a bit of lit: upcoming and outgoing [and a big fat DUH]

Today is the release date for The Rhythm of Family. I will be treating myself to this book at some point in the (I hope very near) future.

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I have recently devoured Every Last One. I loved the detail, the every little vignette, simply created. The book could have been longer, I thought, to develop the story a bit more before we hit the climax, but now that I think about it, I think that has more to do with perspective than storyline. As in, we are only getting what we have access to through the point of view of the narrator. (Oh, this is one of those times I seriously miss my many, many lit classes. I need a book club.)

That book's going back to the library domani, but I have plenty more books on my to-read list.

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Pic and I have just finished and restarted James and the Giant Peach. I can't read too much at once because some of the voices, especially Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, start to strain my throat. (However, it's all worth it when Pic's reading and "doing voices" also. I love that.)

I remember reading this book about a million times when I was in elementary school. I think those who were Pic's age a decade ago might have had some interesting conversations with their parents regarding the landing of the peach in New York: the characters experience a bomb scare. I wonder how teachers and parents handled this, or if they even did, ten years ago.

There's also a strange moment when Old-Green-Grasshopper is horrified by a crowd of Cloud-Men and cries that rather than hear about the creatures, he'd "...rather be fried alive and eaten by a Mexican!" That was just odd and rubbed me a bit wrong. Because Mexicans are scary cannibals? Or, they were? I know I notice this more because la mia famiglia* is half-Mexican. I'm guessing Dahl was just figuring that nationality sounded exotic.

Okay, I'm finished overthinking this because Cardo is waiting for me to come watch a movie with him. And, because I think I've thought about it enough.

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* Yes, that's Italian, not Spanish. It's all superficially multicultural here in the pond tonight. ;)

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Edited to add: Um, duh. Duh, duh, duh. I didn't stop thinking the line from the book and it's a good thing. Old-Green-Grasshopper. Old. Green. Grasshopper. As in, he's an insect, not a person. Yes, duh.

I just asked Cardo if people in Mexico eat grasshoppers and he said they do in some states. And, then he described how they are prepared.

I really need to turn off my hyper-over-sensitivity radar, methinks.

night owl

Quite a while back, Cardo was lucky enough to snag a large chunk of a homeschooler's library and other resources through Craigslist. Along with a good many books, a recorder, bookcases and a night sky light thing, we got a 2005 daily-page calendar of origami instructions.

I've been meaning to delve into this calendar for quite some time and last night, I finally did. Actually, I pulled it out and set it aside where I'd notice it and finally get to it. (See v strew. Go me!) Pic grabbed it and set about making a dog finger puppet with Papi. Later, she and I attempted to craft some owls. It took me long enough to figure out how to make a square base (and yes, there is some folding involved in that...it doesn't just refer to the square piece of paper we started with). It took some blue language muttered under my breath and too many minutes for me to want to admit to for me to figure out how to go from the square base to the bird base. (I'm using the "bird base" and "square base" terminology from the calendar. I have no idea if it's common origami parlance.) Oh, buddy, I need someone to show me how to do this stuff live and in person*.

Anyhow, as evidenced at the top of this post, I figured it out...eventually. I am not elated with the appearance of the resulting owl, but I am loving that I figured it out.

Most of the pages of the calendar are still in the box and I look forward to tackling more of the projects. (At least, I say that now, at five in the morning on zero sleep.)

I do think that the many, many freecycled magazine pages might not be the absolute best origami paper, though. I'll stick with it because, well, I collected those magazine for around-the-house projects and the above is just that.

I should mention that the back of each calendar page is patterend paper, but this makes little sense to me. How I am supposed to fold the figures on the paper that contains the instructions? There might be some obvious, logical answer to that question, but please refer to the above lack-of-sleep comment.

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* Such a funny phrase.

on life-learning

A bit ago, Pic and a friend were having a conversation. Her friend was asking where she goes to school. Pic responded that she learns everywhere, that she's homeschooled and that, basically, her school is everywhere (O Homeschooling, why do I still call you that?).

Her friend asked her, "But who is your teacher?"

"Everyone," Pic responded.

"But who teaches you? Your mom? Your dad? A babysitter?"

"Um, everyone is my teacher."

I just quietly drove on, letting them conduct their conversation, learning from one another, thinking of a quote I see almost daily: "Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one" (attributed to Malcolm Forbes).

life learning

Last Friday, we had a homeschool park day. (Yes, yes, we're so very often outside of our home doing our learning.) At one point, a man toting a metal detector started sweeping through the park. He was like a mother duck with a line of ducklings following with all of the kids trailing behind him. Y'know, something like this:


(from Google Images)

We thought the kids might bother the guy, but he didn't seem to mind the entourage. At one point, they were all gathered around in a circle, kneeling, faces close the grass and dirt. They had found thirty-five cents and a nail. The parents stayed in the table area, watching the kids listen to an explanation of the metal detecting process. Shortly thereafter, the prospector left and the kids picked back up with their various pursuits.

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On Saturday, I went out to lunch with a friend (so nice!) and Cardo and Pic went to Sierra Trading Post Outlet. There were a couple of other young kids there and they were asking Pic what school she goes to. Cardo says she responded, "I homeschool. The whole world is my school." I am hoping she still has this same attitude in ten, twenty, thirty years, and so on. I hope we all do.

'twas a very good day

Today, I slept in. (Ah, glory be!) Pic did, too. I've got a catch-as-catch-can attitude about sleep lately. Sleep and I have our problems, so we're trying to work out some kind of working relationship.

We stopped by 5th St. for a leisurely brunch. (Every meal with Pic seems leisurely. She's got her own slow food movement going on.) After that, we headed over to the library where Pic and I played a bit and she and her friends colored once they arrived. We had a recycling education presentation one of the other homeschoolers set up through Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful. The kids, although a bit on the eager side when it came to questions and comments*, really seemed to enjoy the presentation and the woman leading the discussion worked really well with them.

After we finished up there, a few of us headed over to a nearby park for a little while. We had to take off when we realized there is no bathroom at the park (argh!), but Cardo and I did get in a nice hour-long walk after availing ourselves of some other facilities. (Pic rode along in the wagon.)

It's entirely too early for us to be home, but here we are. If it weren't as cold and if night didn't roll around so early, we'd have walked longer (well, I would have). Perhaps tomorrow we'll party into the night...

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* That's totally my issue. Every time Pic raised her hand and then blurted out her question or comment without waiting to be called on, I wanted to rush up to her and explain the whole hand-raising concept. (Am I a bit of a control freak? No. Not just a bit.)

the hills are alive...

...with the sound of...apples. Okay, so that doesn't really work.



To kick off an incredibly busy October (can I even remember all of our activities?), we made a quick trip over to Apple Hill with some homeschooling friends. Unlike on a previous trip, we were actually able to pick apples this time -- a whole big fat bunch of them. Mmm.



Other than apple picking, we also had lunch and checked out some craft booths. At one booth, the kids made their own candles. I can't remember the name of the booth, but the women there were fabulous! They were so great with the kids, being very helpful and not condescending. Pic kind of pulled the wick out of her candle (oops), but somehow some is left for us to burn.

Pic's candle is the one on the left in the glass with the flowers.

The kids chose a glass for the container and then filled it with little wax granules. They could also choose a scent for their candles and Pic chose a banana nut bread aroma that kind of makes me ill, but it's her candle.

We went through a very short corn maze (unlike the crazy one we tried later in the month) and the kids rolled down a grassy knoll. As our visit was winding down, we stopped for chilled apple cider and apple doughnuts. Again: mmm.

I forgot to pick up any apple butter or honey. I get a little overwhelmed by the whole Apple Hill experience and we went on a weekend so every place was pretty crowded, so I tend to forget things. This year, I am hoping we'll be able to go on a weekday. We'll see.

On the way out of Apple Hill, it started to rain and there was an incredible rainbow arching across the sky. I was hanging out the window trying to get a good picture of it. It was difficult with the curving road and the evergreens, but I did manage to get about six billion pictures of the rainbow. I'll only share one.



I'm thinking we'll need to go berry picking this summer.

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In the meantime, it's winter here, but you'd not know it. We went for a walk this morning and were shedding layers. I was tempted to shed my shirt, too. I was really longing for my sandals. It's strange the have temperatures in the sixties (and later in the seventies), but it was great to be able to get out for a walk.

il quest weekend, in five acts

-- photo shoot at Tahoe (with fabulous friends)

-- 5th St. Bakehouse

-- Mamma's Night

-- booksale!

-- Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Greek Myths

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P.S. Half-off day at the Friends of Washoe County Library Booksale Bonanza today. (I thought it was $6/bag day, but it doesn't seem to be so. Ah, well.)

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Edited to add: It was $6/bag day! I wonder when Cardo is going to start having nightmares that our books are closing in on him?

mesmerizing

Both the message and the animation held me enthralled.*


"RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms"

I feel like I've heard this talk before. Otherwise, I'm so wrapped up in absorbing similar information that it's familiar to me. I'll have to look around some of the blogs I read to see if I did, in fact, here this elsewhere.

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* Can I be "held entralled"? Is that how that term works? From the OED:

1. trans. To reduce to the condition of a thrall; to hold in thrall; to enslave, bring into bondage. Now rare in lit. sense.
2. fig. To ‘enslave’ mentally or morally. Now chiefly, to captivate, hold spellbound, by pleasing qualities.

Maybe I was held in thrall? But, wow, I don't know that I ever knew the connections with enslavement.

And, why yes, I do obsess much. Language is awe-inspiring...at least for me.

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P.S. I've definitely seen Sir Ken Robinson speak before. Now, to figure out who linked to video.

star-gazing unschoolers

It's been a bit of tough going as far as scheduling and whatnot here in La Casa B. So, it's days like today that help me get through this. First off, I had an interesting discussion with an acquaintance today. He told me about the pressure he feels to follow the oft-prescribed path and about what he's actually passionate about. I told him we unschool and he didn't look at me as if I am crazy (who knows what he thought).

Later this afternoon and evening? The main event. We have regular park days with our homeschooling group and we met up with them today at a new park. I've been feeling very under the weather, so while Pic played in her first kickball game, I napped on the grass. (I was waiting for someone to ask me to move or something.) After the park, we headed way, way out to one of the group's family's houses (please tell me all of that sentence worked out).

The location was fabulous and the company was too. One of our group members brought his telescope and we were able to see craters on the moon and Uranus and its moons (yes, that sentence is like a middle-school dream). We had dinner and the kids ran around like the rambunctious littles they are. Our host had so thought-fully provided those little glow-sticks for the kids to wear so we wouldn't lose any kids in the dark. We had to cut out a little early because my body was hurting and I was tired. And, we have another big homeschooling outing planned for tomorrow.

Perhaps I'll even remember the camera.

from the mouth of the babe...

I think I've managed to shift Pic's understanding of the world. The thing is: I thought she already knew that cartoons weren't real. Oops.

A couple of days ago, she told me, "I wish I could visit the Chipmunks." I explained to her that they were drawings and I felt I could see this information sink in. She looked perplexed and slightly intrigued. This is the kind of information she stores away for later, waiting to bring it up again for further confirmation. This is the kind of information she hold onto until she can apply it to other situations.

Last night, we were reading a Berenstain Bears book together and Pic asked me if Mama Bear was "made up." "They're all pretend," Pic continued, "because bears don't usually talk and wear clothes." No, not usually.

We've had a few more conversations about this. At the same time I like to experience this learning process with Pic, I feel a bit strangely sad -- I feel I've taken something from her. I tried to frame it positively, though, assuring Pic that these characters are parts of someone's imagination and represent something she also can do.


"The Chipmunks - Girls of Rock and Roll [FULL] [HIGH QUALITY]"
(Wow. The Chipmunks and Chipettes are wonderfully confident and passionate!)

learn something every day

Today, I learned the term "undrafted." I had to have the other person in the conversation repeat the term more than once. He, and others in the conversation, explained to me that it's when a player (we were talking about football) is never drafted in the first place.

I thought, surely, it meant that someone had been drafted and then the group doing the drafting said, "Oops, nevermind. We don't want [or, need] you so much." Huh.

Anyhow, all this "un" talk makes me think of Ruth Ruth.


"Ruth Ruth - Uninvited"
(Wow, that video is blurry. And, I've never seen it before, so that wasn't very helpful.)

[Edit: I'm not sure what was going on with the date/time thing. I accidentally hit something and now I realize I posted this a week in advance. Hmm, weird.]

on being almost frugal

I was checking facebook updates the other day and a friend posted that she had stopped at a thrift store earlier in the day to drop some stuff off. I responded that we can never stop at a thrift store to just drop things off. Today, in fact, we headed over to one of our favorite haunts and picked up a fair share of items. For $21.11, we got a movie (VHS, Shrek), a video game (something Cardo picked up for his gaming system) and seventeen new (to us) books.

* The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (This one's for me. I've been told a lot lately that I should read this and I'm interested.)
* For the Love of Autumn, by Patricia Polacco
* The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, written by Linda Williams and illustrated by Megan Lloyd (We might already have this one, but I am really not sure. If we do have it, we'll send this one along to someone else.)
* The Patchwork Quilt, written by Valerie Flournoy and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
* Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?, by Eric Carle
* Saint George and the Dragon, retold by Margaret Hodges and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
* Ox-Cart Man, written by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney
* Trivia Trackdown: Challenging Questions to Sharpen Research Skills, Grades 4-6, written by Linda Schwartz and illustrated by Beverly Armstrong (This one is kind of, um, dated. The cover has a collage of pictures and one is a country outline labeled Czechoslovakia. I still think it could be an interesting book.)
* The Usborne Book of Dinosaurs, by Susan Mayes and illustrated by Luis Rey
* More Bugs in Boxes, by David A. Carter (This is the one Pic chose.)
* A House Is a House for Me, written by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Betty Fraser
* The Berenstain Bears the Whole Year Through, by Stan and Jan Berenstain
* Everything You Need to Know about American History Homework: A Desk Reference for Students and Parents, by Anne Zeman and Kate Kelly
* Teaching Writing through Differentiated Instruction with Leveled Graphic Organizers, by Nancy L. Witherell and Mary C. McMackin (I have no idea what "differentiated instruction with leveled graphic organizers" means, but I'm always intersted in texts on writing.)
* Step-by-Step Collage, by Jim RObins and Philip Steele
* The New Astrology: A Unique Synthesis of the World's Two Great Astrological Systems: The Chinese and Western, by Suzanne White (Cardo chose this one.)
* Computers Don't Byte!: Family and Kids Edition, written by Linda Pereira, Tim Haag and Jessica H. G. Schroeter and illustrated by Karon Walstad and Wendy Chang (This one is also dated, but I'm hoping some of the websites are still active.)

I often find myself buying "educational" texts even if I don't know how or if I'll use them. I am somewhat compulsive about this and generally obsessed with the topic. And, I love children's books, so I usually pick up a good number of them. Okay, who am I kidding? I love books in general.

We also stopped at the library today, where we picked up a few new books to browse. Mainly, when it comes to library trips, I pick up anything and everything that looks interesting. Pic and I have been visiting the library together regularly for most of her life (before, we'd just rely on the books we had at home) and we've read untold numbers of books. I'm amazed, every single trip, at how many books we haven't yet read. O, if only sleep were unnecessary!

We also went to 5th St. Bakehouse for a late breakfast. It was good and the company was pleasant, as always. That wasn't one of our frugal activities, but it's a factor in a great week around these parts. Our other not-so-frugal outing was a trip to the Apple store, where we bought some new software and where I decided that I really want the National Geographic software, which includes every issue since 1888. (I'm not sure what year the software was created, so I'm not sure where the issues end.) Alas, that's $60 and isn't in the budget right now.

Pic has been requesting a trip to Cabela's to look a los animales muertos. I'm not exactly sure what the fascination is, but she's been insistent, so we headed over there. We spent a good long while checking out the animals on display and the live fish in the giant fish tank. Pick explained to us that the animals that ended up as meals were called "prey." Then, I re-introduced the word "predator" to her. (She used to pronounce it "creditor.") We didn't buy anything at Cabela's, so our only expense was the gas we used to get there and back.

After all these outings, we have spent a good long time at home. Pic had wanted to go out and try her bicycle senza training wheels, but she later decided against this. We'll have to try this tomorrow, as I really need some time and the park and out on a nice long walk.

Domani.

label-maker

I have this life-long love of language. I think about it, obsess about it, very, very often. I give probably entirely too much thought about words and phrases. Even when I seem to be just rambling, I'm concurrently analyzing everything I say, or storing it away for later analysis. And, because I have no real main, unifying topic for this here blog, I figure I might as well allow myself to wax on about terminology when I feel the urge.* So, here goes.

Back here, I said that I'd talk about the term "homeschooling." I keep using the term, but really only because I haven't wanted to reveal just how out on the edge I seem to be.** However, I think it's finally time for me to just write this post.

Yes, I identify us as homeschoolers, but more than that, I align us with unschoolers. We don't use a curriculum and we never have (and I don't intend to). There are times that I have directed what Pic is doing and I'm sure I'll find myself doing that in the future. It's difficult to completely diverge from my own experience, so this whole adventure will be a learning process. I am consciously trying to just go with what works for us and what we are interested in, though. I see no reason to set Pic down with a textbook or a worksheet unless she asks for such. And, please, before you roll your eyes, I actually used to ask for textbooks to read for pleasure. I recently bought myself a middle school math book from a rummage sale. I like to practice math problems. I like workbooks and textbooks. And, yes, I'm a total nerd. However, I don't know that Pic will be the same. I'm waiting to find that out.

I've heard a lot of talk and have read a lot of information on unschooling being child-led, but I am thinking more family-led. Yes, I am working to do my absolute very best in allowing Pic to choose what direction she'd like to go in her learning. I ask her what she is interested in learning about and she requests books on specific topics from the library. She chooses which movies she wants to watch and chooses many of her activities. We don't always do everything she wants, but if we don't follow her desires, we provide her with a reason why we're not going there. For example, Pic wanted to go swimming today, but it was really weirdly cold and windy and Cardo and I didn't want to hang out in the outdoor pool we have access to. We probably could have gone, even if only for a few minutes, and this is definitely an example of us not being too stellar, but we didn't just tell her, "No. Because we said so," and leave it at that. We told her why we didn't want to go and we asked her if she had any other ideas for what to do instead. We played for a good bit out at a park she chose, playing games she chose, after we visited the library where she choose books and a movie. I know this all probably comes across one of two ways. One: You might be thinking, "Duh. This is no revolutionary way to raise a child. Saying yes to things she'd like to do? You should have taken her swimming. What's wrong with you?" (Okay, I really hope you're not that harshly judgmental.) Two: "Why would you give your child so much power? The parents are in charge and kids have to do what the parents say. The end." (I also hope you're not this harshly judgmental.) Pic is a part of our family. Yes, she's younger and has less experiences than we do, but she's still a person. I don't see why we can't do and learn and explore with her. Whenever we want to tell her no about something, I want to have a good reason why. Often, on our walks, she'll ask if she can walk barefoot. Probably a year ago, we'd say no and leave it at that. Now, though, we tell her, "Okay. Please look out for glass [which we occasionally see] and let us know if you want to put your shoes back on." Nothing earth-shattering, but our lives are so much easier.

In fact, since we made the choice to not send Pic off to school, we all seem to be much more relaxed. When we're all together, most often, we have nothing to rush off to. We are able to spend leisurely time together. It's the "quality time" so many are often striving to fit into their days. We so enjoy our time together, hanging out at parks and walking/biking/rollerskating, that this really was one of the many reasons we decided to skip the normal school choice.

So, wow, I've said a lot and I haven't even really said what I wanted yet. ("Oh, no, I've said too much/I haven't said enough.") What did I want to say? We aren't just homeschoolers. We aren't just keeping Pic home from school and replicating the schoolroom at home. As I said, we aren't purchasing or otherwise acquiring a curriculum. So, we fit into the category of unschoolers. I am working on whole-life unschooling, but some of us (ahem) are a little more resistant to that. We'll work on it. But, here's the thing. No matter how much I love the idea of unschooling, I'm not the hugest fan of the term unschooling. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I'm thinking several things. I don't like the negative connotation. I, for the most part, loved school. What I loved was the learning and the (very) few close friends I had. However, Pic can, and does, have all of that without the school building, without the taunting and peer pressure. (We'll see how those negative aspects of life pop up in Pic's life. I'm not looking forward to it.)

I recently saw the term "homelearning." I've probably seen it before, but it just struck me the other day. I really like the focus on learning there. What I'm really liking, though, is "life learning." [If you've been paying incredibly close attention, for whatever reason, you'll notice that I started using the tag "life learning" just before I announced our not-off-to-school plans.] Pic hasn't been formally schooled, yet she has learned plenty. She's been in daycare, but left before the kindergarten program started (she started at eighteen months and left when she was almost four-and-a-half). We had planned on her going to kindergarten, but, well, I started tuning into this whole world of (secular) homeschooling and unschooling. So, yes, we haven't started on the K-12 experience. And, yet, the other day, as we were counting out quarters for the bus, she told me, "We need sixteen. We have twelve, so we need four more." Just like that. She didn't even stop to think about it. I haven't taught her to subtract. I wasn't even helping her count the quarters. All I told her was that we needed sixteen. This was kind of the a-ha moment for me. Although I've heard it many times, that people can and do learn from life, I was seeing it in action. It was a small moment, but potent.

Okay. That was long, but it's late and I'm awake, so I'm rambling. In case you couldn't tell, I think through writing. It is through writing that I often come to understanding. So, Great Interweb, thank you for providing this space for me to spew my thoughts. And, thank you for providing for me oh-so-many resources and community members for this next great adventure.

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* Just an example or two. In this sentence, I had first typed "since" instead of "because." I changed it because I've heard that "since" should only be used to indicate a passage of time. For example: Since I was three, I've been determined to teach. Also, I typed "theme" instead of "topic," but, well, "theme," in literature, implies not only a subject, but a statement or judgment about that subject. For example: subject/topic: love; theme: love is a many-splendored thing. And, yes, oh geez, I could just live in my head.

** Also, the term "homeschooling" is convenient and familiar.

parasol monarchs

The other day, Pic and I read The Umbrella Queen written by Shirin Yin Bridges and illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. I love the kind of subdued colors Yoo uses. The book is about a town that crafts umbrellas and chooses an umbrella-making queen annually. The young girl in the story makes me think of Pic in that she's kind of like,"Yes, I see what you're doing over there and it's nice, but I think I'm going to do this thing over here." [In case you weren't sure, I'm not quoting from the book.]

After we read the book, Pic wanted to make umbrellas for her ladies. We started with coffee filters and watercolors. We added some popsicle sticks, construction paper, glue and (lots and lots of) tape to the mix. It was a fun project overall.



[Sorry about the angle on that second one. They're laying on the table. Swan the Princess had just borned a baby this very day. She does that a lot.]

on the lake

This past Saturday, we met up with our homeschooling group again. We went out to the lake and kayaked! Yes, we kayaked. This was the first time I've ever been out in a kayak and it was definitely a good arm workout. We rented a three-seater kayak from a vendor on the beach. Although Pic was finished halfway through our hour, Cardo and I went back out with one of the other kids and managed to stay out for almost the whole hour.

Now, Cardo is on the hunt for a kayak for us. They're not cheap, but we're pretty patient. I'm hoping someone will be getting rid of one now that the warm season is approaching an end (kind of, almost).

Again, I have no pictures to share. I didn't bring out the small camera. We brought out our new (to us) camera, but haven't transfered the pictures yet. There was no way we were going to be bringing out the camera on the boat. I was half-convinced we'd manage to tip ourselves over or something. We didn't.

on socialization

It seems that one of the top worries about not sending my child off into the world of public/private/charter/what-have-you schooling is that she won’t be properly socialized.

I’ve heard it time and again that what we do shouldn’t be called homeschooling* because we spend so much time out in the world, interacting with others. We’re barely beginning here and I’m working on devoting myself to this**, but we still spend lots of time outside of our home. I try to balance our weeks, somewhat, giving us plenty of time both at home and away from home. With the group we’ve joined, we’ll be spending plenty of time away, I know. We'll be spending plenty of time with some great people.

Anyhow, Pic is constantly meeting and interacting with new people. She is a natural at this, always has been. There are times that Cardo and I just stand back and marvel that such a social child could have been born of two such socially-awkward parents. Although she isn’t some kind of poster child for interacting with others, she’s pretty freaking good at it. She does have a tendency to interrupt still, and I have a tendency to fight with myself on the best way to address this. Like everything I can think of right now, it’s a process. However, Pic is comfortable talking to pretty much everyone. She will greet random people we come across. She asks questions and tells stories. She treats everyone with respect and compassion. I think she’ll be one of those people who can go somewhere completely unfamiliar and, a few hours later, have met a new great friend (or at least acquaintance), just like her papa.

The other day, I had some business to (unsuccessfully) attend to at the university and while I did my thing, she befriended a couple of college students. As we were leaving campus, she saw one of these people and told me, “Wait, I want to go say goodbye to him” and she and he exchanged pleasantries. A bit later, as we waited for the bus to take us back home, she started talking with a boy who happened to also be waiting for the same bus. Pic sat across the aisle with the boy and his dad, while I sat back and tried to just let her be.

These are just a few instances. I’m not saying Pic’s exceptional in any way many, many other people aren’t but I am saying that I have absolutely no worries that she’ll not be “properly” socialized.***

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* another post to come on the terminology…I’ve just been putting it off

** I have accepted an opportunity that means that it’ll be another school year before I allow myself to completely devote myself to homeschooling (I am a work in progress…really)

*** I think people would tend to believe she should be spending most of her time with others her own age, but is this really how life is? Sure, for those who go to school, lots of time is spent with many people of a similar age, but then children leave school. There's a great discussion about socialization and socializing on Sarah Parent's Humans Being podcast episode, Why Not School?

water walkers

[I wrote this post yesterday, but am just getting around to posting it.]

Today, we went to hang out with our homeschooling friends for some waterplay. We went out to one of the apparently many water parks in the area. Other than the exorbitantly expensive one that is much closer to us, I didn’t know about any water parks here.

So, today, one of our new homeschooling friends offered a ride to Pic and me so we wouldn’t miss this outing while Cardo worked.

Overall, we had a pretty great time. The place was incredibly cheap. Cardo kept making me tell him how little we paid to get in. (I paid $3.50 total for Pic and me.) There were six pools, with pools both inside and outside, and two water slides. There were also a couple of diving boards. In one of the pools, there were a few lanes for lap swimming and water walking. I'm not sure why, but I was especially amused by the "water walking" signs. You can probably imagine my visual.

I did say that a good time was had “overall.” There were a couple of moments of unrest. Pic wanted to jump from the low-dive, so I joined her in line and explained to her that I would like her to clear the board and that after she entered the water, she needed to get to the side of the pool so the next divers could enter. She climbed the three steps and walked about midway down the board. She peered over the edge and looked at me with uncertainty in her eyes. I asked her if she wanted to come back down and she nodded. I thought she’d be okay, but after she was back on the deck, I could see the tears welling up. In just a moment, she was sobbing. I was trying to figure out if she was scared or disappointed (I’m not sure when people start to feel disappointment in themselves and I sincerely hope she wasn’t feeling that). She told me that it was scary. I told her it was okay, that she didn’t have to jump if she wasn’t ready and we could go in another pool. I held her and she cried for a good bit. We played for a while longer and she tried the diving board once more. The second time she made it to the edge of the board, and, again, she turned back around to join me on the deck. The second time, however, there were no tears.

There were a couple of other moments of tears during our trip, but, overall? We had fun. After we told Cardo about it, he decided we’d be going back. I’m thinking that it’d be nice to visit especially once school resumes, although I didn’t feel it was overly crowded today.

We have another homeschool outing coming up this Saturday. An outing which will require plenty of sunscreen and possibly a bit of stamina. I hope I’ll actually take pictures at that event (I felt weird with my camera at the pool and I was afraid I’d get it wet, so it ended up in my locker with my shorts and top).

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Pic is right now laying next to me and I asked her if she had fun today and she said yes. I asked her what her favorite part was and she responded, “The hot.” We spent a good deal of our time in the therapy and relaxation pool. It was rather warm and went from two-and-a-half to four-and-a-half feet deep. Pic was adorable in her yellow, ruffled swim suit and facility-provided life vest. We'll definitely be visiting again.

on united states' public education

I really needed to hear this right now, and thanks to Poke, I did. This speech is awesome. The fact that this student gave this speech in front of her classmates, her teachers and the administrators makes it even better.


"Finest Graduation Speech Ever Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Indoctrination Schooling"

I can so relate to this, even though I was not valedictorian.

I really wonder what her audience got out of this? I wonder if they went home and kept thinking about it?

homeschool hike

Yesterday, we met up with our homeschooling group for a hike. It wasn't a long hike (a little over an hour), but it was fun. Pic, of course, latched onto one of the older girls. At one point, I looked up the path (Pic was well ahead of me) and saw that Pic had the other girl's hand. Pic is in love with older girls. (When Cousin K came up to visit a few years ago, Pic followed her everywhere, including the bathroom.)

After the hike and some cooling down (it was a bit toasty out), we headed out for frozen yogurt. The kids kind of separated off into their own group leaving the adults to our own group. We had a nice visit and then all headed off to our next respective stops (ours being home).

Something came up after the hike yesterday which led me to think Cardo was rethinking this whole endeavor. I was, let's say, unhappy. He later explained to me that he just has to get used to being around people who are so nice and accepting and automatically understanding. Hello! There isn't much of a better compliment to be offered. I worry, though, that Cardo must have faced some pretty cruddy people if he's surprised by being in a group of such awesome people.

So, he assures me he is still with us on this homeschooling adventure; he's just going to need some time to adjust. Considering we're doing something that isn't a part of either of our past experience, I'm also going to need time to adjust. I figure this is a whole life commitment, but I'm willing to experience it.


(Sorry for the sad lack of photos, but I was more into the hike than I was into the camera. Plus, of course, I don't post pictures of others without their permission.)

going in a different direction

[You might want to grab a mug of tea or coffee or a glass wine or (my favorite) a pint of ice cream. This is going to take a while.]

Where to begin? I have been putting off posting what I’m going to post for quite some time.

The whole situation, the whole idea that I need a special post, is a little silly, I think. Had we decided to do things the conventional way, I could have just ignored the whole topic. I could have posted a quick picture, with or without text and have been done with it.

However, we are about to be going down a somewhat unconventional path.

For the last year, I have been learning about homeschooling and unschooling. I have devoted countless hours of critical thinking to the topic. I have been a woman quietly obsessed. I shared my interest with others who are already traveling along this path, but not really with anyone else. Okay, until the last few months, not with anyone else. I have never been a very brave person and, therefore, I tend to quietly do what I prefer and then let others in on what I’m doing later. I didn’t want to write what I thought of as a traditional college essay when first applying, so I wrote about my soulmate (not regarding young love, but a friendship). When I decided to move in with Cardo, when I was twenty-one, I only discussed it with him. When I wanted to marry him, I asked him and then informed my parents that I was getting married.

I’m not exactly sure I act in the way I do, because I happen to have in my life some of the most supportive people anyone could ask for. I can’t remember a time my family hasn’t supported me in a decision. The family I was born into and the family I have created are relentlessly supportive. As I said, I’m just not brave. I’m continually and ridiculously afraid of what Others will think. I know, I know that I should not take any of that into consideration, but I do, at least in my own quiet way. And who are these others anyhow? I’m not quite sure. I just generally feel this societal pressure to do things a certain way, but I sometimes wonder if I’m creating this pressure out of nowhere.

Okay, so I’m way off in the Land of Rambling here. I have long been thinking that homeschooling, in some incarnation, is the right choice for our family. There have been countless times I’ve wanted to share that information publicly, if only to explore avenues of support, but it took me a good ten months to even start to talk about it seriously with Cardo. He was pretty quickly convinced that it is indeed the right choice for us. I cannot express how happy I am that he and I agree on this.

We did not choose all of this without the input of Pic. I know that will sound incredibly silly to some people because she is five, but it’s not silly. We are talking about her education here. She was most concerned with having other kids to play with. Funny, this is a concern most people seem to have when it comes to announcing that we’ll be homeschooling. In case you’ve never met Pic, or in case you’ve forgotten, she’s an incredibly social person. I have no fear that she won’t be “properly” socialized. Cardo and I agreed that there was no way we could do this without being a part of a community.

Shortly after we agreed to homeschool, we met a homeschooling family at one of our regular outings. The mother, who was out with some of her children, was gracious enough to give us some of her time and to answer some very basic questions about homeschooling. She provided us with a few resources to check out and wished us luck.

I searched out some Yahoo! groups in our area and found one that seemed like a great fit for us and our principles. Last week, Cardo and I tucked away (most of) our social awkwardness and we, along with Pic, met with some other local homeschoolers. Pic spent a good deal of time playing by herself, but then, finally, went off to play with some of the other kids. She often needs to sit back and observe when in a new situation. I know exaclty how she feels.

The get-together was pretty great. While I know that there are other people out there who are doing what we want to do, what we are doing, it was great to actually meet them. We look forward to meeting up with these people again and we look forward to meeting more people from the group.

I am not entering into this thinking that everything is going to be peachy-keen all of the time, but I am entering into this optimistically. And, I should be. Why would I send my child off into something I wasn’t at all sure about? We had found a school we wanted to send her to, but it just wasn’t as good a fit for us as we see homeschooling to be.

I could go on for hours and hours more. As I said, I have been mulling over this for quite some time. I’ll try to keep the rest of this post short and fill in more in later posts.

I keep emphasizing that I think this is a good choice for our family. I don’t think that everyone should do things the same way we are doing them. I don’t think that everyone would, or should, want to and I don’t really think that everyone would be able to. I feel a bit like we are coming at this from a position of privilege and I want to acknowledge that. First, of course, we know that this is an option for us. We earn enough income to be able to do this. (By “we,” at this moment, I mean Cardo.) We aren’t what I would call wealthy and I often wonder if we are even a part of the middle class, financially, but we have plenty. We have tons and tons of books (almost every one purchased secondhand) and we have access to infinitely more through our wonderful libraries, thrift stores, used book stores and so on. We have wonderfully reliable and quick internet access. And, now, we have a group. And, of course, we have each other. What more can I ask for? (I’m not sure yet, as we’ve only just begun this journey.)

I know that plenty of people will have plenty of opinions about this decision. So far, we have only received support, even if it has been of the quiet variety. I wasn’t planning on telling anyone until this post (that I’ve been mentally composing for what feels like forever), but Cardo has started to tell our friends. They might have questions and they might be skeptical (and they might think we have stepped over into the realms of crazy), but they have not run off, refusing to any longer associate with us. I’ll take this as a good sign.

However, we (and by “we,” I again mean Cardo) have told very few of our friends. I anticipate that some will tell us that we are making a risky or wrong decision. I am even preparing myself for the chance that some will no longer be a part of our lives (although I certainly hope that doesn’t happen). Perhaps I’m being melodramatic here, but I’m so used to hearing people tell me that it’ll be “good for me” and for Pic when she heads off to school. Here’s the thing: we rather enjoy our life. It probably isn’t anyone else’s ideal, but it’s ours. We continually talk to Pic about this change (or, really, lack of change) and she is so far in support of the decision. Given we are talking about her education, she will always have a say in this, of course.

I cannot believe that I’ve gotten through this whole post. This decision feels, at the same time, momentous and commonplace. This is such a divergence from how I was raised and from how Cardo was raised. We are not rejecting or negatively critiquing our own upbringings, we have just chosen to do things differently. And, I could not have come to this decision without having had my family raise me the way they did. There are times, though, after having read the blogs and listened to the podcasts of people who are already living this way, that I feel like this is some incredibly widespread movement we are joining.

For now, I’m still in the mode of embracing this decision and looking for ways to support this decision. I welcome respectful comments or e-mails on the topic and I even welcome questions. While I might not be prepared to answer questions, thinking about the answers will help me to focus my own thinking.

I feel like I’ve just bared a very vulnerable part of myself. I have read many snarky and hateful comments on this topic when others have been brave enough to share their experiences and I don’t want to open myself up to them, but I want to share this news. As I said, if we were going the more conventional route, I wouldn’t even have felt the need to share. Perhaps I would have just posted a picture of Pic on her first day. But, I feel the need to explain and kind of justify (which I haven’t even really done here). I guess that’s just the part of the process I’m at with this. There is so much more that I could share here, but this post has been super-long enough as it is.

For now, please wish us the best.

Grazie mille.

[I have since started telling my family and I told Poke who was super incredibly supportive of this decision. Thanks, all!]