses for over a mile and no major city within easy driving distance, and
although
> I sometimes find myself wishing that my children had that more idyllic
life
> style, I also remember being bored a lot and wishing that I lived
somewhere
> with playgrounds, playmates, and a library that I could walk to!
>
>>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
> "List Posting Policies" are provided in the files area of this group.
>
> To unsubscribe from this send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Visit the Unschooling website and message boards:
http://www.unschooling.com
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnschoolingDiscussion/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/2/2004 4:53:02 PM Eastern Standard Time,
jnjstau@... writes:
<<I remember going into Amarillo in the mid-to-late 70's and the big thrill
was the underpass.>>

My first big city thrill was coming into Syracuse to check out the University
and seeing how all the highways are stacked up! I now live 1 block from
those "stacked up" highways and still marvel at them. My kids think I'm
crazy...but they can't believe we didn't have locks on our doors and that deer
regularly grazed in our backyard.

--Jacqueline, who will always be a country girl at heart


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

Ah yes... the wonderful weather in Syracuse, NY. We live near Albany, I
originally posted the suburbs question. My dd is only 1 and hates to travel so we
haven't yet taken my son to the zoo in Syracuse but we did visit the Bufflao
zoo last summer when visiting relatives. Will be there again this summer for
a few weddings and are planning on checking out the aquarium and Natural Sci
Museum.
All the people who live where there is nice weather year round I envy. It's
only Jan & I'm already sick of being inside. Although today we did rearrange
our scrapbook supplies, do playdough, read books, play a game, play the piano,
sing songs, and hang paper snowflakes in the windows... not too bad. But I'd
love to have had warm weather instead.
I guess that it matters most what we want to do as to where we should live.
We have enough yard to garden in and that we all enjoy in the summer..it will
have to do for now. Those of you in Canada must really have a short growing
season!
In the suburbs, we are too far to walk to anything but the library, parks,
and stores are only 5-15 minutes away by car.
Amanda


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Elizabeth Roberts

Because of the mess factor of playdough, Paul has always said it was "not allowed in his house."

Since beginning to unschool I've said to heck with that. The kids LIKE playdough, it's not really THAT expensive..you can MAKE it yourself if you really want to...and as long as we're in the kitchen with it and I make sure the mess is cleaned up...WHO CARES?!

And now...I actually have a "legal" argument for playdough...with Megan's Early Intervention evaluation saying she has some gross/fine motor skills that are behind, playdough is good for working with to strengthen her hands and whatnot. I've seen occupational therapists use it, so why not? Put that way, and Paul didn't have a problem with it. I bought quite a few shiny new packs of it for Christmas and the kids have had a blast with it and the cookie cutters I bought to go with them.

MamaBeth



Everything I need to know, I learned on my own!

---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

pam sorooshian

On Jan 2, 2004, at 7:02 PM, Elizabeth Roberts wrote:

> I've seen occupational therapists use it, so why not? Put that way,
> and Paul didn't have a problem with it. I bought quite a few shiny new
> packs of it for Christmas and the kids have had a blast with it and
> the cookie cutters I bought to go with them.

Homemade playdough used to be a staple in my house when my kids were
younger. It is easy and fun to make and homemade playdough can be a lot
more interesting than store-bought stuff.

Here is the recipe I usually use. To this add food coloring and any
kind of flavor extract - pineapple, chocolate, mint, vanilla, lemon,
etc. Or add spices. You can make different textures - try oatmeal in
it <G>. Make it orange and put pumpkin pie spices in it for
Thanksgiving.

Keep it in baggies.

Play with more utensils than cookie cutters. Try legos <G>.

• 2 c Flour
• 2 c Water
• 1 c Salt
• 2 tb Cream of tartar
• 1 tb Oil

Combine in a saucepan and heat until it forms a sort of stiff ball in
the pan. Then turn out onto newspapers and knead for a while as it
cools. Keep in baggies.

-pam
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.

J. Stauffer

<<<there's nothing like new playdough!>>>

We make homemade here. We use essential oils or spices to give it a
wonderful smell.

julie S.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Danielle E. Conger" <danielle.conger@...>
To: <[email protected]>;
<[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, February 02, 2003 8:32 PM
Subject: Re: [UnschoolingDiscussion] unschooling in the suburbs


> At 09:13 PM 1/2/2004 -0500, Mattamandab@... wrote:
> >Although today we did rearrange
> >our scrapbook supplies, do playdough, read books, play a game, play the
> >piano,
> >sing songs, and hang paper snowflakes in the windows... not too bad.
But
> >I'd
> >love to have had warm weather instead.
>
> You're the second person today who mentioned playdough. We just bought
two
> new four packs today, and All those
> bright colors, and it's so nice and soft. It just makes me happy! And each
> four pack only cost $1.49--made me realize that I just don't buy new
> playdough often enough!
>
> --danielle
>
>
> "List Posting Policies" are provided in the files area of this group.
>
> To unsubscribe from this send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Visit the Unschooling website and message boards:
http://www.unschooling.com
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnschoolingDiscussion/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>

Olga

To make the most vibrant colors I started using the Wiltons Icing
colors. They are little bottles of colorant and you only need a
drop to give great color to a large natch of play dough. Food
coloring nver gave me the depth the kids wanted. We made Harry
Potter purple a few weeks back and Keirans favorite yellow a few
days ago. I have never thought of adding the scents though! My
kids are into smelling the candles at the store (of course
everything is yuck to them but they have to smell them all. The
best baggies by far are the Ziploc bags with the acutal zippers.
The kids can open and close it easily. Last time we left the
playdough outside, I am not sure if anyone closed the bag. My 5yo
brought in the playdough, in the closed ziploc and asked me to keep
it inside so it would last longer.

My kids enyoy mushing it around their action figures more
than "typical" playdough games like cookie cutters. Amazingly, they
can spend hours just doing that and a new batch just brightens sup
the day! We have a patio so it is great to let them play out there
till hearts content and not have to worry about it getting in
carpets and such.

We bought the boys Nickelodean Goop for Christmas and they LOVED
it. I always forget to buy the Borax to make my own, I even bought
a huge tub of glue all ready for it! The Nick one came in science
beakers and had sparkles, etc. HOURS and HOURS of play with that
stuff!

Olga :)
--- In [email protected], pam sorooshian
<pamsoroosh@m...> wrote:
It is easy and fun to make and homemade playdough can be a lot
> more interesting than store-bought stuff.
>
> Here is the recipe I usually use. To this add food coloring and
any
> kind of flavor extract - pineapple, chocolate, mint, vanilla,
lemon,
> etc. Or add spices. You can make different textures - try oatmeal
in
> it <G>. Make it orange and put pumpkin pie spices in it for
> Thanksgiving.
>
> Keep it in baggies.
>
> Play with more utensils than cookie cutters. Try legos <G>.
>
> • 2 c Flour
> • 2 c Water
> • 1 c Salt
> • 2 tb Cream of tartar
> • 1 tb Oil
>
> Combine in a saucepan and heat until it forms a sort of stiff ball
in
> the pan. Then turn out onto newspapers and knead for a while as it
> cools. Keep in baggies.
>
> -pam
> National Home Education Network
> <www.NHEN.org>
> Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
> through information, networking and public relations.

Olga

I forgot to mention that the wilton colors seem a bit pricy at
frist. I think about $10-12 for a pack of 8-10. BUT, you use so
little each time, it will last you for a really long time. Much
cheaper than food coloring in the long run which I used tons of to
try and get a strong color. This product make the loveliest colors
I have found, comparable to store bought.

Olga :)
--- In [email protected], "Olga"
<mccluskieo@b...> wrote:
>
> To make the most vibrant colors I started using the Wiltons Icing
> colors. They are little bottles of colorant and you only need a
> drop to give great color to a large natch of play dough. Food
> coloring nver gave me the depth the kids wanted. We made Harry
> Potter purple a few weeks back and Keirans favorite yellow a few
> days ago. I have never thought of adding the scents though! My
> kids are into smelling the candles at the store (of course
> everything is yuck to them but they have to smell them all. The
> best baggies by far are the Ziploc bags with the acutal zippers.
> The kids can open and close it easily. Last time we left the
> playdough outside, I am not sure if anyone closed the bag. My 5yo
> brought in the playdough, in the closed ziploc and asked me to
keep
> it inside so it would last longer.
>
>

pam sorooshian

On Jan 3, 2004, at 5:49 AM, Olga wrote:

> To make the most vibrant colors I started using the Wiltons Icing
> colors. They are little bottles of colorant and you only need a
> drop to give great color to a large natch of play dough. Food
> coloring nver gave me the depth the kids wanted.

I second this - I'd forgotten!!! If you are a playdough maker and
haven't used these, you should definitely.

-pam

National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.

Brandy

Where do you find the Wilton's at? Our food coloring is MIA so I was
going to replace it. This stuff sounds much better.

Thanks,
Brandy

--- In [email protected], "Olga"
<mccluskieo@b...> wrote:
>
> To make the most vibrant colors I started using the Wiltons Icing
> colors.

Olga

I get mine at the Party Supermarket. I think some of the craft
stores carry the Wilton cake decortaing line and I am certain the
whole line of products is readily available on line!

Olga :)
--- In [email protected], "Brandy" <bdel99@y...>
wrote:
> Where do you find the Wilton's at? Our food coloring is MIA so I
was
> going to replace it. This stuff sounds much better.
>
> Thanks,
> Brandy
>
> --- In [email protected], "Olga"
> <mccluskieo@b...> wrote:
> >
> > To make the most vibrant colors I started using the Wiltons
Icing
> > colors.

Krisula Moyer

How about a recipe Julie? Sounds nice.
-----------------------------------------------------------

<<<there's nothing like new playdough!>>>

We make homemade here. We use essential oils or spices to give it a
wonderful smell.

julie S.

J. Stauffer

<<<How about a recipe Julie? Sounds nice>>>
*****************************************

I use the basic recipe that was already posted. For the fall, I simply
mixed about 2 tsp. total of the spices you put in pumpkin pie (cloves,
cinnamon, ginger) and squirted in red and yellow food coloring until it was
about the right color.

I have also added about 10 drops of whatever essential oil sounds good to
me.

Julie S.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Krisula Moyer" <krisulam@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2004 3:48 PM
Subject: [UnschoolingDiscussion] RE: Re: unschooling in the suburbs


>
> > -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> <<<there's nothing like new playdough!>>>
>
> We make homemade here. We use essential oils or spices to give it a
> wonderful smell.
>
> julie S.
>
>
>
> "List Posting Policies" are provided in the files area of this group.
>
> To unsubscribe from this send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Visit the Unschooling website and message boards:
http://www.unschooling.com
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnschoolingDiscussion/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>