i've shared this in the past but my friend margaux posted a version on facebook and i figured it was worth a rerun.

good monday morning!

this is not a short talk but worth the time.  i listened while working.  she makes a good argument for "unschooling" for the bulk of the talk but then she talks about some of her aprehensions.  it's worth listening through to the end to understand that her view is nuanced.  also, the q&a at the end has some illuminating moments.  

life.lately

my energies lately have revolved around studio work, nesting and eli and this new homeschool venture.   i feel in a real good place with enhabiten (although i am very low on materials and need to spend time searching the antique shops and auctions this week).  i did some furniture rearranging and bought some new curtains which i am relatively happy with.  and eli is feeling good and doing the homeschool thing.

we have a history with homeschooling...ethan, my oldest, didn't go to school until 2nd grade and liv started in 1st grade.  also, eli did spend 1/2 a year recently at home...he has not been happy in school for some time.  he's never had a problem socially but has always been bored and uninspired academically. 

over the years i developed a pretty strong opinion about learning and education and i read everything i could get my hands on on the topic.  i think the seeds of it came from having little babies and reading mothering magazine and realizing my views on most everything were "alternative".  then i read every john holt book, the old "growing without schooling" magazines, etc. etc. 

but i found that sometimes ideals do not fit well into real life and circumstances.  this was a hard lesson to learn.  i tend to form opinions and then they take on a life of their own.  when i believe in something i really believe in it.  if i feel that something is right, at least for me and my family, i have a hard time not living in the way that i imagine.

i don't know if i am explaining this properly...

anyway, as i realized that what was in my head was not necessarily going to play out in my real life i adapted and moved on.  my kids have all gone to public school.  they've done ok.  but with eli being unhappy for so long it wasn't going to be an option to make him continue.  i am working from home and he is a real bright and capable kid...so i think we will be able to be able to blend the two...him learning and me working.

he is taking some online courses the next few months and then over the summer we will consider how to approach it.  he's also getting back into playing music.  he wants to take some art classes with a friend of mine.  we plan to do some volunteer work.  he's currently fascinated with snakes and luckily a friend of his dad's is involved in a project of radio tracking some black racer snakes when they come out of hibernation.  eli is pumped to take part in this.  so that is where we are at with this.

also over the past week i've worked on knitting rag balls...i've collected a good stash of them.  i love the material but there are challenges.  for one, they are musty and require some good cleaning.  two, antique fabric is often brittle.  i'm not certain yet if what i'm making is sturdy enough to be a rug.  as an alternative i'm making some chair pads.  i love the way they look.  they should be in the shop sometime soonish.

and this is getting long but have you already figured out that i'm a big documentary film fan?  last night we watched solitary confinement.   heavy stuff.  i guess i like heavy stuff.  i would recommend this one.  if you have any doc. films you think i should watch let me know.

xx

L