Messes & Children

Here's a clip from one of my groups that really touched me. The author of the below post, Kelly, is so correct in what really matters.

Sincerely,
Vicki,
Mom to ds 10, dd 16 & dd 18.
The years really do fly by fast. Enjoy them:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I cross-stitched this for a pillow in Cameron's room 20 years ago:

I hope that my child, looking back on today
Will remember a mother who had time to play;
Because children grow up while you're not looking,
There are years ahead for cleaning and cooking.
So, quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep.
I'm nursing my baby, and babies don't keep.

It was by that prolific author, Anonymous.


This one has an author:

Babies Don't Keep

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

My boys are 12 and 20, and my house is usually fairly straight. But that wasn't always the case! You DON'T get this time back. And no matter how many people say that to you, I know it comes in garbled and unintelligible right now with two children, three and five. But one day you will understand what we're saying. It'll be sooo clear then.

You can *choose* to hear us now though. And before too long, folding those tee-niney little t-shirts will be a very distant---and sweet---memory. And when you find a stray Lego under the dresser that hasn't been moved for years, you'll smile. I promise.

Laundry and dirty dishes will *always* be there. Mine still are. But those children will *never* be five and three again. I guarantee that!~Kelly

Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://www.liveandlearnconference.org/

Preparations for Back To School

I'm giggling as I'm sure that title made a few eyebrows raise of people who know we unschool. I mean really, what unschooler prepares for back to school? Well, I'm not really, but since I'm always looking for great information, I figured I'd share.

Homeschool Reviews is an online resource where many homeschoolers have posted their thoughts on the different curriculums that they have used. Since I'm always looking, I found the personal experiences very useful.

What have we been doing?

This Summer has been filled with game play: Dwarf Fortress , Pirates of the Carribean , Runescape, Funorb, and the current favorite, World of Warcraft. Along with these online games, there's been lots of books read, stories told, and costumes made. The thing that always jumps out at me whenever we start a new game or project is that my youngest graps the manual and reads it through. That might not sound impressive till you realize that the manuals are usually at least 358 pages long! Some are four times that size, and many have dedicated web pages just to explain all the rules, abilities, and strategies of game play.

This skill might not seem all that important but take a look at Dwarf Fortress. That game is mind boggling. My spouse and I were just discussing it, and he was saying that it takes a computer programmer type brain to be able to play it. On Wiki they state,"It has a very steep learning curve, partly due to its ASCII graphics, but also due to the fact that it is one of the most complex games ever released." Their slogan is "Losing is fun." This game is near impossible to win and you better just accept that before playing otherwise you won't enjoy the game.

I've found my son researching all types of things. How mines really work, the textile industry, economics, interest rates, glass blowing,.... the list is long for he researches everything that he is curious about and that's a non-ending list. I love unschooling!

Flicking People Off

OMG! WhAt?!?! Flicking WhaT?!?! Yeah, that's right, I'm irritated. Deal with it or go to someone else's page. (And I mean flicking not flipping!)

Why you ask am I irritated today, this week, month?

I'm tired of 'people's' unasked for, uninvited along with uneducated opinions. So I'm flicking them all off like a totally unwanted piece of lint off my new beautiful shirt. I'm so tired of being excited about something then making the mistake to answer my phone, then share my new joy only to be shot down by the narrow simple minded idiot at the other end. I mean get real! I didn't call their gloom and doom rain cloud. What makes them think it's OK for them to be so rotten? And that I'm supposed to welcome it?!?

So what got me angry this time. (Lol, sad I can even say THAT with a straight face.)

Here's the newest scenario:

Me {Mother to highly gifted unschooler (here on out:HGU)}: Wow! I'm so excited! I've found a new group that is active and has LOTS of kids the same age as HGU! He's so happy to find so many other kids, his age, who are into the same things! This is awesome! The only draw back is they live across the country so I'll have to learn about video conferencing but that's cool as one mother is already doing this with her son and his best friend 2000 miles away, and she's willing to help us out! So the kids can meet face to face! They can play games together! Sure the boards will be viewed over a monitor, but what a great idea! Smart kids playing live over the miles on complicated games that no local kids can handle! This is so cool! (or Kewl depending on your age....roflol! kk qq )


Rain Cloud: It's so good I couldn't sleep last night! I had trouble sleeping last night and it must have been meant to be for I got up and turned on (insert popular talk show)and they were talking about an amazing child who's parents let him learn to use the computer at age four. He then went on to design web pages and was a porn star by age fourteen!

Me: So what does this have to do with me & HGU?

RC: You better be careful....the internet is evil!!!!!

Hmmmmm......

My thoughts today? Here's a clip I found the lyrics to on my dining room table printed by my teenage daughters, as they found it hysterical. Anyone who is so narrow minded ought to check themselves as they are reading this AND NOT LOOKING AT A PORN PAGE CURRENTLY!!

Lucky Me!

You Should Live in the Country

You are laid back, calm, and good at entertaining yourself. You don't need an expensive big city to keep you busy. You'll take the peaceful life over the stressful life any day of the week.

Where Should You Live?