Roll Call: how many of us are here?

[midnightwriter]

I'm curious about the numbers and intentions.

[featherstory]

I have not really been here before.  I may have read something randomly over the years.  I'm here to participate however I can right now, since this will be first attempt at really regularly unschooling.  My oldest is four in a few weeks and is really, really involved in her learning so I want to help her with that.  At the same time, I've been unschooling her since she was born and knew for a few years before she was born that I would unschool my kids.  I was a nanny and studied quite a lot about alternative forms of education and literacy studies so I'm 100% committed to unschooling, advocacy and support other parents who do the same.  I'm here for all of the above. 

[SweetSilver]

Here?  482?  Resistance is futile?  

[Stacey B]

I'm here a lot, mainly for inspiration, talking me down from my own overthinking, and to babble when I feel like what I have to say might be useful.

[greenmagick]

I am here...used to be a lot, then was sporadic, now fairly regularly again.  I dont post much as I dont often feel I have much to say.  

[zebra15]

I don't share much.  MDC has changed over the years and I don't have time for the same debates over and over again.  My kiddo is getting older, almost 11 now, and pretty set in his ways.  When I do need schooling advice or lesson plan help its not the same material MDC mommies use so I look else where for that anyway.

I to like to follow some of the other families and what they are doing. Dar- you are my hero, mooninmama (sp) you too, 

I unschool as much as I can but DS is starting to demand some other methods and he wants 'more' in life.  He is pretty heavy into STEM classes so math and science for credit at this point are a must.  He is writing lab reports this year etc.  (not exactly unschooling).

I also live in one of the worst states for public education and my kiddo has his eyes set on one of the best universities in the country so momma's got some work to do.   LOL

[chfriend]

I'm still arround, but we've shifted our life around a lot in the past year. I quit my job and we opened a store that sells new and consigned educational materials (brick and mortar) and hosts classes. I'm teaching 4 classes to homeschoolers. We "do school" because it's very clear we all need to do it that way or the kids feel like they aren't getting what they need. It's on the schedule because we are wicked wicked busy and it's too easy to push it aside until they are super pissed about it.

I post advice about specific materials that might match a learner, but rarely on philosophy questions.

I've got two very different learners, both very bright, and it requires a lot of work on my part to match up what's out there with what they need.

I actually got a lot more out of the homeschooling forum when it was all combined because I loved hearing many perspectives applied to a problem.

Lillian, moominmama and Dar's stories have been a big help to my family. I'm still stumped with my older one sometimes, but having a lot of faith in her and us. I tried to talk her into building school this year, but she shot me down. We really are enjoying doing more formal school together and running a store together and planning my classes together and cleaning the house together: dp, dd1, dd2 and me. As usual both of them are pretty good at going after what they want and need, even if it doesn't look anything like any particular homeschooling philosophy.

[Krystal323]

I voted "other", because I've been at various points on the home/unschooling spectrum for many years now, but haven't always had the time/space to chat online about our adventures and mishaps.  I still miss the unschooling dot com boards, back in 2003/2004-LOL.  I think they actually led me to MDC, heh.  I'd love to have a place where people are just chatting about the cool things they're doing in their lives, things that are free of coercion, threats, force, and arbitrary/artificial "have-tos".  Whether or not your kiddo's doing book reports doesn't spell out unschooling to me--it's the question of whether or not you're making him.  Does that make sense at all?? 

This week, I am getting to go to Rethinking Everything--a four-day long unschooling conference in the DFW area.  I've never been before, and I am unspeakably psyched about getting to hang out with truly like-minded parents!!  I've met people who are adults now, but went as kids, and still credit the conference as a paradigm-shifting life experience.  If we could capture just a bit of that sort of energy in an online forum, I'd be amazed--and also posting/reading regularly! 

[CrunchyMama19]

Hi all!

I saw the other post and would love to see this forum become more active! I come here for inspiration but rarely post because with only a 4 and a 1 year old I don't feel I have much to offer.

That said, I do plan on taking an unschooling approach with my 2 girls. The 4 yo is very precocious, artistic, curious and excitable. I fear that if I put her in P.S. that they would diagnose her with ADHD or something because she is SO active, is rarely still and if she doesn't want to participate in something she simply won't! Typical for a 4.5 yo in my opinion but I am not sure the p.s. would see it that way. But that is a whole other discussion!

The main reason I am interested in unschooling is that it is learning through life. I did very well in school but it was very much intake, regurgitate for an "A" and dump. I got out of school and had a lot of facts but little experience and not much was retained. Life learning and unschooling children seem to truly LEARN and retain the information rather than always competing to set the curve like I did. Anyway, that is what got me interested and so far that is the approach we plan on, though with them still quite little I am sure what works for us will evolve and change as they do!

[hildare]

i lurk.  i also stalk the other education forums, too.  it's kind of silly in some ways to say we unschool a two year old, but that is our intention for the future and i do somewhat feel that is what we're already doing. 

[NellieKatz]

I wouldn't say I "hardly ever post" but I don't post very much, as I don't consider myself an expert on unschooling. Nor a pure unschooler. I come here more to learn from what I read, or to get inspired or reassured. Occasionally I post.

[annakiss]

It's not very active here, so when I do post, it's because I've remembered this is here and read the recent stuff.

[ammiga]

I just started lurking here. I have a daughter who is 3.75 and in preschool. She is very happy there, and in the summer constantly asks when she can go back (even though we stay quite busy and happy). I also have a 1 year old son, so I'm trying to figure out if I should ever enroll him in any school.

I really like the idea of unschooling. I don't know much about it, and I'm trying to learn more. I guess I don't know if dd should go to preschool if she wants to and I can still "unschool" her at home. Or if should pull her out and start unschooling her. Or if I should just take her out in time for Kindergarten, since I really don't want to send her there. This is so confusing, so I'm here to learn. I don't post anything because I don't have anything to add- maybe someday!

[mizzoh]

Hi. I mostly read.  I don't post much because I rarely feel like I have something worthwhile to say.  Also, ds is on the young side ( 5 1/2) and up to now we haven't really been doing much.  Maybe now that he is officially supposed to be in school I might be a bit more active.

[UnschoolnMa]

I come to MDC semi regularly now, but I always come to the unschooling board when I visit. I rarely start a thread, but sometimes I do. I often post in already existing threads. :) My unschoolers are adults/nearly adults now, but we are unschoolers for life.

[Cyllya]

I mostly just lurk here to get info for the future, as I don't have kids yet. Every now and then a post comes up where I have something to say though. In fact, I originally made an account on MDC because someone on here was asking about video game development because her kid was interested in it.

[cambridgebaby]

I browse here periodically but don't get a chance to post as much as I would like to! Hooray for unschoolers!  

-Kerry @ City Kids Homeschooling

[rumi]

I voted other.

I used to come more regularly but now not as often.   But whenever I do come it is both to ask and answer questions / share experiences.  And to get inspired.  Sometimes I just have bit of time when i want to read something interesting and so I come here.  This is the only unschooling forum I visit - I have tried nearly a dozen others (incl. groups / lists) and this is the one where I feel comfortable having a serious discussion, with multiple perspectives.

[2xy]

I voted "other." I visit MDC regularly, but only pop into the unschooling forum occasionally. I like to read about others experiences and occasionally to chime in. I've been a message board junkie for years, but unschooling forums have always sort of turned me off because there's always a few extremists who get on their high horses and say things like "You're not an unschooler because you make your kids brush their teeth." I haven't seen too much of that on MDC, but I just don't really need homeschooling/unschooling support anymore. My kids are grown-ish.

[HoneyTree]

I voted the problem/doubt myself, and it's that situation that leads me here, but then I come to read and get inspired again! So, I could have voted either way.