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Hi Dawn, and welcome... My oldest will be 6 in Sept. When he was 4 we
tried the preschool route, too. It lasted from Aug- the end of Nov. My son
began wanting me to be there all of the time, because I often helped out. On
days that I was not going, he did not want to go either. Also, he did not
like the idea of having to conform to the group, and do things like sing and
march around the room with al of the other kids. He just never liked the
idea of doing something just because the group was doing it. They had a
Thanksgiving program in Nov, where the kids were to wear Pilgrim hats and
sing songs. When the time came, John would NOT have anything to do with it
at all. He absolutely had no interest in taking part. All the while, I was
considering homeschooling for my kids, and this helped confirm the decision
to do so. There was not anything specifically "wrong" with the preschool
program; it just did not match the needs that my child had. He requires
more freedom, and less conformity than traditional schooling offers. Forcing
him to go to school would not be in his best interest. Who knows down the
road how things will go; but for now, this is the best decision for him. We
have 2 more children that are younger than John, and at this time, we plan to
homeschool them, too. Your question about would you be neglecting your
child if he was not initiating an area of learning... Your child is always
learning, even if it does not look like it. Unschooling is something that
takes a "leap of faith". It takes trusting your child. It takes knowing
that your child wants to learn innately, and as you go along, you will find
there are highs and lows. Times of busy, explosive learning, and times where
you wonder if your kid is a slug! Take time to read as muchas you can on
home/unschooling. There are a lot of great books and web sites available.
Hope this is not too long! Take care~Karen in Ind

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Thanks Karen:

This morning I've already contacted the Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers which is
an organization of about 90 families in Tucson that homeschool and unschool.
We seem to be lucky because there is also a group called TELEO as well, that
I haven't had time to reach. There are also several Christian based groups
if I had wanted to have religion as a prominent part of our lives. I've
talked to a couple of mothers already and feeling a lot better about my
decision. I know logically that it makes sense. Something one of them told
me was that I would probably end up changing all my friends as the ones I
have now, who don't homeschool or unschool, will probably feel threatened by
what I'm doing and to expect a backlash. However she also said there is tons
of support for what we want to do as well... We've had the same experience
with Zak and the preschool. He always wants us to be there with him all the
time and so therefore what would the point be.

Thanks again.

Dawn F (to distinguish myself from the other Dawn LOL)

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Hey! That's MY group! I must have missed something. I didn't realize you were
in Tucson! My kids are 2 1/2 and 6 mo.

:-) Diane

> This morning I've already contacted the Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers