Today was our monthly unschooling support group, and it’s probably the day of the month I look forward to the most.  It’s inspiring to spend a couple of hours talking to others who share the same values and can provide sensible, heartfelt insight into issues and ideas that we need to bounce off others.  I can definitely see the appeal of going to a conference where you’re immersed in an unschooling community for days.
Once a month is really not enough.  At least now that the house is on the market …

M has a thing against secrets. He can’t stand ‘em. The couple of times we thought it would be fun to tell him about a secret (like We’re going somewhere special tomorrow – it’s a secret), he insisted on knowing and quickly moved on to a borderline, teary-eyed fit. I was surprised he was taking it so hard, and revealed the answer to prevent the situation from needlessly escalating. We’ve learned it’s not a a game to play with him. Dunno why, but he can’t …

Our recent disagreement with neighbors regarding a trampoline and safety expedited involving our son in his first activity – gymnastics.  The idea had been tossed around for months and the trampoline issue made us act.
I admit that I had some concerns leading up to the first class.  M’s used to doing his own thing and being himself – how would he respond to being in a more structured environment?  He’s also quite shy AND very excitable.  I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.
I resolved to watch but stay …

We started gymnastics classes for five-year-old M about a month ago. Overall it is going really well, at least from M’s perspective. I suppose his perspective is the one that counts, as the whole reason we decided to do gymnastics is because he really wanted the opportunity to bounce on a trampoline (and we wanted it to be somewhere safe, with professional supervision). He likes the class a lot and I can see him smiling and talking to the other two friendly boys that attend the class …

I’ll tell you something that I do occasionally that never ceases to amaze the local kids: I climb a tree. I do it just for fun, usually on the spur of the moment, when the mood strikes me. I’ve seen Arp do it too. But I have yet to meet another local parent who climbs trees. I don’t think any of them do. Thinking back, I can’t remember ever seeing another adult climb a tree, except for Arp, that is.
Every time I climb up into …