Who Doesn’t Want a Little More John Holt in their Lives?

Words that make me Feel Good About The Summer Of 2014

Time Spent NOT schooling….

The idea of teaching my own children…. to school at home….

 

or rather to un school

 

or to road school

 

 

only became that much more demanding and persuasive

*when I spent a year back in college from May 2012— May 2013.. To get myself a degree….  Learning how to ‘be a teacher’ from a university…. doing the whole “be a teacher for free” student teacher thing while juggling the single mom thing and figuring out how to make it all work without an income for 6 months.

*when I spent a year creating lessons, reading, planning, teaching 14-18 year olds in an Arizona school district, while learning far more from those around me and soaking up all the information I could with every passing second/encounter/experience……. than I think I ever actually taught…..

*I lost all that time that I could have been home…. watching, learning, playing, and creating with my own children.  Missed them a great deal.  Know they were well taken care of. But REALLY really MISSED them during the long work days/40 minute commute.

 

I count that time as some valuable lessons and educational experiences but I long for things to fall into place somehow without the uncertainty of it all……  in order to start the unschooling that seems to always pop up in the back of my mind.   Wouldn’t it be the best blessing in the world to be a such a huge part of my own children’s education/homeschooling/learning experience.  I bet they would teach me a thing or two thousand since they’re all so different with such a vast variety of interests.

 

The things they could truly learn and dive into if they were not strapped by the public school system is awe inspiring to me.    I hope for nothing but the best for them. Whichever path that may be.

 

 

 

Simplicity. Less is More.

I want simple.
I want less STUFF.
I want more TIME.

I want to unschool.
I want to homeschool.
I want my children to mostly if not entirely self direct their own learning by the time they’re 16.

I want a small house. (in the country)
I want said small house to have solar, wind, and water power.
I want a garden. (not just a garden but a greenhouse to sustain our family)
I want produce that does not have the MONSANTO genetics seeds. I want produce with REAL nutrients.
I want to spend nights outside looking at the stars, having camp fires, and learning/teaching constellations.
I want free range chickens again. (with an ‘easily moveable’ coop to reposition their bedtime place every week or so)

I want more books..
I want less mindless TV (I love TV but only if it’s teaching something)
I want more legos for my oldest boy, dress up and music for my girlie girl, and cuddle time for my ‘baby’ who is almost 3.

I want more sleep.
I want more hugs.
I want a grocery store that does not have an entire isle devoted to cereal choices…….

OK …. I could make an “I want….” list that goes on and on and on and … ON…… forever.

so —-

I just want today. To be perfect. TODAY. To be healthy. To be safe. To be content….

And it is —– As long as my 3 Happy Hooligans are with me… and we’re playing/laughing/learning/growing.

Appreciating the moment. Even the stressful (loud, headache causing) moments.

That’s all I want. It’s honestly all I need. Simplicity.

Jump through hoops to HELP my children learn…..

I’m finishing my teaching certification.
I will be soon “certified” to teach.
To educate.
My BS in Biology and my MS in Marine Biology are just jumping stones of interest I suppose….
Because NOW I am going to be “certified”.

I want to teach because I like to help others SEE how AWESOME learning is…..

I also have 3 children.
I have always supported homeschooling.
I would love nothing more than to unschool my own children and let them be their own learners…..
I actually thought we would be homeschooling/roadschooling/unschooling by now.

Life has taken a few dramatic turns from the original “plan” and “idea” 5 years ago….

The oldest is in Kindergarten. The second will enter this upcoming year.

I am being awakened to the realities of public school systems through this teaching certification that I am taking part in. Now… DAILY…. I worry for my own children’s education more than anything else. I LOVE the oldest Kindergarten teacher… she’s GOOD.. and I mean REALLY GOOD…. But I have the understanding that it is the ‘luck of the draw’ and I hate playing Russian roulette with my children’s education….. I have always just wanted a little bit more (but don’t we all…. as parents….. want THE BEST for our children?)

I want to find conferences or get together with other like minded people. I need to spend as much time teaching myself about this avenue and the rules/regulations on the matter than I do on my own ‘education’ of teaching certification in NY state.

My journey back into what I wanted all along. That’s what this is. How can I make IT work with the adversity that I now face… the challenges that we are going to see in the next 11 months of moving to a new place, new job, new life….. Certainly I can “COUNT” that as an education all in itself so I am still trying the best I can with what I have (See, I’m talking myself into it).

My attempt to remind myself what I wanted for the past 6 years but slowly let go of accepting that it might not be easy or not possible QUITE YET.

I am not the teacher even though I have the degree….. I am just the helper…. to the students… just like I am the helper to my own children. THEY are the learners… THEY are the ones who have to apply themselves. Perhaps the first and biggest battle to fight is to help my children understand and VALUE education itself. The desire to learn….. If they have THAT…. I suppose I’ve won the ‘fight’. They will surely take care of the rest and utilize teachers/resources/time wisely if they have the foundation of appreciating education…. (That makes sense right???!!!)

We collect moments.

Not things.

Happy Day World — Happy Day