{Originally published at Mommy Tracks}

We stood outside the school, hand-in-sweaty-hand, waiting for the bell to ring. I clutched a folder of multi-colored paperwork. He swayed eagerly from foot to foot with his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack hanging light and empty over one shoulder (”the way the big kids carry them.”) We were about to embark on a new adventure – school age, the next era in parenting. But I wasn’t really thinking about all that.

I was thinking about Owen Wilson.

In the movie Armageddon, as his character prepares to launch into space and save the world from certain destruction by a huge asteroid, Owen Wilson delivers this line:

“I’m great, I got that “excited/scared” feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it’s more. It could be, it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that’s what makes it so intense, it’s so - confused.”

And that’s exactly how I felt about the first day of Kindergarten.

People told me this would be hard. Kindhearted friends gave us relevant books. The school sent me a parable printed on purple paper about kids climbing giant beanstalks and leaving their parents at the bottom. Neighbors stopped to commiserate. “I remember that day,” they said. “That’s a tough one. I think that was almost as bad as sending them to college.”

Pshaw. I thought.

(click title for more)

Originally published on Get In, Hang On

I initally wrote this post for a discussion list that I’m on. It was
a response to a new homeschooler that was concerned about how to set up
a routine and structure. I’m posting it here because it clearly
explains how to be structured in what you are doing without losing the
freedoms that come with homeschooling.
Hi,

How structured or not that you want to be will develop with time
as you, your kids, and other members of your family find where they are
comfortable.

The totally unstructured, seem IMO, to not worry about a routine
at all. Some people keep a journal to keep track of what is getting
accomplished, and that will give you a feeling of accomplishment when
you can look back over it and realize that your kids are learning.

But if you have a desire for some structure, you might want to
try my method. First, come up with some ‘long-term’ goals. Where do you
want to be at the end of this school year? Since it’s your first year,
KEEP IT LOW KEY. You are in a transition period and what you are mostly
going for is the emotional growth that you are already starting to see.
Taking on too much, WILL short-circuit your success.

(click title for more)

Originally published at Like I Have Time For This?

One of the biggest traps in homeschooling, if you ask me, is the
constant pressure to Do Things With Other People. Just this morning, in
my email, I finalized plans for friends to come over on Friday
afternoon. As I was finishing that, the phone rang, and it was more
friends asking about getting together for a day trip to a museum soon.
Or, if not that, at least a play date. Or how about the zoo? What are
you doing this weekend? Do you want to check out my co-op? It goes on
and on.

And believe me, I’m not complaining at all. It’s good to have all
these friends. It’s good to get together. But it’s also good to just
not get together sometimes. And for me, being new and still sort of
defensive and insecure about this whole homeschooling thing, I have to
remind myself a lot to Not Always Be Getting Together With People. My
previous post, in which you all were so kind as to reassure me that my
friend was not exactly being friendly, is an excellent case in point. I
could have said no when that woman called and asked if they could stop
by. I should have said no, in fact. We were all tired. I’d spent the
day sorting toys and catching up on laundry. I wasn’t in the mood for
this woman at all to begin with. (Because honestly? That afternoon tea
was only the tip of a very large iceberg. The woman’s got some ISSUES,
is all I’m sayin’.)

But the thing is, I exist on the defensive most of the time. When
people find out we homeschool and start in with the endless questions
on socialization, I want to be armed and ready with a Packed Social
Schedule. It’s ridiculous and exhausting, but it’s hard to stop myself.
And I’m not the only one who does this. Most of the women I know here
are much more busy than I am. They’re stretched thin, and ragged, and
possibly on the edge of burnout. I can see it in their eyes. And
listening to them, I’m learning to simply say No to the endless stream
of activities available to us. But when someone who isn’t a
homeschooler starts asking THOSE QUESTIONS, I’m always quick to tell
them all the millions of things we do all the time, and then having
told people that, I begin to think that I’d better ramp up the social
schedule, just in case those people with absolutely no experience
homeschooling whatsoever are RIGHT and my kids NEED to be surrounded by
other people 24-7.

And the truth is, we need LESS people around. We need some space. We
need at least one day a week where we don’t go anywhere or have people
over. For us, that day is Wednesday. And I guard Wednesdays fiercely.
But maybe, I’m thinking, we need more than just that one day.

(click title for more)

Originally published on Mother of Confusion

My son was born after midnight during the cooler days of May, before the Central Valley could blaze triple-digit temperatures.

The delivery room was packed full of people. The doctor, several
nurses, my husband, my parents and my mother-in-law were in attendance.
As my son emerged into the world, I expected him to gasp and then cry
about the abrupt ejection.

He did not.

Instead he was quiet and blue. The umbilical cord was wrapped around
his slender neck several times. Of course I didn’t know that yet, but
the jubilant faces of the others gave way to peaked, pinched
expressions.

When I asked what was wrong. The response was, “Nothing. Everything’s okay. It’s okay.”

The reassurances scared me. I was only 20-years-old, but already I knew people lied when things were really, really wrong.

(click title for more)

Originally posted on Real Life

After college, I taught K-8 General Music, Chorus and Drama
for 4 years. When I had my first daughter, I organized homeschool music classes
for a while, and began teaching private piano and voice lessons from home.

Around the beginning of the year, parents
usually start asking me about getting music lessons for their kids. I usually
don’t take on more students in the middle of the year. Sometimes, they’ll get
someone else, and sometimes they say they’ll wait till August, and I put them
on the waiting list.

There are
several reasons your children might not be able to start lessons right away:

• Lesson times are unavailable
• You have monetary challenges
• The child is not quite old enough
• Your schedule is too packed

There are also several ways to start teaching basic music skills,
even as a non-musician parent. I’ll outline
a few things you can do at home to make sure your child is ready for lessons,
gains music skills as a homeschooler, or just wants to have some creative fun.
These suggestions are more for younger children (6 and under), but if your kids
enjoy them, then go ahead with them.

(click title for more)

Originally Published on Blue Yonder

You know, I really try very hard to keep our lives simple.

(click title for more)

Originally published on The New Unschooler

I started writing a response to Alistair, who was kind enough to come back and elaborate on his earlier comment about unschooling being “woefully irresponsible” in his eyes, but then I realized I was running out of space and (on a more exciting note) I sounded like I knew what I was talking about, so I decided I’d better make it a regular post. (I really have got to take advantage of those moments when I sound like I know what I’m talking about!) I’ve struggled with explaining unschooling to people this past year. Usually I direct them to the web sites or blogs of more experienced, and more eloquent, people. I just can’t seem to put into words why I think it’s a great way to live–and a smart way to “teach.” But Alistair seems to have helped me find my voice.

So here goes:

Thanks, Alistair, for coming back and explaining your views a bit more. I can see how you would think that. Honestly, I was very wary when we began this journey (it wasn’t even a year ago) and I’m only just starting to see how full Jerry’s education might be (very full indeed!), without looking like Education at all.

You wrote that by allowing Jerry to focus on the interests he already has (video games, animation, computers, etc.) he wouldn’t be exposed to other subjects and ideas. What’s amazing is how all of the things he’s interested in somehow link to ideas, concepts and subjects that are totally unrelated.

(click title for more)

Originally published on Pepper Paints

Our afternoon started like this; with some Jackson Pollock splatter painting:

Then like this:

Then they realized how much paint they had on their bodies and it could have been all down hill from there.

But, really it ended up being the kind of experience that we (crazy
parents!) hope for! I remembered that we have a book from the library
all about body painting that we have really been enjoying. I have
renewed it twice!

NATURAL FASHION TRIBAL DECORATION FROM AFRICA By Hans Silvester

We looked at the beautiful photos together-quickly-