Adventures in Unschooling

I started reading You Are Your Child’s First Teacherby Rahima Baldwin Dancy and I am very impressed thus far. The book (at least the first fifteen pages of it) talks a lot about the developmental stages of a child from birth to age six.

I am finding that some of the most frustrating issues I was dealing with were from my resisting their normal childhood development.

For example, asking them to clean up all their toys. Simple requests like, “please put your blocks back in their bucket” are easier to process and understand and thus easier for them to comply to.

The book also recommends that we don’t give young children too many options as this request can be overwhelming for a child. I think there are instances where it is appropriate to let them choose (like what they wear or what story to read) but there are things (like what they want for supper or what they want to do today) that seem rather futile speaking from experience.

And I am so glad I didn’t let myself be bullied by the comments of some online mamas a while back because I am even more convinced that their approach will be detrimental to family unity and the child’s future ability to work with others and exhibit generosity, than I did before.

I really believe that a child who gets to be part of a team feels protected and loved. A child that gets to call the shots and doesn’t have to share in the toils of the team becomes self-centered and offstandish.

Anyways, I am just loving the new little changes in our house. I am trying to get ourselves more in tune with nature so I am using more candle light and much less artificial light. The boys get to wake up to their breakfast and some soothing candle light waiting for them on the table. This has made them much more content in the morning.

We have also started working on a food blessing from Beyond the Rainbow Bridge that goes like this:

Earth who gives us this food,

Sun who makes it ripe and good.

Dear Sun, Dear Earth, by you we live.

And loving thanks to you we give.

I really want my kids to love the earth. So many people are so disconnected from the earth that they don’t even realize that all of those pillaging and plundering of our natural resources at the expense of people’s health and homes as well as at the expense of trees and plants and animals is wrong. Someday some generation will curse the stupidity of our generation and the one of our parents.

Like Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother says, “You don’t poop where you eat.”

On a happier note. I have found some doll making books at the library to borrow. I can’t wait until they come in and then I can take a good look at them. I am pretty confident in my ability to make the doll but I really want to see how to do the strong sturdy hair.

Plus, we are going to have spent enough money on supplies for our Bamboletta when all is said and done that we really want to make sure we have the little details punched out prior to cutting the fabric.

I am very excited to get started. Even if Anna can’t even play with it yet. If we really do have enough for three (since I am making these with a friend) I would like to make the boys a boy doll too. But we’ll see when I start cutting out a pattern.

My husband has been sewing voraciously these days. He is making magazine pouches for his airsoft vest. It is almost finished and he has done splendidly so far. I wanted to post some pics this morning but he asked me to wait until it was finished.

He has sewn himself one vest already and wants to sew another after he gets a chance to go buy some more camo fabric.