Recently

Things have been crazy for the past few weeks. Three and a half weeks ago, my dad had a heart, a stroke, and was hospitalized for double pneumonia. He was in the hospital for over a week and has been under the care of full-time nurses since then. He is doing better. The pneumonia is better at least.

On top of that, I just finished up the two college classes I have been working on for this past eight weeks and started my first summer class of the year. I'm glad I picked an easy one - Evangelism 101. After this summer, I only have eight classes left before graduating with my double major. I am excited about that.

I have so many things to share that Taliesin and Nathanael have been working on - insect studies (including finding and providing habitats for live insects to observe them), creation astronomy studies, dance recitals, karate tournaments, project fairs, bubbleology studies, a new volume of Five in a Row, lots of art and science projects, penpals, the list could go on. I really need to get the pictures downloaded and posted.

Lastly, aside from my work with the childcare; I am also back to working on my books. I have just really felt that I need to get these written and published (either traditionally or through self-publishing). They really are a calling for me.

I am going to try to get everything caught up on my blog - again. I hope this time I actually can!

God bless.

Kandy

The Unschooling Lifestyle

Designing

The Writing...

Above you will see some projects that Taliesin and Nathanael are currently working on. They are designing their own books. They're really simple - just fold a few pieces of posterboard in half and use their imagination! I actually got this idea from my textbook in my education class. I showed it to Taliesin and Nathanael this morning and asked if they wanted to try it. They definitely did! They're not finished yet. We're taking our time. They're enjoying it.

Other than their books today, we have played with their toy recycling trucks. Then they wanted to read Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Well, those went well together. The Lorax led into a few pages of Barbara Holland's and Hazel Lucas' Caring for Planet Earth. Now they're playing with their toy recycling trucks again as I type.

My college studies and other events have really made me think about unschooling as a lifestyle. I've always known unschooling - really, homeschooling, in general, is a lifestyle. But I guess I never realized how much it is a lifestyle. I think what really made it sink in is the Women of Passions conference that I am working on. One of segments of the conference is a Passion for Family. I can honestly say that I could not speak about a Passion for Family without speaking about homeschooling - in particular, unschooling. Our life is so intertwined with our unschooling adventures, there is really no way to separate them. I cannot imagine what it would be like to not unschool. Oh, sure, I'm tempted to sometimes ship Taliesin and Nathanael off to school. LOL Not really, but sometimes I feel that way. LOL. But I don't think I could do that. I honestly do not. Life would just not be the same. When I look back through this blog - just the past few months even; I can see how our lives were enriched because our unschooling. It is honestly amazing to me. As I've been reading in my textbook about education philosophies and the importance of reading and various ideas and theories; I still come back to unschooling. I come back to the fact that if learning is truly a delight-driven, interest-led, natural process for a child; there really is no way to separate learning from life.

Kandy