After a year's hiatus, we have decided as a family to return to our radical unschooling roots. I almost titled this post "Please Do Not Comment on This Post". But I am pretty sure I can handle the flack. Just rest assured this choice is a heartfelt attempt to live and learn authentically as a family in a way that all of us appreciate and enjoy. It is not a reaction to external circumstances, in fact we are a lucky family that, besides the schoolish stuff, has had a positive public school experience. I am also not "trying" to be something. I think in the past, I was trying lots of different things, different ideals, etc. To see which one fit. In the last three months, through prayer, honesty, late night discussions, and soil searching, I came to the astonishing discovery that who I wanted to be was who I already was. And it looks and feels totally different.
Some of the positives? I am really connecting with my kids. All the way, heart to heart. I am enjoying them. I am being a kind, loving mom instead of a frazzled, sort of confused mom. I feel like I have come home. And the kids are so happy and this new wide open feeling in our house is bubbling over. They are warm and courteous with each other in a way thatmakes my heart soar and my throat catch.
What do they do all day? Well, in these first few days-
* play hand after hand of crazy eights
* ditto with round after round of the clue decoder game and The Play's The Thing game. Followed by reading stories from our Shajespeare storybook.
* PLAYYYYYYYED
* Looked up the idiom "eating crow" after our hound dog got one
* visited The Gentry Safari
In other words we are, to paraphrase David Albert, "being, growing, doing, and learning...together."
I hope you can be a supportive ally if you are reading this post. Some guidelines I would suggest for questioning homeschoolers is....don't. Unless you are genuinely interested in homeschooling. The "mommy wars" have done enough. I respect you and your decisions, please trust that as a grown person I can absolutely be trusted to make void, whistic choices for my family. If you know me at all, this should be abundantly clear.
