While starting to write this I’m listened to Over the Rainbow performed by Israel Kamakawiwo`ole which has been included in the soundtrack of a number of movies including playing during the credits of Finding Forrester. Tonight, I was just getting ready to settle in to a late night of writing when my oldest 2 showed up in the kitchen while I was getting a drink. About an hour later I got to the computer.

I had 2 conversations at once. Each waiting patiently for a break in the one that I was having with their sibling to get the conversation back to what they had on their mind. I put this in the category of unschooling adventures because even though I’ve been a parent a very long time I’m still encountering things I’ve never encountered before. I think parenting will always be that way. Although someday it’ll be grandparenting.

What made this an adventure has very little to do with what the conversations were about. It has alot to do with dear and close friends who haven’t seen each other in a while. One of the things that I expect is nearly universal about homeschooling parents is that they want to see their kids grow up. I don’t mean in the biological sense. I mean in the mature, responsible, thoughtful, etc. sense. And if they are going to do that, we have to let them. So, the relationship between parent and child has to morph through the years. It is the parent who has to allow this to happen. And, the relationship has to move from one of elder-child to one of friendship. Whether or not there may be other ways, I can certainly see no better way.

I have to say there are times when it’s tough to do. But, I can also tell you it’s worth doing. If you’ve been following along in Andrea’s blog, it’s been a difficult week. There are lots of temporary things that are there begging for attention. Likely though, in 6 months to a year, none of those things will be important. Our relationship with each other and our children will be.

Here are a few lines that I’ve excerpted from Over the Rainbow

And the dreams that you dare to,
‘oh, why? oh, why can’t I?’

Well, I see trees of green and red roses too
I’ll watch them bloom for me and you.

See friends shaking hands saying, ‘how do you do?’
They’re really saying, ‘I, I love you’

I hear babies cry and I watch them grow
they’ll learn much more than we’ll know

Some day I’ll wish upon a star
wake up where the clouds are far
…behind
where trouble melts like lemon drops
high above the chimney tops
that’s where you’ll find me

Your wise quote is: “Be kind to unkind people,

they probably need it the most” by

Ashleigh Brilliant.
You try to look beyond apperance, try to give

people second chances and are probably very

kind. Understanding is your biggest

personality trait, and thoose you can see

through should be grateful. If they aren’t

already. You detest narrow minded people,

because they can’t see what’s really there.

Facades is not your thing and you strive to

always be who you really are.

What wise quote fits you? [pics]
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Now where did I see that before?

Tim at Making It Up is responsible for this post

We discussed the Jung Profile in my first Adult Ed course. I always find these things interesting whether or not I agree with them. Of course, I’d love to dig into the guts of the thing and see how it scores. Since I can’t do that, I’ll just tell you that I profiled as a Counselor Idealist (iNFj). What do you think? Does it fit me or not?

You can try for your own profile here.

On my trip over today, I took some pictures while driving. This is only the second time I’ve driven this highway. The first time was last Sunday. On that trip, the hardwoods in the first 2 photos were covered in frost. It was very picturesue. But, I didn’t have the camera with me. From the first picture to the last was about 20-30 miles apart. Most of the route I traveled is shown on this map.

The first 2 photos were taken east of Napadogan and the third west of it. Napadogan is the only habitation between Williamsburg and Juniper. Napadogan consists of a wood processing mill and a handful of houses.

The majority of New Brunswick’s landscape looks much like this although not all of it can be seen from a highway as is the case with these. About 15 years ago I ran into the statistic that over 2/3 of NB is considered uninhabited. That figure was based on a 1 mile (I think) radius around all permanent residences accounted for less that 1/3 of the area of the province. Where you see the blank areas of the map are uninhabited areas.

If you check the bottom of each image, you should notice the pavement progressively disappearing under ice as I traveled west. For most of 10-15 miles, there was little bare pavement. Most people who drive here in the winter get used to driving on ice. The estimated time by mapquest is about 3 1/2 hours. Without stopping for refreshments, streches, etc., it only takes about 3 hrs on dry pavement. Today, with 2 stops it did take about the 3 1/2 hours.

We have a new ad on the left hand side. The provider does indeed count clicks. So, if you are so inclined, click for us

I updated our photo gallery and added an album for February, if you’re interested.

Witin the next month or so, we’ll be celebrating our 12th anniversary of homeschooling. Last week Andrea and I discussed the possibility of doing he said/she said posts in recognition of Valentine’s Day. We wanted to reflect back on things we learned over the years. I thought to myself, ‘Surely I can come up with one significant thing that I’ve learned for each year of homeschooling.’ I’m not going to present these in the order in which they were learned. I’d rather present them in what I consider to be the order of importance.

There are an abundance of ‘keys to’ books out there. So, I’m expecting that everyone in familiar with the ‘keys to’ concept. In a way, you can look at my list as a set of morals. In presenting these, I recognize that I won’t be telling you anything that has not been told before.

1. When you wake up each day, before you get out of bed, forgive your children, in advance, for anything that they might do during the day. Don’t be discouraged if in the course of your day you fail to keep your original intent. Tomorrow is a new day in which a fresh start can be made.
2. Love unconditionally.
3. Be humble. Be gentle. Be patient. You were a child once.
4. Listen to your children.
5. Trust your children.
6. Don’t underrate your children.
7. Don’t control. Set an example instead.
8. Don’t be afraid to tell your children you were wrong.
9. It’s okay to say, ‘I don’t know.’
10. Reinvent the wheel. You may get a new wheel.
11. Look forward to experiencing new things.
12. Every invention is the result of someone going where no one has gone before.

Like all moralists, I am not really telling you anything new. I’m just reminding you of things that other moralists have said for thousands of years. When I initially jotted down this list, I started to come up with explanations for each. But, as I write this, I don’t see that any explanation is necessary. And so, I offer none.

Yesterday, I put a few hours in on the computer but had no time left for reading. This morning Andrea and I got up at 7 to drive for an hour to pick up a car rental. The rental company used to have an outlet that I could walk to in 5 minutes The company I start working for on Monday have a contract with said rental agency.

Anyway, due to an impending minor snowstorm and having to pick up the car, we’ve had to rearrange some plans, etc. Also, because I’m going to be away for Valentine’s Day, we celebrated this week.

The long way around it is that I’ll be posting less frequently for the next few weeks. I will have access to the internet in the evenings. But, I won’t be putting several hours in every night, as I have been. I’m going to have to start getting to bed at a decent hour because I’ll be back to an 9 to 5 type schedule. Actually, I’ve never worked anywhere where they did 9 to 5.

I’ve also been keeping up daily with alot of blogs. I think for the interim I’m going to split them in half and alternate days. So, if it takes a couple days before I leave a comment on something, you will likely have been on an alternate day. And on the weekends, I’m likely to be spotty.

A very small carnival this month, but some excellent reading therein.

First up, we have David, making the case for unschooling, which he does quite well, I might add. Loads of good stuff in the many comments as well.

This, and the events going on in our own lives, lead me to thinking about how wonderfully adaptive unschooling is. Just looking at a typical day from Joanne at A Day in our Lives you can see how unschooling doesn’t necessarily mean a day full of disorganized chaos. Even for a family of younger children, like at Patch of Puddles, you can see how their typical day (in pictures even) is at once similar but distinctly different, geared just for them.

Topic can be grabbed on the fly, as they occur, delved into with the child’s interests, with life. See specifically how Homeschooling Mami explores Black history month with her child, and how it is just a part of their lives, appreciating all their friends year round.

I admit, though, there is often a steep learning curve for the parents, as we navigate the uncharted waters. Over at Tricotomania, she talks about our need to plan for things and how sometimes we need to just let go.

The hard parts that go along with that are noted by Janine, on a day where she’s had to wear too many hats.

This gives me pause for reflection, and an urge to dig out an older post of mine from two whole years ago, Homeschooling and the ADD Mom, where I bemoan my sorry state and declare we just can’t unschool. But just look at how far we can come, what our children can do, if only we adapt our thinking and get out of their way.

Note: The Carnival of Unschooling has move to Unschooling Voices.

A few days, I told you about our upcoming adjustments. In a way, I had to tell you that news before I wrote this. And, to further introduce this post, if the title were separated from the post, the word understanding could be either a verb or an adjective. If it’s a verb, the title might suggest I’m setting out to offer insight into the nature of children. If it’s an adjective, I’m stating a quality or characteristic of children.

Occasionally, after the job interview was scheduled, and more frequently after I’d had the job interview, Andrea and I had many conversations trying to sort out some of the issues (perhaps plan ahead). And the older kids ask questions as well. Once I had the offer on Friday, the discussions became more concrete. On Monday night, Emma asked, ‘When we moved, would that be an event?’. Andrea asked her to explain,

Emma: Some of us will live in this house and some of us will live in another house.
Andrea: Really? Who’s going to live where?
Emma: Addison is going to live here. Emma & Sarah & Meaghan & Mommy & Daddy are going to live in our new house. And we are going to come back and visit Addison…

She went on to describe in a significant amount of detail the current plan insofar as it had been planned out. And then,

Andrea: How do you know all that?
Emma: I just listened.

You might think that while sitting beside Andrea and listening to this, I was stunned, surprised or amazed. Really, what I was thinking was how much our society, in general, underrates its children. I was a bit surprised because we hadn’t talked to her about any of it yet. And I hadn’t noticed that she was around very often when we were talking about it.

Emma is special to us, of course, as she ought to be. But, we do not believe that she is significantly more intelligent than most children her age. This sort of conversation is not unusual for her. I have 2 or 3 conversations a week with her like that one. Sometimes she talks about planets and outerspace, other times about human biology. In the last week or so, she has been trying to sort out a meaning for the word event. The question she asked before the move one was, “When I was born, was that an event?”

In addition to children’s programming, Emma enjoys watching home renovation shows and shows which show the process of making things (like ‘How’s that made?’ and ‘Unwrapped’). Almost on a daily basis she wants to look at, be read to and discuss adult books on history, biology, nature, picture this books (pictures made from small objects), and exploded diagrams.

With the background of the many conversations I’ve had with her, the conversation I described above prompted me to remember something from my own childhood that has nagged away in the background while always managing to elude me. The readers we had at school intended to teach us to read were boring. And if it weren’t for teaching my own children, I would never have figured out why.

School readers are written within the confines of a vocabulary that children are expected to be able to learn and read and write on a test. And my 5 year old’s conversational vocabulary far exceeds anything I would expect any 5 year old to be able to recognize and remember in print. Nor would I expect that all children have a vocabulary which includes uterus, crankshaft, pendulum, archeology or many other words which have occupied the interests of my children at age 5.

I took a break in writing this to read Emma her bedtime stories for the night. I realized that in my head this was turning into a rant. I didn’t want to do that tonight.