How it all began

Well, how did we slip into radical unschooling?

I guess it started with a neighbour who gave me a copy of Jean Liedloff's book when I was pregnant with Bee. After she was born in September, I started goig to university in October, leaving her with family members and my milk in a bottle. Apart from that, she was nursed till the age of two, we co-slept and carried her in slings and the like.

Then, two years later, Joy was born, and a few months later I decided to take them to a nanny's place while I was studying. Bee refused to sleep there, but apart from that she seemed to be fine. Joy got some instant milk there, since pumping didn't work well, and as before, I carried (mostly Joy from then on), we co-slept, and Joy weaned herself at 15 months of age.

During that time, we moved from my family's house to our own apartment, and so I decided to send them to a daycare that was nearer to us. After visiting many, we finally chose a bilingual daycare for kids from 1 1/2 to 6 years old, where they were able to go to the other groups, the atmosphere was peaceful, and parents were welcome to join in. While Joy, 3 at the time, soon was storming in in the mornings, Bee, 5 back then, wanted to cuddle as much as possible in the mornings, but was happy and sometimes not ready to leave when I came to pick them up.

Finally, I started thinking about school, and whether to send Bee there earlier, at almost six. So, we visited many different schools, and finally I picked one near the daycare, which offered more English than regular schools, and was not crowded. Bee liked the headmastress, and was wandering around there with other kids during a "day of getting to know the school for future students". But somehow, I couldn't quite imagine leaving her there alone at the very first day, with total strangers.

Then, our partner/daddy decided to go abroad for working reasons, and since we planned to join him there in the long run, I started thinking of homeschooling to spare Bee a changing of schools.

And so, I deregistered Bee from school, aplied for homeschooling, and off we went in September 2006. Since I decided not to go back to uni that semester, the girls also gradually refused to go to daycare, and so in December we finally were together at home full-time.

That first year, we didn't take the exam, and canceled the early entrance into formal education. So, at almost 7, like she should have, Bee entered 1st grade, and the stress of exam preparation fully hit us. Bee wasn't into writing and reading at all, while the counting and calculating took care of itself. During that time, we also moved bck in with my family for several reasons. After thinking back and forth, and with my ideal of radical unschooling in mind, we decided to drop the curriculum, and finally join daddy instead, in a country where homeschooling is less regulated. So far, we have done the first one, and are still preparing to do the later.

All in all, I have spent the last 2 1/2 years reading about homeschholing, unschooling, peaceful parenting, natural learning, life learning, life-long learning, and I'm not done yet. We'll see where else it'll take us...

Home-ed neighbours?!

I almost can't believe it, but, last week a new mother joined our yahoo group, and it turned out that she's from my immidiate neighbourhood!

Well, it might be to soon to celebrate, she's only thinking of homeschooling her (many) children so far, but, still, it's sooo great!

Now, who was it, talking about moving away? Me, really...?

IFED - International Freedom in Education Day

So, we celebrated it around here.
We did plan something like a park day, on the campus of the University of Vienna, but the wheater definitely didn't support that, so we went to a museum instead.

Later in the evening, there was a talk on "Freedom in Education" - what else? There was an intro by the organiser and then stories by two current homeschooling mothers, one grown unschooler, and the fouder of a private outdoors pre-school.

It was really interesting and encouraging, and the children enjoyed each others company in the front room.

Bee turned eight today!

We planned a party for today, but decided to postpone it due to health and absence reasons. So, there was the three of us and grandpa, who prepared breakfast for them - salty fish sandwiches:

Home-made chocolate cake:

Later, we went out to do some shopping, and caught a ride on an ancient tram, which had no doors and we got to stand there in the entrance while driving - weird...

Then we decided to go to a middle ages festival nearby, and got to see all kinds of folk and stuff and even a sword fight. Joy bought a wooden sword, while Bee couldn't decide to spend her money.

These slimy things were bought in rememberance of our holiday with friends, who are celebrating their birthdays tomorrow, and will get some slime, too, of course.

2nd Summer Gathering

We had our second annual gathering in Upper Austria, near the german border, by the river Danube.

And, like last year, we had a really good time, with old friends and new faces.

Of course, we had a fire, actually several, since the children wanted some of their own.

Then there was some splashing in and around the water and the mud.

Wooden sticks to play with and all sorts of wood to keep the fire burning were gathered.

All kinds of snacks, contributed by all the participants, were eaten, some after being prepared in the fire.

One family decided to sleep right on the beach, in their sleeping-bags.

We had a dog amongst us, which wanted to play with everyone, with triggered some fear in some people, but somehow we were able to work it out so that everybody felt safe.

Some swans and boats and ships swam by, and we had a waving session even.

Somebody brought some home-made clay to play with in the grass.

Since it was well after the exams some children had taken, we exchaned info on how it went, and evrybody we knew of had passed them.

Well, so we had a geat time, and are very keen to come there next year!

International participants are very welcome!

Cooking

The girls have been into cooking over the last weeks, and the things they prepared were not only edible, but yummy!

One day, I was busy upstairs, then went to the kitchen, where I found my daughters in the midst of dough-making! They had a bowl each, mixing, and through asking them and visible evidence on the table, I got to know the ingredients: flour, eggs, chocolate, butter, cocoa, sugar - I might have forgotten something, it has been a long time.

Anyway, they got baking forms, two for each of them, filled them with dough, while I turned on the oven and started putting away things and cleaning. We didn't have time to try the cakes right away, since we were on the run to take care of our cousin/niece, but got our chance in the evening upon returning. Those cakes were really good, no less than the ones I produce using recipes and measuring.

The next morning, there was not that much left anymore, because grandpa especially liked his granddaughters' bakings very much!


Then, there was Bee and salad - cucumber and kohlrabi. She used the grater, and probably added some salt, later happily wandering around with bowl and fork, giving everybody at home a chance to taste it. She herself liked it tremendously.


On another accassion, they cooked hot chocolate for grandma, using the stove and her beloved soy milk, of course.


Ultimatelly, one day around noon, I started frying courgettes/zucchinis, and, as it happens to me from time to time (cooking is just not one of my passions), I frogot about them. Guess what happened? The girls took over, and I got a great vegetable dish. They even added onions for the flsvour, only to remove them later on because they themselves don't like to eat them, and thought the same must be true for me.

Now, my daughters definitely do like cooking, as long as they can do it on their terms.
(And I get to learn some new vocabs writing about it, didn't do much vegetable/kitchen talking in English so far...)

P.S. While selecting matching pictures, I also stumbled upon this creation, a present for me from both of them. It's bought cookies, glued together with sugar and water, and decorated using many different things - candles, nuts, sugar colo(u)ring.

The Teenage Liberation Book in German!

It actually came out in February or even January this year, and since I preordered it, it arrived as soon as it was available.

To be honest, I've still not read everything, and I was quite astonished to see how thick it was.

Anyway, just to let you know that the word is spreading, and though for me personally English woud have been just fine, the German copy I have is of more use around here, because by far not everybody is willing or able to read in English.