Your Job as a Parent of an Unschooled Child
The article below was written by Anne Ohman of the Shine With Unschooling group.
We have always unschooled. Unschooling came easily to me and my family, because I learned early on to trust my heart and my children. But for those for whom unschooling does not come easily, I try to give them the guidelines you may be asking for here. If your question is “Please define my role as an unschooling parent,” here’s what I’ve come up with this morning:
I believe that your role as an unschooling parent is to show your children as much of the world as you can, and let them choose from it what they love and want to further explore. You accomplish this by expanding their worlds with interesting objects and places and people and events and tools and books and magazines and television shows and…(this list could go on for quite awhile).
It is your job to answer their questions, without shame or sarcasm, because all questions are valuable. If you don’t know an answer, it is your job to say, “I don’t know,” and offer to look it up with your child (I tend to say, “Hmmm…I *think* it’s this…but I’ll check to make sure…).
It is your job to be interested in the world. It is your job to ask your own questions about the world. I believe it’s an unschooling parent’s job to be excited themselves about learning the incredibly cool stuff there is to learn about the world. Learn from your own children how to be curious, aware and interested.
It is your job to pursue your own passions in life. This has numerous benefits, not only to yourSelf and your Spirit, but to your child as well.
It is your job to know your children and get to know them again and again as they grow and change. Get to know what it is they love, what it is that interests them. A big part of my job involves spending time looking for various resources in the area of my children’s passions – books, tools, people, events, classes, gatherings, websites, lists – and offer them up to my children. This is how I encourage my children to pursue what they love in life, by feeding them things that they may be interested in until they’re not interested in it anymore. (They are also quite capable of *feeding* themselves in the areas of their passions, or anything else that may be new and interesting to them…but right now we re just talking about the unschooling parent’s job…).
It is your job to learn about how children learn, by reading about unschooling, by un-learning everything you once believed to be true about forced learning.
It’s your job to sometimes think out loud, to initiate interesting conversations, and to be open for discussion where you may have just shut the door before. It’s your job to realize that your child will have different opinions and thoughts than you do, and to respect that and perhaps even broaden your own world from it.
It is your job to Trust the Children. Trust that they Love to Learn, and when they have a need and or desire for information, they will get it. Trust that learning isn’t separated into subjects as school would have us believe.
It’s your job to see the world through your child’s eyes. Understand where they’re coming from, and when conflict arises, it’s your job to stop and really think about if the resolve lies within the child, or within yourself. It’s usually within ourselves.
It’s your job to see Learning in places that you’re not used to seeing learning. I was even able to find it in Ed, Edd & Eddy cartoons…it’s there if you look. It’s everywhere if you look. And once you start seeing it, the world will open up to you and your child.
It’s your job to Love your child, and to Learn from your child. It’s your job to go into each day with an open mind and heart, trusting in the fact that you may not know where the day will end up, but that you began it from that magnificent place that is a child’s curiosity.
Showing posts with label parenting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parenting. Show all posts
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Free-Range Kids
One of my favorite people right now (that I'm not married to) is Lenore Skenazy. You might know her "America's Worst Mom" because last year, after her 9 year old begged her to, she let him take the NYC subway home by himself. It took some time for her and her husband to both agree with their son that he was ready, but they did. Mom and son went to Bloomingdale's together. She gave him $20, the subway map, and quarters for phone calls then said "see ya at home"!. She did not follow him. She did not ask a friend to go with him. She trusted him to use his brain to get home safely. She also trusted that the world is primarily a good, safe place. It took him one hour to get home with the hugest grin on his face and quite a sense of accomplishment. Yeah for both of them!
But, people around the world world went crazy. They accused her of all sorts of mean things - putting her child in mortal danger, not caring what happened to her child, etc. All a bunch of hogwash. She knew her child so well, trusted in the good in the world, and knew accurate violent crime statistics that she did the right thing by facilitating her son's independence and confidence in himself. To bring a reality check to parents, she started Free-Range Kids. I love it. I also am reading the book right now. Its hilariously fabulous.
The only thing missing from the web site (but on its way I understand) is a way to connect with other free-ranging parents. Care to join me in Southern Maryland Free-Range Kids group?
But, people around the world world went crazy. They accused her of all sorts of mean things - putting her child in mortal danger, not caring what happened to her child, etc. All a bunch of hogwash. She knew her child so well, trusted in the good in the world, and knew accurate violent crime statistics that she did the right thing by facilitating her son's independence and confidence in himself. To bring a reality check to parents, she started Free-Range Kids. I love it. I also am reading the book right now. Its hilariously fabulous.
The only thing missing from the web site (but on its way I understand) is a way to connect with other free-ranging parents. Care to join me in Southern Maryland Free-Range Kids group?
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Dangerous Things
My daughter loves to do Dangerous Things. She is referring of course to things that in HER mind are dangerous and crazy. So I loved this TED talk by Gever Tulley about 5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do.
So how am I doing? Let's see.
1. Play with fire: Son (11) is normally our fire tender. I recently dug a fire pit in our backyard so we could play with fire more often.
2. Own a pocketknife: Son (11) has several and has had one since the age of 6 or 7. Daughter (6) owns and regularly uses two pocketknives and an all-in-one tool.
3. Throw a spear: I am afraid I am deficient in this. I don't own a spear either. So I am going to have to substitute a stick. Oh woe is me.
4. Deconstruct appliances: We can do this more often than once a year ... Kids do a lot of fixing of things but not so much in the taking apart realm. I think the last thing we took apart was a printer. Luckily, I have a CD player and various other electronics waiting patiently in the basement.
5a. Break the Digital Media Copyright Agreement: We've certainly done this but haven't talked about it in terms of breaking laws. That could be fun!
5b. Drive a car: Ok, Son backed our car out of the garage and through the baby trees into the neighbors yard when he was younger. He also loves to drive go karts and other vehicles. But Daughter has never expressed an interest. Hmm. The wheels are turning ...
Ok, I have my homework now!
So how am I doing? Let's see.
1. Play with fire: Son (11) is normally our fire tender. I recently dug a fire pit in our backyard so we could play with fire more often.
2. Own a pocketknife: Son (11) has several and has had one since the age of 6 or 7. Daughter (6) owns and regularly uses two pocketknives and an all-in-one tool.
3. Throw a spear: I am afraid I am deficient in this. I don't own a spear either. So I am going to have to substitute a stick. Oh woe is me.
4. Deconstruct appliances: We can do this more often than once a year ... Kids do a lot of fixing of things but not so much in the taking apart realm. I think the last thing we took apart was a printer. Luckily, I have a CD player and various other electronics waiting patiently in the basement.
5a. Break the Digital Media Copyright Agreement: We've certainly done this but haven't talked about it in terms of breaking laws. That could be fun!
5b. Drive a car: Ok, Son backed our car out of the garage and through the baby trees into the neighbors yard when he was younger. He also loves to drive go karts and other vehicles. But Daughter has never expressed an interest. Hmm. The wheels are turning ...
Ok, I have my homework now!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
New Slow Parenting Group
One of my friends posted this link to facebook and I wanted to share it with you. The article is entitled: The Backlash Against Overparenting from Time magazine. I love this article. Especially the last quote about leaving the kids alone.
If you like this article and agree with pretty much everything it says, please join me in a new Slow Parenting group. We can decide the specifics of our group gatherings, but I expect them to involve lots of time for kids to play what they choose together, homemade food, and pleasurable adult conversation time.
If you like this article and agree with pretty much everything it says, please join me in a new Slow Parenting group. We can decide the specifics of our group gatherings, but I expect them to involve lots of time for kids to play what they choose together, homemade food, and pleasurable adult conversation time.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Evolution of Today's Learning
Daughter asked to learn about China today. We got out a book about China and started reading. It is one of those that goes through the alphabet and talks about something related to China for every letter. Page one of the book took us to the globe to see China's location. Talk changed to Daughter saying " It must be summer in China because it is winter here". To the globe we go with a laser pointer. She sees the different spot sizes depending on where the laser pointer shines - northern hemisphere, equatorial region, or southern hemisphere. She decides that winter in Maryland happens at the same time as summer in Chile, but China has the same season as we do.
But what about Antarctica? Ever since Live Earth, we have had a fascination with Antarctica (did you see the super cool video of the band playing on the 7th continent - the research scientists that were wintering over made really cool music for Live Earth!). So what is winter like in Antarctica? And how do you get there? Luckily I know folks that have done the many leg trip to Antarctica so I can share that info! We talk about most folks going during the summer and how unique it is to winter over at the research stations there. Daughter says "What do you mean you can't leave during the winter?" Oh, well there was the Dr who needed her chemotherapy medicine air dropped to her so she could treat herself. Unfortunately the movie Ice Storm is not available at our library. And just last year there was someone who had to be flown out during winter because of a broken jaw (from a Christmas brawl?!). Wow, that medical evacuation cost over $200,000 Australian dollars!
Then we researched the airplane that did the evacuation using an ice strip - an Air Force C-130 Hercules. Tomorrow we are supposed to build a LEGO helicopter and see if we can get it into the playmobil cargo plane's aft hatch -- just like a C-130.
We went back to the China book and read A through M without stopping and then took a break to make a stir fry for dinner. In a wok not walk. She thought it was hilarious that those two words sounded the same and yet looked so different.
Pretty cool learning for a five year old on a saturday , eh?
But what about Antarctica? Ever since Live Earth, we have had a fascination with Antarctica (did you see the super cool video of the band playing on the 7th continent - the research scientists that were wintering over made really cool music for Live Earth!). So what is winter like in Antarctica? And how do you get there? Luckily I know folks that have done the many leg trip to Antarctica so I can share that info! We talk about most folks going during the summer and how unique it is to winter over at the research stations there. Daughter says "What do you mean you can't leave during the winter?" Oh, well there was the Dr who needed her chemotherapy medicine air dropped to her so she could treat herself. Unfortunately the movie Ice Storm is not available at our library. And just last year there was someone who had to be flown out during winter because of a broken jaw (from a Christmas brawl?!). Wow, that medical evacuation cost over $200,000 Australian dollars!
Then we researched the airplane that did the evacuation using an ice strip - an Air Force C-130 Hercules. Tomorrow we are supposed to build a LEGO helicopter and see if we can get it into the playmobil cargo plane's aft hatch -- just like a C-130.
We went back to the China book and read A through M without stopping and then took a break to make a stir fry for dinner. In a wok not walk. She thought it was hilarious that those two words sounded the same and yet looked so different.
Pretty cool learning for a five year old on a saturday , eh?
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Public Libraries and Childrens' Books about Gay Families
Ok, so my local homeschool yahoo group supplied me with food for thought today. Someone posted about a meeting at the public library one county over. The topic was a childrens' picture book about a gay family (And Tango Makes Three) which was shelved in the children's section. Apparently, some citizens wanted the book moved to where children could not happen across it on their own and inadvertently be exposed to pro-homosexual content. The library Director decided to keep the book where it was. The decision was appealed and the Board of Trustees stood firm that the book was properly cataloged as a children's book and would not move it to the adult section. The citizens were now petitioning the County Commissioners to have the book moved to - get this - an "alternative family" or "non-traditional family" section of the library. Wow. What the hell?
Ok, so I posted this reply which I thought was pretty sweet:
Thank you so much for sharing this opportunity to encourage others to open their minds and accept people for who they are. The world will be a much better place when people focus on enjoying each other's differences and similarities than on getting people to change who they are. Unfortunately, I don't live in Calvert County and can't make the drive today. Hope you all go and speak your open minds to support the Library Director.
Wow, the letters that came after that were amazing to me. Talking about how they did not want to teach this kind of alternative lifestyle (being homosexual) to their children. Talking about how the content of the public library should reflect the community's opinion as to the proper shelving of a book. And then the one discussing how it is the parent's who get to make the choice about what the child is exposed to.
Ok, so will you all just watch this video please? Right now! (Ren - thanks for sharing this on your blog!)
Ok, so I posted this reply which I thought was pretty sweet:
Thank you so much for sharing this opportunity to encourage others to open their minds and accept people for who they are. The world will be a much better place when people focus on enjoying each other's differences and similarities than on getting people to change who they are. Unfortunately, I don't live in Calvert County and can't make the drive today. Hope you all go and speak your open minds to support the Library Director.
Wow, the letters that came after that were amazing to me. Talking about how they did not want to teach this kind of alternative lifestyle (being homosexual) to their children. Talking about how the content of the public library should reflect the community's opinion as to the proper shelving of a book. And then the one discussing how it is the parent's who get to make the choice about what the child is exposed to.
Ok, so will you all just watch this video please? Right now! (Ren - thanks for sharing this on your blog!)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Happy Birthday!
Today my big kid turns 10. Wow. Its been fabulous to watch him grow. He has made especially big changes this last year. Maybe not compared to infancy, and I understand development will soon be happening at warp speed (otherwise known as adolescence). When I look at him, I see a capable, intelligent being who has lived a completely different set of experiences than I did at the same age. He has matured a lot emotionally this year. Before, he would play with kids who were mean to him just because he so much wanted to play with someone he didn't care how they acted. Now, he tries to play and hangout with them, but can walk away when he doesn't like what they do. Yesterday he actually left the neighbors party where we all were because the kids were playing meanly with him and just him. He simply got his shoes and walked home. No blow up, no meanness back to the kids. He told them how he felt and gave them a chance to change and they didn't care to. It doesn't even matter so much if they were being mean on purpose or were simply unaware. We talked about socialization and how our social interactions might be different from theirs at school. He just came home and played with his xbox - happily. I was amazed.
So what did my wonderful Son want to do for his birthday? Open presents! Lots if possible :-) So I gave him lots of small things and wrapped up even the non object presents. Then he opened them throughout the day so he was able to open something every few hours on his special day. What did he get you ask?
Present 1) The one thing he asked for was to go to the movies to see the High School Musical 3. He's never seen a movie in the theater. Sitting for that long was difficult until recently. Since the movie hasn't opened yet, I just wrapped up a homemade coupon for a Movie Theater Experience.
Present 2) I also got a book for him titled Choosing Your First Power Boat. He has developed an interest in powerboats and going fast. I couldn't get him a boat for his birthday (or pay for the gas for said boat;-) but I did find a way to support his new passion. The Universe provided for me here because I got a book for Daughter from paperbackswap.com . As always, when I order a book, I check out the other books from the same seller since it saves on shipping costs. There the book was - waiting for me.
Present 3) In the spring, we opened a new bank account for him with an ATM card. He loves using it for depositing his savings and taking money out for his purchases. But he dislikes the fact that you can only take money out of the ATM machine in $20 increments. Not very friendly to those who want to just take out a little to spend. So one of his presents is a new bank account with a debit card from Young Americans Bank. They make checking accounts and credit cards available to young people. As a matter fact, there is an age cap to have an account there - 21!
Present 4) A cozy that I crocheted and then felted for his ipod. The earbuds fit in the case before I felted it but I didn't know how much it would shrink. Oops. I had attached a loop so that it would slide onto a belt and that part worked out fine. Maybe I'll make another one slightly bigger so those ear buds fit too...
Present 5) I reminded his teenaged cousins (actually second cousins) that is was his birthday and he would really like to have it acknowledged by them. Yeah, both of them emailed Son today with birthday greetings. He was happy.
Present 6) The way cool dude that Son met at the Live and Learn Conference, Pavi, called to wish my Dude a Happy Birthday. Ok, so I did call Pavi's mom this morning to tell her it was Son's birthday and I did put the phone call idea in her head, but I knew it would make Son feel really good to talk with his friend.
Present 7) The Dinner. Everything Son really likes. Juicy steak (organic). Birthday cake. Another dessert (apple pie). Homemade bread with oil and spices. A vegetable for the rest of the family. I had a big salad too. Crystal glasses for everyone. Yum!
What a fabulous day for my big guy.
So what did my wonderful Son want to do for his birthday? Open presents! Lots if possible :-) So I gave him lots of small things and wrapped up even the non object presents. Then he opened them throughout the day so he was able to open something every few hours on his special day. What did he get you ask?
Present 1) The one thing he asked for was to go to the movies to see the High School Musical 3. He's never seen a movie in the theater. Sitting for that long was difficult until recently. Since the movie hasn't opened yet, I just wrapped up a homemade coupon for a Movie Theater Experience.
Present 2) I also got a book for him titled Choosing Your First Power Boat. He has developed an interest in powerboats and going fast. I couldn't get him a boat for his birthday (or pay for the gas for said boat;-) but I did find a way to support his new passion. The Universe provided for me here because I got a book for Daughter from paperbackswap.com . As always, when I order a book, I check out the other books from the same seller since it saves on shipping costs. There the book was - waiting for me.
Present 3) In the spring, we opened a new bank account for him with an ATM card. He loves using it for depositing his savings and taking money out for his purchases. But he dislikes the fact that you can only take money out of the ATM machine in $20 increments. Not very friendly to those who want to just take out a little to spend. So one of his presents is a new bank account with a debit card from Young Americans Bank. They make checking accounts and credit cards available to young people. As a matter fact, there is an age cap to have an account there - 21!
Present 4) A cozy that I crocheted and then felted for his ipod. The earbuds fit in the case before I felted it but I didn't know how much it would shrink. Oops. I had attached a loop so that it would slide onto a belt and that part worked out fine. Maybe I'll make another one slightly bigger so those ear buds fit too...
Present 5) I reminded his teenaged cousins (actually second cousins) that is was his birthday and he would really like to have it acknowledged by them. Yeah, both of them emailed Son today with birthday greetings. He was happy.
Present 6) The way cool dude that Son met at the Live and Learn Conference, Pavi, called to wish my Dude a Happy Birthday. Ok, so I did call Pavi's mom this morning to tell her it was Son's birthday and I did put the phone call idea in her head, but I knew it would make Son feel really good to talk with his friend.
Present 7) The Dinner. Everything Son really likes. Juicy steak (organic). Birthday cake. Another dessert (apple pie). Homemade bread with oil and spices. A vegetable for the rest of the family. I had a big salad too. Crystal glasses for everyone. Yum!
What a fabulous day for my big guy.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Boats, Guns, and Secret Service
Son has been interested in boats for a while now. He has gone on a row boat and paddle boats. He loved the idea of powerboating. He was browsing Craig's List one time and asked if we could buy a $15,000 boat. Umm, no.
After weeks (and more weeks) of putting him off about purchasing a power boat (we said no for gas, cost, and interest reasons), I was able to shift into trying to help him get what he wanted. I suggested we walk down the street to our powerboating neighbors and ask to go out when they are going anyway. They of course said sure but not today. They said they'd call. Waiting is so hard. Last weekend, they finally called and Son and Husband got to go out on the Potomac River in a power boat. At first, he didn't want to go. I shifted and reframed the opportunity with the excitement I knew he would have. He quickly packed his bag and headed off. First time out on a power boat for Son. He came home tired, a bit windblown, and joyous. He enjoyed the boating, he enjoyed the company (bit older girl to talk to), but boy was he hungry! Apparently going on top of the water at 70 mph was a bit more interesting than eating his sandwich :-) I was so happy to have helped him Shine on that day.
That was over a week ago. This past weekend, we watched the movie Sentinel. We enjoyed Michael Douglas as a Secret Service agent. Now my kids are Shining with their new nerf guns and cool sunglasses and doing lots of secret missions. Madame president frequently needs the house sweeped for bad guys. The First Man's arrival home from a busy day at the office is an anticipated and well planned out event now :-) I do sometimes wish we had guns that shoot love or peace instead of guns with toy bullets. But I suppose I need to work on my pretending a bit more too!
After weeks (and more weeks) of putting him off about purchasing a power boat (we said no for gas, cost, and interest reasons), I was able to shift into trying to help him get what he wanted. I suggested we walk down the street to our powerboating neighbors and ask to go out when they are going anyway. They of course said sure but not today. They said they'd call. Waiting is so hard. Last weekend, they finally called and Son and Husband got to go out on the Potomac River in a power boat. At first, he didn't want to go. I shifted and reframed the opportunity with the excitement I knew he would have. He quickly packed his bag and headed off. First time out on a power boat for Son. He came home tired, a bit windblown, and joyous. He enjoyed the boating, he enjoyed the company (bit older girl to talk to), but boy was he hungry! Apparently going on top of the water at 70 mph was a bit more interesting than eating his sandwich :-) I was so happy to have helped him Shine on that day.
That was over a week ago. This past weekend, we watched the movie Sentinel. We enjoyed Michael Douglas as a Secret Service agent. Now my kids are Shining with their new nerf guns and cool sunglasses and doing lots of secret missions. Madame president frequently needs the house sweeped for bad guys. The First Man's arrival home from a busy day at the office is an anticipated and well planned out event now :-) I do sometimes wish we had guns that shoot love or peace instead of guns with toy bullets. But I suppose I need to work on my pretending a bit more too!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Shopping with Mother In Law
My basement pantry is finished! I'll try and get a picture up tomorrow. I cut and added the last shelf today and am very happy with it. The top shelf is all for empty canning jars. Right now, the second shelf has last years applesauce and the 8 jars of tomato sauce I have so far. I will be making pickles tuesday or wednesday and will add them to the shelf as well. I am trying to figure out what else I can make that we will appreciate and that can be canned using a water canner. I was reading Danielle's blog a few days ago and was inspired by her usage of her new pressure canner.
The guys came back from cub scout camp and things turned out pretty well. Son had a lot of fun and so it was worth the trouble and The Calls from Last Sunday. Oh, and my mother-in-law is visiting us now. Daughter and I picked her up yesterday from the airport. We had a nice field trip to the airport (lots of process questions were answered). I made a big mistake already. I agreed to go shopping for Daughter's birthday present with her. I hate to shop. She loves it. She bought way more for Daughter than I would have preferred. At one point she asked me what Daughter would like from the toy section. I said not much. Daughter had not expressed nterest in anything from Target's toy section but she had said she needed some new toys. I let the two of them browse together and now Daughter will be getting toy horses and accompanying stuff and a croquet set. I hope she uses them and enjoys them after she gets them of course! I am getting better at releasing control over my kids. I can see that when I watch my MIL interact with them. She is very authoritarian. We shall see what she thinks of our unschooling life! Did I mention she works for the NY State Department of Education?
The guys came back from cub scout camp and things turned out pretty well. Son had a lot of fun and so it was worth the trouble and The Calls from Last Sunday. Oh, and my mother-in-law is visiting us now. Daughter and I picked her up yesterday from the airport. We had a nice field trip to the airport (lots of process questions were answered). I made a big mistake already. I agreed to go shopping for Daughter's birthday present with her. I hate to shop. She loves it. She bought way more for Daughter than I would have preferred. At one point she asked me what Daughter would like from the toy section. I said not much. Daughter had not expressed nterest in anything from Target's toy section but she had said she needed some new toys. I let the two of them browse together and now Daughter will be getting toy horses and accompanying stuff and a croquet set. I hope she uses them and enjoys them after she gets them of course! I am getting better at releasing control over my kids. I can see that when I watch my MIL interact with them. She is very authoritarian. We shall see what she thinks of our unschooling life! Did I mention she works for the NY State Department of Education?
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Painting and Concrete
Wow, today I started and completed my own project and helped someone else with theirs! After a quiet, doing little tasks kind of morning, Daughter and I started prepping the kids bathroom to be painted. That went so quickly that we got out the paint which has been patiently waiting since winter. We got the entire bathroom prepared and painted in less than 4 hours. Daughter helped the entire time. What a champ. Of course, she did get to use a screwdriver, a cleaning bucket, a paint brush, masking tape, and a paint roller. What is not to love?
After we got our tools and ourselves cleaned up (tools better than us), I looked out the window and saw a concrete truck at our neighbors house. We put on our shoes and headed over there so check out the fun. They were putting in a sidewalk to their new side door and sort of new gazebo. The forms were already up and level (hence the concrete truck's arrival), but there was still plenty to watch. I got to help screed the concrete (make the surface level with the forms), use a sledgehammer to pound the stakes for the forms in further, and hang out with the guys. Hardly any woman comments except that "there aren't many women who do what you do". I took that as a compliment. I wouldn't have 10 years ago. I have grown and matured imagine that!
After a shower that felt wonderful, we had a yummy dinner, and settled down to watch The Rescuers. It is one movie that I remember enjoying as a child, so I thought I would share it with Daughter. We watched a bit of it before she was too sleepy. Maybe more tomorrow.
After we got our tools and ourselves cleaned up (tools better than us), I looked out the window and saw a concrete truck at our neighbors house. We put on our shoes and headed over there so check out the fun. They were putting in a sidewalk to their new side door and sort of new gazebo. The forms were already up and level (hence the concrete truck's arrival), but there was still plenty to watch. I got to help screed the concrete (make the surface level with the forms), use a sledgehammer to pound the stakes for the forms in further, and hang out with the guys. Hardly any woman comments except that "there aren't many women who do what you do". I took that as a compliment. I wouldn't have 10 years ago. I have grown and matured imagine that!
After a shower that felt wonderful, we had a yummy dinner, and settled down to watch The Rescuers. It is one movie that I remember enjoying as a child, so I thought I would share it with Daughter. We watched a bit of it before she was too sleepy. Maybe more tomorrow.
Too Many Errands
Well, right now it seems that morning is when I have calm and quiet to think and blog. Yesterday Daughter and I did errands for entirely too long. We filled up on gas for our jetta wagon (a mere $52), dropped books at the library, tried to go observe a swim lesson but there was no one in the pool, took our trash to the landfill (yup - no trash pickup service for us - our choice), left an envelope at a friend's house, went to get milk and butter, stopped at the health food store, browsed at our local bike shop (its birthday month for half of our family), grabbed a dozen bagels, and purchased new homeschool journals for Son and Daughter's first one.
At the health food store (Country Nutrition) we were looking for natural versions of things we have recently started using. Son is working more on keeping his mouth clean and loving his teeth. He wants to use fluoride rinse (too many cavities) and I would like one without too many strange ingredients. I found several to choose from, but all were mint flavor which does not fly for him. Elaine is searching for more choices for us. Daughter loves to chew peelu gum (and it helps with oral care too) but doesn't care for the cinnamon flavor which Son likes. Daughter is very into self first aid for her own ouches. We are trying some arnica cream for bruises and a calendula ointment for cuts/scrapes (instead of neosporin).
Once at home, we worked on planning a pantry type of cabinet to hold canning jars and other food in the basement. Since we order from a natural food coop, we often have 1-2 months supply of some foods which live in the basement. We have these 2 large cabinets with doors which served as clothing wardrobes for our 100 year old victorian house in Chicago (which had no closets). They have poles to hand hangers from and holes in side to put in adjustable shelves - if we only had more shelves. That way, we have safe storage for the canning jars (applesauce, tomato sauce, etc) I work hard to produce. Once we obtain some shelves, we will have a pantry cabinet and a dress up cabinet. We measured and made out shopping list.
At the health food store (Country Nutrition) we were looking for natural versions of things we have recently started using. Son is working more on keeping his mouth clean and loving his teeth. He wants to use fluoride rinse (too many cavities) and I would like one without too many strange ingredients. I found several to choose from, but all were mint flavor which does not fly for him. Elaine is searching for more choices for us. Daughter loves to chew peelu gum (and it helps with oral care too) but doesn't care for the cinnamon flavor which Son likes. Daughter is very into self first aid for her own ouches. We are trying some arnica cream for bruises and a calendula ointment for cuts/scrapes (instead of neosporin).
Once at home, we worked on planning a pantry type of cabinet to hold canning jars and other food in the basement. Since we order from a natural food coop, we often have 1-2 months supply of some foods which live in the basement. We have these 2 large cabinets with doors which served as clothing wardrobes for our 100 year old victorian house in Chicago (which had no closets). They have poles to hand hangers from and holes in side to put in adjustable shelves - if we only had more shelves. That way, we have safe storage for the canning jars (applesauce, tomato sauce, etc) I work hard to produce. Once we obtain some shelves, we will have a pantry cabinet and a dress up cabinet. We measured and made out shopping list.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Camp, The Calls, and Peaceful Rooms
Yesterday I forgot about posting until it was way to late for Daughter and I to get started. She and I are without men/boys for the entire week! Husband and Son left yesterday morning for cub scout camp in VA. We helped them get packed up and head off into the sunshine for a mere 4-5 hours driving. After the should have gotten there I got The Call. Camp was closed. Yes, closed. There was an e. coli problem (7 people I think) last week. Even though the camp called everyone to assure no problems on saturday, sunday they were closed. Yuck! The Leader called around and found them another camp with space about 20 miles away. The Call from from Son who does not handle transitions well. He wanted to come home. Luckily, I was removed from the situation enough to Be The Mountain. I helped him calm down, realize he would still get to shoot bb guns, and that it would be ok. Then another Call. They were at a Italian restaurant and Son wasn't hungry and didn't want to eat there anyway. The Mountain that I am, I helped him think of just getting a glass of milk (wow it seemed he needed protein to accompany the sugar snacks he had on the drive) and asking waiter for plain chicken. Thank goodness, when he called to tell me what he ordered, he had discovered chocolate milk and chicken strips. No more calls.
Daughter and I had no trouble jumping right into projects together. Even at the tender age of five, when I told her Brother said I could clean out the unused things from his closet, said to me "I could use some of those toys since I am bigger now." Indeed, she now has many of the little cars and the homemade driving rugs. They will still play together, but Son won't have to deal with cleaning them up and keeping them in his closet. Works for them! We installed the display shelves which have been sitting on the floor, vacuumed, put away his clean laundry, and generally made his room look orderly and neat. I know it will bring him peace when he comes home. It is so hard for him to handle his room by himself all the time.
We had to work on Daughter's closet as well since she had lots of stuff she wanted access to in the house but did not want to take care of in her room. Most of the building stuff (k'nex, lincoln logs, etc.) are now downstairs where they are played with anyway! So both kids rooms now bring calm peaceful feelings. Yeah for us!
Daughter was introduced to the idea of swim lessons at dinner, so today we are going to watch a lesson like the one she would take. She will have to wait till the fall sessions start to sign up, but I think it will work. Watching first is always a good plan with my kids.
Daughter and I had no trouble jumping right into projects together. Even at the tender age of five, when I told her Brother said I could clean out the unused things from his closet, said to me "I could use some of those toys since I am bigger now." Indeed, she now has many of the little cars and the homemade driving rugs. They will still play together, but Son won't have to deal with cleaning them up and keeping them in his closet. Works for them! We installed the display shelves which have been sitting on the floor, vacuumed, put away his clean laundry, and generally made his room look orderly and neat. I know it will bring him peace when he comes home. It is so hard for him to handle his room by himself all the time.
We had to work on Daughter's closet as well since she had lots of stuff she wanted access to in the house but did not want to take care of in her room. Most of the building stuff (k'nex, lincoln logs, etc.) are now downstairs where they are played with anyway! So both kids rooms now bring calm peaceful feelings. Yeah for us!
Daughter was introduced to the idea of swim lessons at dinner, so today we are going to watch a lesson like the one she would take. She will have to wait till the fall sessions start to sign up, but I think it will work. Watching first is always a good plan with my kids.
Friday, August 1, 2008
New Goal and Go-Kart
I start to feel guilty if I don't post for a while and then I don't want to do it at all. Also, I was never someone who kept a journal, so blogging is not a natural, easy thing for me. My friend Ronda has inspired me to try blogging more. So I set myself a goal to blog daily for 2 weeks and see if that improves my attitude. Here goes ...
This blog is named Organic Everything because I put a priority on local, organic food and on organic learning. I have yet to post at all about the learning portion. Within the last year or so, I have jumped into the river of what is commonly called unschooling. Its even more strange than that - we are trying our best at radical unschooling. I love to control things and so this is hard for me. It means letting go of bedtimes, arbitrary parental rules, food limitations, expectations of learning particular things at particular times, and parents taking priority over their kids. Radical unschooling also means giving freedom to everyone in my home no matter what age, learning about anything and everything - by choice - in a variety of ways, helping my kids and husband with what is important to them (not me!), trusting that my kids are doing the best they can right now, and living with the today at the forefront of my mind. Radical unschooling means that I do things for my kids that I would not want for myself. I do them because they want them and I am in a position to help them.
Need an example? I recently helped my son purchase a used go-kart. My personal opinion is that these types of vehicles eat gasoline, create dirty air, tear up the yard, and shouldn't be driven on neighborhood roads. Son (who is 9 almost 10) really wanted to drive something that goes faster than him on his road bike (and he races his road bike). He explored dirt bikes, electric bikes, go-karts, and at one point asked my to get him a $15,000 boat off Craig's List. He spent a lot of time watching youtube videos, checking out company web sites, and otherwise learning about non-automobile moving vehicles. After the wonderful folks at UnschoolingBasics helped me view this situation differently, I offered in a different way to walk down to our neighbor and see if we can check out their go-kart or to the other neighbor to ask to ride along on his power boat. Wouldn't you know it, but the neighbor with the go-kart was interested in selling his 10 year old go-kart for $250. Much different than the $1500 he spent on it 10 years ago and much more doable for our family finances. You guessed it! As of 7/23 we now own the go-kart.
The go-kart was used and well loved by the 3 boys who drove it (they drive cars now). So of course, after the first day of driving it almost all day. the chain started to come off. Well, Son wanted to shorted the chain (he does his own bicycle maintenance). We asked another neighbor who works on engines if that was the right way to fix the problem. Nope - just loosen the bolts and slide the engine up till the chain isn't loose anymore. Oh, but you might want to fix this wheel. What wheel? So now the poor go-kart needs new bearings for its drive wheel. So we take off the wheel, hub, and bearings and ride our bikes up to a lawn repair shop (its 7/25 now). They measure, check catalog, measure more, check catalog again, and finally pick the part to try. When we get back from our trip to PA, we get the bearings and joyfully come home to put everything back together. Alas, the bearings are not the right size. The inner hole is too small and they do not fit on the axle. But it is now after close of business on 7/29 so we have to wait more. I get out dh's calipers, take the measurements myself (well actually ds - we do unschool afterall), and call the shop next morning. It takes all day to find the right part. Turns out that parts aren't always the same as the measurements they are sold as. We are hoping that today the part will come in and it will be the right one. I could either have a very happy boy or a boy who doesn't know what to do with himself for the weekend. I'll let you know!
This blog is named Organic Everything because I put a priority on local, organic food and on organic learning. I have yet to post at all about the learning portion. Within the last year or so, I have jumped into the river of what is commonly called unschooling. Its even more strange than that - we are trying our best at radical unschooling. I love to control things and so this is hard for me. It means letting go of bedtimes, arbitrary parental rules, food limitations, expectations of learning particular things at particular times, and parents taking priority over their kids. Radical unschooling also means giving freedom to everyone in my home no matter what age, learning about anything and everything - by choice - in a variety of ways, helping my kids and husband with what is important to them (not me!), trusting that my kids are doing the best they can right now, and living with the today at the forefront of my mind. Radical unschooling means that I do things for my kids that I would not want for myself. I do them because they want them and I am in a position to help them.
Need an example? I recently helped my son purchase a used go-kart. My personal opinion is that these types of vehicles eat gasoline, create dirty air, tear up the yard, and shouldn't be driven on neighborhood roads. Son (who is 9 almost 10) really wanted to drive something that goes faster than him on his road bike (and he races his road bike). He explored dirt bikes, electric bikes, go-karts, and at one point asked my to get him a $15,000 boat off Craig's List. He spent a lot of time watching youtube videos, checking out company web sites, and otherwise learning about non-automobile moving vehicles. After the wonderful folks at UnschoolingBasics helped me view this situation differently, I offered in a different way to walk down to our neighbor and see if we can check out their go-kart or to the other neighbor to ask to ride along on his power boat. Wouldn't you know it, but the neighbor with the go-kart was interested in selling his 10 year old go-kart for $250. Much different than the $1500 he spent on it 10 years ago and much more doable for our family finances. You guessed it! As of 7/23 we now own the go-kart.
The go-kart was used and well loved by the 3 boys who drove it (they drive cars now). So of course, after the first day of driving it almost all day. the chain started to come off. Well, Son wanted to shorted the chain (he does his own bicycle maintenance). We asked another neighbor who works on engines if that was the right way to fix the problem. Nope - just loosen the bolts and slide the engine up till the chain isn't loose anymore. Oh, but you might want to fix this wheel. What wheel? So now the poor go-kart needs new bearings for its drive wheel. So we take off the wheel, hub, and bearings and ride our bikes up to a lawn repair shop (its 7/25 now). They measure, check catalog, measure more, check catalog again, and finally pick the part to try. When we get back from our trip to PA, we get the bearings and joyfully come home to put everything back together. Alas, the bearings are not the right size. The inner hole is too small and they do not fit on the axle. But it is now after close of business on 7/29 so we have to wait more. I get out dh's calipers, take the measurements myself (well actually ds - we do unschool afterall), and call the shop next morning. It takes all day to find the right part. Turns out that parts aren't always the same as the measurements they are sold as. We are hoping that today the part will come in and it will be the right one. I could either have a very happy boy or a boy who doesn't know what to do with himself for the weekend. I'll let you know!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
