Fill in the blanks...Please.
Pris
ok, my turn ...
Why do you un/homeschool:
we took our dss out of school @ Christmas break our oldest ds (3rd gr) was
invited to be part of a *gang* and he was ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED b/c he didn't
KNOW the boys but was THREATENED if he didn't join their *gang* he'd be beat
up ... dh and I had a conference w/ his teacher and b/c a school official
wasn't present, they had no way of knowing if this was true/not and their
hands were tied!!! B~U~T, the teacher said "DS NEEDS TO BE ON RITALIN!!!"
*HUH*??? dh, normally very quiet spoken mild mannered person went BALLISTIC
and asked the teacher "HOW in the name of heavens does DOPING a child up
RESOLVE THE GANG PROB and WHEN DID THE STATE OF TEXAS LICENSE YOU TO
PRESCRIBE MEDICINE!!!???" ... the teacher responded w/ "uhhhhhhhh, Mr. F we
DO NOT HAVE THOSE TYPES OF PROBS (gang) IN *OUR* SCHOOL SYST!!!" my dh
turned to me and said "go and collect dss' belongings and I'm going to the
office to WITHDRAW BOTH BOYS FROM SCHOOL" ... he proceeded to tell dt (dear
teacher), "you and the ps system have done QUITE ENOUGH DAMAGE, my child is
THROWING UP, CRYING b/c he's TERRIFIED TO COME TO SCHOOL b/c of these
threats, UHHHHHH THANKS, we'll TEACH THEM @ HOME!!!" I almost had a heart
attack right on the spot b/c I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT H-S'ING, I didn't even
know if it was LEGAL, etc, etc!!! ... I always say, we're the first h-s'rs
we ever knew!!! butttttttttt, fast forward three yrs later and we're
having the time of our lives and both dss are doing beautifully and my ONLY
regret is we didn't h-s our older dch, too :)
How many children do you have?
we have two generations of dch @ our house ... Sarah (24 yo), is married to
Matt, a wonderful fella, and we're expecting our 1st grandbaby (Kinsey
McLane or Samuel Alexander) in mid-Sept ... Matthew (21 yo) is a senior in
college (YES, *ONLY* 2 more years of college tuition; he's going to work on
his masters); our older dch weren't h-s'd ... THEN our 2nd generation of
dch, ds Taylor is 11 yo and ds Nash is 9 yo were adopted @ birth and both
are an absolute joy ...
What are your children's most recent interests? ds 11 is quite an artist,
he's drawn our Christmas cards since he was 4 yo, he'll read anything he can
get his hands on, is taking piano and violin lessons, too ... our *baby*
(9) enjoys piano, will begin saxophone lessons in the fall and enjoys
Lego's, k-nix (sp?) and working in the garden w/ his mama ... both boys are
basically fluent in sign language (I took ASL in college as my foreign
language) and they are involved in church activities ... just think, if we
were still STUCK in the system, they wouldn't have time after school for all
these NEAT things!!! both boys live and and breathe baseball, soccer,
basketball, swim team, and biking ... yes, sports season runs all year long
@ our house but I wouldn't have it any other way!!!
What area does your family live in?
in the suburbs of a very HOT south, TX ...
Do you have any pets?
... three dogs; two Dalmatians Charlie (4yo) and Dottie (11mths), Lady (13
yo), a very old Manchester Doberman who thinks like a BIG DOBIE ... two
cats; Simon (6yrs) and Ms. Wiggins (6 yrs), both felines just ADORE my dh
and *tolerate* the rest of us; give me a break!!! lol!!! ... we have
tropical fish galore ...
Anything else you would like to add?
we've h-s'd for 3 yrs (wow, time flies when you're having fun) ... we're
going to unschool for the first time this year b/c we're all REALLY SICK OF
WORKBOOKS and replicating *SCHOOL* ... it also really grates my last nerve
that MOST of the h-s curriculum available was written by h-s'ing moms but
it's taken me 3 yrs to finally figure this out; yes, I'm SLOW!!! what I
mean is, these people don't have anymore credentials than I do (I have a BA
in anthropology) and they're supplementing their income by writing h-s
curriculum; SORRY, I hope I'm not offending anyone!!! a h-s friend of
mine unschools her ds and once I saw what they were doing, I was HOOKED and
KNEW this would be perfect for my boys ... this spring I've been
reading/learning about Charlotte Mason and PUO (Parent's Union
Organization)... even though I don't agree w/ everything the CM and PUO
suggests, I'm going to modify some of their suggestions and use living books
which will suit our fm's needs ... isn't h-s'ing *grand*??? <G> ...
uhhhhhhhh ... dh and I will be married for 28 yrs (ACK, NO I'M NOT THAT OLD,
he robbed the cradle!!!) ... dh, Tim is an rr engineer and I'm a sahm ... we
cared for foster children for yrs but it b/c too difficult to say our
*good-byes*, so we decided it was time to give up that part of our lives ...
our fm is Southern Baptist and dh and I take care of the newborn nursery so
we can get our baby fix every Sunday ... we LOVE camping, esp in the spring
and winter (mind you, our winters are 50-60*s, lol) ... dh and I were the
first couple to have dad in the delivery room of the hospital we used and
when my babies were little I was very involved in the LLL and I also b-fed
our adopted babies, too ...
soooooo, that's about it, hope I didn't bore anyone w/ my novel <G> ...
Pris
Why do you un/homeschool:
we took our dss out of school @ Christmas break our oldest ds (3rd gr) was
invited to be part of a *gang* and he was ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED b/c he didn't
KNOW the boys but was THREATENED if he didn't join their *gang* he'd be beat
up ... dh and I had a conference w/ his teacher and b/c a school official
wasn't present, they had no way of knowing if this was true/not and their
hands were tied!!! B~U~T, the teacher said "DS NEEDS TO BE ON RITALIN!!!"
*HUH*??? dh, normally very quiet spoken mild mannered person went BALLISTIC
and asked the teacher "HOW in the name of heavens does DOPING a child up
RESOLVE THE GANG PROB and WHEN DID THE STATE OF TEXAS LICENSE YOU TO
PRESCRIBE MEDICINE!!!???" ... the teacher responded w/ "uhhhhhhhh, Mr. F we
DO NOT HAVE THOSE TYPES OF PROBS (gang) IN *OUR* SCHOOL SYST!!!" my dh
turned to me and said "go and collect dss' belongings and I'm going to the
office to WITHDRAW BOTH BOYS FROM SCHOOL" ... he proceeded to tell dt (dear
teacher), "you and the ps system have done QUITE ENOUGH DAMAGE, my child is
THROWING UP, CRYING b/c he's TERRIFIED TO COME TO SCHOOL b/c of these
threats, UHHHHHH THANKS, we'll TEACH THEM @ HOME!!!" I almost had a heart
attack right on the spot b/c I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT H-S'ING, I didn't even
know if it was LEGAL, etc, etc!!! ... I always say, we're the first h-s'rs
we ever knew!!! butttttttttt, fast forward three yrs later and we're
having the time of our lives and both dss are doing beautifully and my ONLY
regret is we didn't h-s our older dch, too :)
How many children do you have?
we have two generations of dch @ our house ... Sarah (24 yo), is married to
Matt, a wonderful fella, and we're expecting our 1st grandbaby (Kinsey
McLane or Samuel Alexander) in mid-Sept ... Matthew (21 yo) is a senior in
college (YES, *ONLY* 2 more years of college tuition; he's going to work on
his masters); our older dch weren't h-s'd ... THEN our 2nd generation of
dch, ds Taylor is 11 yo and ds Nash is 9 yo were adopted @ birth and both
are an absolute joy ...
What are your children's most recent interests? ds 11 is quite an artist,
he's drawn our Christmas cards since he was 4 yo, he'll read anything he can
get his hands on, is taking piano and violin lessons, too ... our *baby*
(9) enjoys piano, will begin saxophone lessons in the fall and enjoys
Lego's, k-nix (sp?) and working in the garden w/ his mama ... both boys are
basically fluent in sign language (I took ASL in college as my foreign
language) and they are involved in church activities ... just think, if we
were still STUCK in the system, they wouldn't have time after school for all
these NEAT things!!! both boys live and and breathe baseball, soccer,
basketball, swim team, and biking ... yes, sports season runs all year long
@ our house but I wouldn't have it any other way!!!
What area does your family live in?
in the suburbs of a very HOT south, TX ...
Do you have any pets?
... three dogs; two Dalmatians Charlie (4yo) and Dottie (11mths), Lady (13
yo), a very old Manchester Doberman who thinks like a BIG DOBIE ... two
cats; Simon (6yrs) and Ms. Wiggins (6 yrs), both felines just ADORE my dh
and *tolerate* the rest of us; give me a break!!! lol!!! ... we have
tropical fish galore ...
Anything else you would like to add?
we've h-s'd for 3 yrs (wow, time flies when you're having fun) ... we're
going to unschool for the first time this year b/c we're all REALLY SICK OF
WORKBOOKS and replicating *SCHOOL* ... it also really grates my last nerve
that MOST of the h-s curriculum available was written by h-s'ing moms but
it's taken me 3 yrs to finally figure this out; yes, I'm SLOW!!! what I
mean is, these people don't have anymore credentials than I do (I have a BA
in anthropology) and they're supplementing their income by writing h-s
curriculum; SORRY, I hope I'm not offending anyone!!! a h-s friend of
mine unschools her ds and once I saw what they were doing, I was HOOKED and
KNEW this would be perfect for my boys ... this spring I've been
reading/learning about Charlotte Mason and PUO (Parent's Union
Organization)... even though I don't agree w/ everything the CM and PUO
suggests, I'm going to modify some of their suggestions and use living books
which will suit our fm's needs ... isn't h-s'ing *grand*??? <G> ...
uhhhhhhhh ... dh and I will be married for 28 yrs (ACK, NO I'M NOT THAT OLD,
he robbed the cradle!!!) ... dh, Tim is an rr engineer and I'm a sahm ... we
cared for foster children for yrs but it b/c too difficult to say our
*good-byes*, so we decided it was time to give up that part of our lives ...
our fm is Southern Baptist and dh and I take care of the newborn nursery so
we can get our baby fix every Sunday ... we LOVE camping, esp in the spring
and winter (mind you, our winters are 50-60*s, lol) ... dh and I were the
first couple to have dad in the delivery room of the hospital we used and
when my babies were little I was very involved in the LLL and I also b-fed
our adopted babies, too ...
soooooo, that's about it, hope I didn't bore anyone w/ my novel <G> ...
Pris
Sheri Ponzi
Why do you un/homeschool:
We believe that children learn best if they are directing their own
learning. I know that no one knows my children better than we do and that
all we need to do is encourage them in pursuing their interests. I believe
we are al learning all the time and we don't need to separate learning from
life. Plus I don't want them exposed to the idea that "boys will be boys"
and that you have to fit into certain roles to be accepted in life.
How many children do you have?
2
Morgan who will be 6 on Wednesday
Colin who was 2 in March
What are your children's most recent interests?
Morgan is into all things Oz. He is reading the Oz series of books and
thinking of ways to convert them to plays, he is asking to learn to spell,
and wants to learn about the constitution so he can be president. He says
his first law will be that the $$$ has to be split equally :) He
especially loves Glinda and Ozma. He loves math and logic puzzles too.
Colin loves to draw and paint. He loves being read to and pretending to
cut the lawn.
What area does your family live in?
New York (60 miles from NYC)
Do you have any pets?
a frog
Anything else you would like to add?
I love this group, but I mostly lurk. I hope I'll have more to add soon.
We had to begin reporting to the state this year and I am trying my best
not to have that influence my outlook and actions wrt unschooling
Sheri
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sheri Ponzi
mailto:purple_sage@...
http://sites.netscape.net/sponzi
Beaded bowls from MoonBead Treasures available at Motherbeads
http://www.motherbeads.com/guest_artists.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We believe that children learn best if they are directing their own
learning. I know that no one knows my children better than we do and that
all we need to do is encourage them in pursuing their interests. I believe
we are al learning all the time and we don't need to separate learning from
life. Plus I don't want them exposed to the idea that "boys will be boys"
and that you have to fit into certain roles to be accepted in life.
How many children do you have?
2
Morgan who will be 6 on Wednesday
Colin who was 2 in March
What are your children's most recent interests?
Morgan is into all things Oz. He is reading the Oz series of books and
thinking of ways to convert them to plays, he is asking to learn to spell,
and wants to learn about the constitution so he can be president. He says
his first law will be that the $$$ has to be split equally :) He
especially loves Glinda and Ozma. He loves math and logic puzzles too.
Colin loves to draw and paint. He loves being read to and pretending to
cut the lawn.
What area does your family live in?
New York (60 miles from NYC)
Do you have any pets?
a frog
Anything else you would like to add?
I love this group, but I mostly lurk. I hope I'll have more to add soon.
We had to begin reporting to the state this year and I am trying my best
not to have that influence my outlook and actions wrt unschooling
Sheri
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sheri Ponzi
mailto:purple_sage@...
http://sites.netscape.net/sponzi
Beaded bowls from MoonBead Treasures available at Motherbeads
http://www.motherbeads.com/guest_artists.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CA Nelson
I loved reading your novel :). It's so sad that you had to get to a point like you did with your childrens' schools to enter homeschooling, but I'm so glad it worked out for you. I read that you are proficient in ASL. I'm really interested in teaching dd ASL and baby signs so we're better able to communicate before she becomes verbal (she's fully hearing, BTW). I have board books that give diagrams of the signs (ex. First Book of Animal Signs), but I have such a hard time figuring a lot of them out since I know next to nothing of ASL. Apart from taking a class, are there any resources you could recommend that would help me out?
TIA
--
Amy Nelson
Mama to Accalia (6/14/99)
"The hardest to learn was the least complicated." - The Indigo Girls
From: "Pris" <x_t_sipr@...>
both boys arelanguage)
basically fluent in sign language (I took ASL in college as my foreign
CA Nelson
Why do you un/homeschool:
My daughter is only a year, but we've already discovered that the best way for her to get the most out of learning and her own education will be to let her take the lead and explore her interests rather than putting her in the hands of someone who is handing out manufactured educations to 20-some other children.
How many children do you have?
One - Accalia will be one year on Wednesday (Happy birthday also to Morgan!)
What are your children's most recent interests?
Accalia is discovering the joy of standing up unassisted. She loves being outside in nature and examining every little rock and blade of grass. She's becoming more fascinated by books as something other than just a chew toy. And she loves opening and closing, taking things out (we're working on putting them back again :)).
What area does your family live in?
southeastern South Dakota
Do you have any pets?
Lucy, our two-year-old lab/chow mix
Anything else you would like to add?
Looking forward to hearing from all of you wise parents!
Sheri Ponzi
At 04:04 PM 6/11/00 -0500, you wrote:
And Happy Birthday to Accalia! What a beautiful name :)
SHeri = who is eating leftover cake and ice cream from Morgan's party
yesterday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sheri Ponzi
mailto:purple_sage@...
http://sites.netscape.net/sponzi
Beaded bowls from MoonBead Treasures available at Motherbeads
http://www.motherbeads.com/guest_artists.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> How many children do you have?Morgan!)
>> One - Accalia will be one year on Wednesday (Happy birthday also to
And Happy Birthday to Accalia! What a beautiful name :)
SHeri = who is eating leftover cake and ice cream from Morgan's party
yesterday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sheri Ponzi
mailto:purple_sage@...
http://sites.netscape.net/sponzi
Beaded bowls from MoonBead Treasures available at Motherbeads
http://www.motherbeads.com/guest_artists.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CA Nelson
--
Amy Nelson
Mama to Accalia (6/14/99)
"The hardest to learn was the least complicated." - The Indigo Girls
From: Sheri Ponzi <purple_sage@...>
And Happy Birthday to Accalia! What a beautiful name :)
Pris
forgot to mention in my 20 ???'s fill in the blank post ...
yes, we're VERY happy w/ the h-s'ing laws in our state ... TX is considered a
private school and we're bascially ON OUR OWN, we don't report to ANYONE, we
don't have to have a certain amount of days of school; TX is VERY h-s
friendly (well, EXCEPT for our LIBARIANS, hehe)
Pris ~~~>>> <VBSOR> ~> VERY BIG SIGH
OF RELIEF!!!) ...
[email protected]
pris,
i loved your story.
bridget-with a stuck shift key and a sleeping nursling so i'll write my
answers later
i loved your story.
bridget-with a stuck shift key and a sleeping nursling so i'll write my
answers later
Pris
thanks Bridget ...
stuck shift keys??? ouch??? I need to clean my keyboard w/ that air~stuff
but keep forgetting to buy it ...
Pris
stuck shift keys??? ouch??? I need to clean my keyboard w/ that air~stuff
but keep forgetting to buy it ...
Pris
> pris,
> i loved your story.
> bridget-with a stuck shift key and a sleeping nursling so i'll write my
> answers later
Bonnie Painter
Happy Birthday to you Both! My sister and I will be celebrating our
birthdays on Wednesday and Thursday respectively (although not as big
milestones as yours... 24 and 32)
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
birthdays on Wednesday and Thursday respectively (although not as big
milestones as yours... 24 and 32)
>From: Sheri Ponzi <purple_sage@...>________________________________________________________________________
>Reply-To: [email protected]
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Fill in the blanks...Please.
>Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2000 17:15:33 -0400
>
>At 04:04 PM 6/11/00 -0500, you wrote:
>
> >> How many children do you have?
> >> One - Accalia will be one year on Wednesday (Happy birthday also to
>Morgan!)
>
>
>And Happy Birthday to Accalia! What a beautiful name :)
>
>SHeri = who is eating leftover cake and ice cream from Morgan's party
>yesterday
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Sheri Ponzi
>mailto:purple_sage@...
>http://sites.netscape.net/sponzi
>Beaded bowls from MoonBead Treasures available at Motherbeads
>http://www.motherbeads.com/guest_artists.htm
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
CA Nelson
--
Amy Nelson
Mama to Accalia (6/14/99)
"The hardest to learn was the least complicated." - The Indigo Girls
From: "Bonnie Painter" <bonniepainter@...>
Happy Birthday to you Both! My sister and I will be celebrating our
birthdays on Wednesday and Thursday respectively (although not as big
milestones as yours... 24 and 32)