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Back to No School - Page 2

post #21 of 29
8/29/10 at 4:42pm
Our community holds a Not Going Back To School (NGBTS) Picnic on the first day back to school....Sept 7th here. Different people have ran it over the years. This year we are gathering at a park, some homeschoolers are offering different activities. For instance, a 12 yr old homeschooler is organizing a soccer game, there will be a frizbee toss, face painting, painting table, plant potting, bubbles, potato sac races, a scavenger hunt....different people are bringing different activites. There is also splash pad. Just a day to hang out, have fun and celebrate being outside with fellow homeschoolers.

Then we are going to a Pioneer Village two days after, there are around 50 homeschoolers going....should be a fun week!

Create your own celebration! Others in your community might be interested in celebrating too!
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post #22 of 29
8/29/10 at 6:54pm
This is our first year "officially" unschooling, ds went to public K last year..the questions are a constant. My son so far has handled them well and I try to let him handle them in his own way. It helps me to not want to tell them a whole long story of how awful that year.

I've thought of doing a little BTS party which would be tomorrow, but then I figured I didn't want to make a big deal out of something that is already a big deal to everyone else. School starts tomorrow and he doesn't really need to know anything about what's going on with the public school. We are heading out across the country on Friday for two weeks. I guess that will be our party..instead of school we are road tripping to places the kids have never seen, visiting family and learning!..it just doesn't get any better so our focus is there. Maybe just go do something fun...hit a museum or park or somewhere else that is usually crowded.

It is really hard and when I get those questions I remind myself how thankful I am to not have to go school shopping, no uniforms to buy, no daily lunches to pack, no daily struggles to get out of the house not babies to wake to drop off and pick up..no see you in 7 hours goodbyes....
post #23 of 29
8/29/10 at 7:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by annakiss View Post
The paper is having a contest on first day of school photos. I was thinking of entering some. It might be hilarious.
Love it.
post #24 of 29
8/29/10 at 7:24pm
I so understand. My kids are still to young for school, but I do get so tired of all the back to school stuff. It's sad to see all these kids shipped off. I hate hearing how 'happy' parents are to be rid of their kids, like they are huge burdens.

I think if it's not a big deal to your kids to not be doing something for 'back to school' season, then I wouldn't. Why celebrate something you don't do or believe in? If they (and also you) are really feeling left out, maybe have a fun day of celebrating your freedom FROM school. Go someplace that school kids can't, and if you know other unschoolers maybe have a larger gathering.

Julie
post #25 of 29
8/30/10 at 6:50am
We're going to a Not Back to School camp-out for homeschoolers. Last year it was about 15 families camping out together for the first three days of the public school calendar. It really helped my get through what would have been the first days of dds kindergarten without having a panic attack and dragging her to school at the last minute in fear that I was doing the wrong thing keeping her at home. Being out in the woods I was too distracted to think about what we might be missing.
post #26 of 29
8/30/10 at 7:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by vbactivist View Post
Exactly to your bolded! I am so sick of reading "countdowns to freedom" on facebook, etc. Or people saying - how am I going to make it through the summer, etc.. I want to say = I LIKE spending time with my kids. And if your kids are so yucky to be around, maybe it's because they need more tiem at home (and less peer influence, etc...).
Oh my gosh, this very thing is driving me crazy lately too. It's so sad, and SO disrespectful to say that about your own children. I'm also sick of a certain couple facebook friends that keep posting about how they are spending the day "reconnecting" with their child. How do they live so disconnected from their kids??!!

Anna, I wish we were neighbors! I'm also sick of the Back To School questions and hubbub. When I say we homeschool (because I don't even want to open the unschooling can o' worms) they inevitably say, "Oh I could NEVER do that." I feel like rolling my eyes, dramatically sighing and walking away, but I make the boring, polite conversation.

I need to get more involved in our local unschooling/homeschooling groups, but one of my kids is a real homebody and the I ticked off the Christian group we joined because I (not religious) said I didn't appreciate being told that "Jesus is waiting for you, and for your children's sake, I hope you find him." I live in a more suburban part of town, and everybody around here seems to just send their kids to school, no questions asked. The unschoolers are mostly closer into the city, for some reason.

I did enjoy taking advantage of back to school sales without the mandatory supply list everyone else was studying, and buying only what we wanted.

There's a Not Back To School camping trip that sounds fun, but I don't think we can go for logistical reasons.
post #27 of 29
8/30/10 at 7:43pm
Quote:
I feel like rolling my eyes, dramatically sighing and walking away,
For some reason this made me laugh so hard. I feel the same way. I'm usually polite too. But I have been known to give a raised eyebrow or just a bored, "are you serious"? look on more cranky days.
post #28 of 29
8/31/10 at 12:47am
There's a lady on Flickr (her kids are homeschoolers) who took a photo of her daughter in her new back-to-school clothes....PAJAMAS!

I thought that was so brilliant that I think *I* am going to take my son out and buy him some back-to-school PJs too. :-)

Here's the link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17005328@N07/4941438311/
post #29 of 29
8/31/10 at 1:04am
I saw an idea some where about making a back-to-school time capsule. Basically you make hand prints and the kids can write down their favorite things from right now. Anyway, I thought that might be a fun thing to do. Whenever our not back to school days is.

I just wanna say, I loved this:
Quote:
Oh my gosh, this very thing is driving me crazy lately too. It's so sad, and SO disrespectful to say that about your own children. I'm also sick of a certain couple facebook friends that keep posting about how they are spending the day "reconnecting" with their child. How do they live so disconnected from their kids??!!
Hells yes! Why don't people respect children? How did we get here? I have heard my own mother say that respect is earned and not a given. Yuck, just gross.