Homeschooling/Unschooling

I sent my husband an email and then realized it should be a blog post.

I joined a Yahoo group for unschoolers pretty soon after we moved. Not that I know what that means, but I wanted to learn. I'm one of those weird products of public school that loves learning. Go figure!

Anyway, a blog that I had been avoiding because I knew I would get hooked on it sucked me into its web today. Jessica, formerly Very Mom and Kerflop, has a new blog about her homeschooling/unschooling adventure called Balancing Everything.

None of the posts are long. These two I found especially fascinating since I am someone who also wants to take the plunge.

This one talks about her LDS-based reasons for homeschooling. While I am not of that religious persuasion I still think it is worth reading for parents whose children fall under the category of Special Education. Don't forget that "gifted and talented" students are part of Special Ed (at least that's what they called us in the 70's and 80's).

There is a post that gave me a new perspective on public school, mostly because that was not my experience. And that may very well be because I was part of the whole Gifted thing. Huh, just dawned on me that I was not mainstreamed for English and Math from second grade on.

Two more posts reminded me of me. One of my laziness and the other of how I'm trying so hard not to post things that will let scary people do bad things to us.

Then she gets to the hopeful part and the beginning of a plan.

Proof they are learning!

There's more, but not much as of yet. But I'm really inspired. And that's why I wanted to share. Now go read!

Happy Early Mother's Day to the Congresswoman from Washington State

Here is this year's message and, just because it touched my heart, here is last year's introduction of her son, Cole. He's really grown!

Of to go cry more, because it's so good that this caucus exists and because I wish my son was talking that much.

Glow In The Woods

I've pondered what to write other than, "Go read. Bear witness. Say their children's names. Learn how to be a help instead of making them feel invisible." Really that should be enough. You should go. But instead I've been pondering why it is so important to me. Why do I feel so drawn to this group?

Two things came to me this afternoon:

1. My dad's aunt and uncle, who raised him and his brother, had a son of their own who died of SIDS. As the story goes, one Easter morning they got up and the baby was blue.
2. My mom's mom either had one or two babies before my eldest uncle (depends on who is telling the story). As it is there is an 18-year gap between the oldest and the youngest of my aunts/uncles. If the first baby had lived there would have been 20 years.
   

So the loss that draws me to these women's stories is not just the grieving for the perfect son that I thought we had for 2 days, but there is also a desire to understand these two women that were such a big part of my life.