May Unschoolers Support - Page 8

[SagMom]

Okay, so just playing devil's advocate here--and just tell me to shut up if you don't want to muddle through this here...

Originally Posted by Ruthla

I wouldn't have to deal with the paperwork with the school district.

You'll have to deal with it in September anyway, right? How much paperwork will you have to produce within the next month and a half? Is your ds LEGALLY required to be in school/hs this year? (By us, all 5 y/o's go to school, but legally they don't need to start until they're 6. It's the rare person who knows this.)

My Mom's still unsure that I'm teaching DD2 anything, is she going to go through the roof if I take DS out of school as well?

I think it's really stressful to be trying to hs (or do anything, really) when you think someone is watching and judging your every move. While I would *like* my family to be supportive and "get" what we're doing, I found I had to, at one point, just say, "This is what we're doing, period." I'm not suggesting you be rude, of course, but trying to convince people that unschooling is good might end up taking more of your energy than actually unschooling does. yk? Plus, again, if you're going to pull him out in September, you'll have to deal with your mother then anyway, right?

I'm nervous about the open CPS case and adding another HSed child to the mix when I'm being investigated for HSing in the first place. This is really my primary concern.

Understandable that you'd be nervous. I thought cps was satisfied when they learned you were legally hsing though?

Oh, yeah, one more concern. I'm worried about my energy levels, and being able to keep up with an active 5.5yo. Will I get any "me time" with 2 kids home all day?

Maybe the kids can visit grandma? Could you share childcare with another hsing parent? Could you find a mother's helper to look after the kids while you get some time to yourself? How much energy will it take to deal with the school/teacher and the problems that are cropping up there? Could your dd help with babysitting so you can get out a little?

[Ruthla]

I hadn't even thought of the fact that I may not be required to send in any HS paperwork for kindergarten. How do I find this out?

[mama in the forest]

My Mom's still unsure that I'm teaching DD2 anything, is she going to go through the roof if I take DS out of school as well?

That's a tough spot to be in. You love your mom, and I'm sure you value her opinions & your relationship with her.

I'm not sure how old your dd is, but if she's the 5 year old, you've got a long road ahead of you with unschooling, and now might be a good time to really get things straight with your mom. Unschooling doesn't really involve *teaching* your child per se, and it sounds like your mom may not realize this yet.

Setting up some boundaries is also really good because once you get those in place, you can relax and just do what you like without worrying over what she's thinking. What are your boundaries with her? How would you like things to be between you & your mom as you go about unschooling?

Ultimately, you might feel more confident in yourself, and in the process of natural learning if you have laid down the law a little with your mom.

[UnschoolnMa]

I was on jury duty all day so I've got no clue what the kids were up to. When I got here Ds was loading the dishwasher and had a computer game on "hold". He's been online quite a bit today writing and helping a long distance friend with her homework.

Dd finished up the last book in "Series of Unfortunate Events". She is torn on the ending because she likes some of how they ended it, but really dislikes the way they left some other things. Now she needs a new series. We watched American Idol in her room (because Dad doesn't like it lol) and we flipped to "The Cider House Rules" during commercials and Barry Gibb's performance. We decided that Toby Macguire is adorable (the kids just saw Spiderman 3 too), and Charlize Theron looks a bit like Katherine Heigl in her role in Cider House.

I am fuhreakkking tired, Dd just went to bed, and Dh is watching Maximum Overdrive. Ick. I think I will drink some hot cocoa and take a shower soon.

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

I hadn't even thought of the fact that I may not be required to send in any HS paperwork for kindergarten. How do I find this out?

It says here that compulsory school age for NYS is 6. Another site mentioned the concern of lowering compulsory school age would mean hsers would have to report for kindergarten, so it sounds like you are in the clear. I know that PA does something bizarre that if the child goes to school for 1st grade, you have to start reporting even though the compulsory school age isn't until 8 in PA. But it does not sound like anything similar is the case for NY.

http://www.nyhen.org/govt.htm
"Compulsory school attendance age

Currently, children in New York State are required to attend instruction, be it in a school or at home, from age 6 until age 16. This is the age range within which home educators must submit paperwork and assessments to their school districts. Also, state law allows school districts to raise the upper age limit from 16 to 17 for the students in their district. Only the New York City, Buffalo, and Brockport districts are known to have raised their age to 17.

For years, state legislators have attempted to expand this age range. A number of bills have been introduced in recent years which would raise the upper limit from 16 to either 17 or 18 years, as well as decrease the lower limit from 6 to 5 years. Any expansion of the compulsory attendance age range would require home educators to file paperwork with their district for more years."
************************************
http://www.nyhen.org/regs.htm

"(b) Notice of intention to instruct at home.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subdivision, parents or other persons in parental relation to a student of compulsory school attendance age shall annually provide written notice to the superintendent of schools of their school district of residence of their intention to educate their child at home by July first of each school year. The school year begins July first and ends June thirtieth for all purposes within this section. In the case of the City School District of the City of New York, the school district of residence for students who, if enrolled in the public schools, would attend elementary school, intermediate school or junior high school in a community school district shall be deemed to be the community school district in which the parents reside.

(2) Parents who determine to commence home instruction after the start of the school year, or who establish residence in the school district after the start of the school year, shall provide written notice of their intention to educate their child at home within fourteen (14) days following the commencement of home instruction within the school district."

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ETA Of course, you probably need to officially withdraw ds from school with a formal letter of intent so they don't think he is just truant.

[minxin]

We finally had some decent weather here yesterday, and ds had a fine time. When i came home from school we played with our new giant bubble wand and had our first treat of the year from the ice cream truck. Then our neighbor friend came out and they did 4 year old boy stuff. They did some running and jumping contests, picked rocks out of the garden and threw them into the creek, dug up and re-buried worms, rode bikes, and popped the heads off about 500 dandelions. I sat in my chair and read a book and assisted when asked. We grudgingly came inside after 9pm and fell asleep reading Calvin and Hobbes.
I'm looking forward to the time when this is a standard day, and nothing to brag about. There is only the one boy his age in the neighborhood, and no homeschooling groups here that i can find. So ds spends the majority of his time with adults. We plan to move out of town in the next few months, and we're going to a town with a huge home/unschooling population. Yay!

This thread is really inspiring for me. I'm seriously wanting to build my own robot! Also, i love being in college, but i'm starting to resent the 5 page paper and studying for a philosophy final that stand between me and summer pleasure reading. Lately it's been nothing but Kant, Nietsche, and Captain Underpants! (although i really do enjoy Captain Underpants )

[2 in August]

Is it bad that my 5yo is playing Sodoku? It's on the bonus features on the Peter Pan dvd we got from the library. She started with the easy picture version, but the number one fascinated her. She worked at it just guessing till she got it right for a long time then she asked for help. After I explained the jist of it she's been playing it over and over. Now it still is easy by adult standards, there are only 1 or 2 missing numbers per box/line, but still she's 5yo. I figure it counts as math, lol.

[Ruthla]

Originally Posted by 2 in August

Is it bad that my 5yo is playing Sodoku? It's on the bonus features on the Peter Pan dvd we got from the library. She started with the easy picture version, but the number one fascinated her. She worked at it just guessing till she got it right for a long time then she asked for help. After I explained the jist of it she's been playing it over and over. Now it still is easy by adult standards, there are only 1 or 2 missing numbers per box/line, but still she's 5yo. I figure it counts as math, lol.

I count it as math too! Not "arithmatic" math but "logic" math, since it would work just as well if you used letters or colors or shapes or cartoon characters in place of numerical digits.

[KaraBoo]

Originally Posted by 2 in August

Is it bad that my 5yo is playing Sodoku? It's on the bonus features on the Peter Pan dvd we got from the library. She started with the easy picture version, but the number one fascinated her. She worked at it just guessing till she got it right for a long time then she asked for help. After I explained the jist of it she's been playing it over and over. Now it still is easy by adult standards, there are only 1 or 2 missing numbers per box/line, but still she's 5yo. I figure it counts as math, lol.

Why on earth would it be "bad?"

My dd has liked Sudoku for a while now. (She even makes up her own for me to solve.) She started with a 2x2 then worked up to the 9x9 grid. We LOVE this "game." It's funny cuz it's the sort of thing that is easy for some people and hard for others, regardless of intelligence. Some people just "get" it and can figure them out quickly, no matter if they are "good at math" or not. It's more like a logic thing for me, as Ruthla mentioned.

Sigh. Still apt hunting here. We're burning out, though. One good piece of news is that we found a wonderful place today and I think we're going to settle on it even though it has a few negative features. It is across the street from a park and a few blocks from another so it's just lovely!

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by KaraBoo

It's funny cuz it's the sort of thing that is easy for some people and hard for others, regardless of intelligence.

awww, thank you so much for saying this,

When I first tried these, I found them to be the most horrendously frustrating thing I'd ever tried to do! After throwing one book away in aggravation, a few months later I tried a "kids" version and managed to complete it. I then worked my up to the adult "easy" level. I completed one "medium" puzzle and retired from sudoku gaming, satisfied that I'd done it, but having NO desire to ever lay eyes on one again!

My personal preference aside, why would playing sudoku be bad?

My son, who never liked to write, is now posting on the L&L kids list--it's so funny to hear him talk about checking his messages--I guess he finally found a reason to write.

[WuWei]

Are any of you going to the Live and Learn Conference here in NC?

Pat

[UUMom]

We happened upon a nest of baby bunnies on our property today. They were too darling and sweet. We didn't touch them, and they seem very well cared-for. My little dd keeps going out to peek above the nest. We've read that baby bunnies mostly nurse at night, so not to worry about seeing the mother in the day. So, now it's night. lol DD went out to check on them, and they aren't where we last saw them. Dd said "They must be in their burrow nursing with their mama".

Its amazing to us-- we find frogs and bunnies outside our own back door, we see hawks, and the stars. We walk on our road and find tiny shells and bits of horseshoe crabs. I am so grateful.

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by WuWei

Are any of you going to the Live and Learn Conference here in NC?

Pat

we are. there was a thread (or two) here about it already.

[2 in August]

Originally Posted by KaraBoo

Why on earth would it be "bad?"

My dd has liked Sudoku for a while now. (She even makes up her own for me to solve.) She started with a 2x2 then worked up to the 9x9 grid. We LOVE this "game." It's funny cuz it's the sort of thing that is easy for some people and hard for others, regardless of intelligence. Some people just "get" it and can figure them out quickly, no matter if they are "good at math" or not. It's more like a logic thing for me, as Ruthla mentioned.

I guess I didn't really mean bad as horrible or terrible, it's just that dd always seems to be so much more grown up than she should be and playing sodoku just seemed to be yet another over the top kind of thing. She was having fun with it and she quit when she got frustrated and go back to it when she wanted to try again. It just seemed like a too grown up thing for her to be doing. I don't know if I'm making sense or not. It's yet again something I would have never expected her to do so young and yet she's doing it and liking it and learning so I can't really complain.

[anarchamama]

Not much going on here this week, we are still finishing our fence. I will be soooo happy when it is done. I think I'm going to have the most rockin gardent his year, the kids are just old enough not to need my attention every minuit, but not old enough for me to read with any success so I do a lot of puttering. Next year hopefully I will do more reading

Otherwise we are going to see the big headliner show of a storytelling conference tonight so I think DS will get a real kick out of that, live storytelling is amazing.

We ar emissing our friends as I feel obligated to be around for the fencing but we can't really invite people ove rto ayard full of rotten wood and tools. Hopefully it will be finished Monday (just gates left) and then we can resume a more normal schedule. We did manage one trip to the children's museaum this week and to get a new inflatable pool which the kids have been loving.

[UnschoolnMa]

Ahh sodoku! Dd really likes it, but I have yet to get into it. She's always had a thing for mazes and puzzles though. She loves the I Spy books and optical illusions too. She recently finished the Unfortunate Events series too.

Not much happening this weekend. We are babysitting overnight tonight for my friend. It's her birthday so she's going out on the town. We're making burritos for dinner, and my house is clean and ready to be messed up.

[canuckgal]

Well, our family had an unexpected turn of events this week. : I worked Thursday (I work part time 5-8 days a month as an RN) then developed horrid abdominal pain plus a fever in the evening, and lo and behold was admitted to the very ward I work on (needed to experience it from a patient's perspective, LOL!) and was watched overnight (with all the while me fretting about all the packing we need to do as we move into a house in a week or two), and then next afternoon (after some very painful internal ultrasounds...yuk) went to to the OR where they cleaned up a very large ruptured ovarian cyst, untwisted a fallopian tube, and took out my appendix. It was a little embarassing being around coworkers, but I knew they would take good care of me, and of course when they were busy I helped them out by hanging my own IV bag and removing my own IV when I was discharged

Yikes! So here I sit, appendix-less, killing time on the computer. Good thing I took holiday time anyway for this week. I am REALLY trying to take it easy, as I still am planning to come to the Toronto Unschooling Conference this coming weekend! After all, how hard can it be to sit on a plane! DH and the kids have been great, helping around the house, etc. The kids are very understanding about not jumping on mommy' s tummy, or that they can't go to the playground (can't lift ds into the carseat). I actually am not having too much pain, which is good.

Hey, even "got some unschooling in" when dd was wondering what an appendix was, and we dug out her human body book. It all expanded to lost of talk about anaesthetics, doctors, hospitals, etc. too! Aaaah yes, everyday life presenting learning opportunities!

Good to keep up with this thread! Happy mother's day everyone!

Tina, dp James, dd Stephanie (almost 7) , ds Jonathan (almost 4) here in Manitoba Canada

[mommabear]

Oh Tina, I hope you are feeling better soon and continue to heal. Enjoy the conference!

[Ruthla]

I hope you're feeling better soon Tina!

I'm in another Fibro-Flare. I have been since about Friday. Sometimes I just need a good night's sleep and I feel much better, but that didn't happen this weekend, probably because I was in too much pain to sleep well.

It's just so frustrating. I felt so good on Tuesday and Wednesday, I was able to get a little more exercise than usual, I was really feeling better. And now I feel like crap again.



Happy Mother's Day Everybody!!!

[dillonandmarasmom]

Oh my gosh, Tina...that sounds painful! Sending healing vibes your way, mama...