and if there are any mistakes! Nor have all orrr horneschooling achievements been acaclemic. As they get olclel and involved iu more outside activities, I have been known to aclmire rny children's interpersonal skills (as clo rnany other people) and I know that they are so good precisely because they rvere never socialized at school. So I shotrlcl be happy, and I am, btrt what about me? Am I challenging zrr? Someone askerl me the ()ther day, "You've been involved in their lives for so long; rvhat are yorr going to d<r
when they're gone?" Go<lcl questionl In other words, is this my life 's work? D<> I want to be 50 and wonclering rvhat on e?u'th I'tn going to do for-the next thirty years? I strongly support the idea that good mechanics, drivers, teachers, managers, doctors, etc. keep
Nladalene
Axftnl Murphy (PA) uites:
In GWS #101 Srrsannah Sheffer wrote abotrt the inrportatrce of parents' examining their own attitu(les torvard careers and life in general becatrse our example, how we are living orrr orvn lives, is a major l-esorlrce otrr chilclren use as they clecicle rvhat :rdulthood will be like. This is particularly trtre for honreschooling families rvhose childr-en tend to be rnore arvare of wh:rt the aclrrlts around thern :rre cloing.
getting edrrcated throtrghout rheir lives, and I do ptrrsrre my education tlrrotrgh journals, etc., but is this enough? What is the balance, in terms of'tirne, betwecn what I do f<rr me and lt<>w rnuch that takes away fronr my kids ar.rcl tlreir life with nre and their ecltrcation. Especially when I still see
When my husband Tom was working iu the labor relations department of a cornpany whose philosophy rvas changing, he sper.rt most of his day away fi'om the family and involvecl in isstres he was not interested in. We talked ofter-r of his qtritting his job, our selling our house in a subtrrb of Philaclelphia, and moving to the country brrt after the children were out olr their own, when they were no longer clependent on us for food, clothing, medical care, al)d tlte rest of the long
It<lmeschoolir-rg as rny nrrmber one
I
priority and there are fbrlr of them going who knows where (often with nre dliving)? Also, I still have another te n or filol'e years of homeschooling to pursue, given that Mary-Beth is only 5. Of' course. all these deliberations aflect rny childrcn's lives as well. Why rlo I rvirnt rny kirls to go to trniversity when I dicln't? To meaur'e them lty stanclarcls of peer pressrlre I'r,e never livecl by myselP For the tnrly pleasur-
able experience of pursrring lealning sake? So they har,'e berter job prospects? I remcrnl)el nry father ptrshing me to go to university and being very rrnhappy wher.r I droppecl out. Will I l'eel the sarne way if they clo tlre sanre thing?
firr learr-ring's
I'rl
starting to realize that whe n
irdtrlts sigh and say,'Teenagers!",
tlrey're probably only so emphatic l>ecarrse the parents are feeling mixed rr1>
aborrt where they are going thern-
I did feel slightly consoled toclay when I heard selves, sometimes. Brrt
50-ye:rr-olcl frier"rcl renutr-k to nry rr)()the r, "l still have no iclea lvhat I'rn
uoing lo clo wht:n I grow rr1t."
(lrror,r'rN<;
Wllr ror''r'S<:rroor.rNt; #104
.
a
Creative
Parents' Transitions
Homeschooling S-4id* Tfql
Giades K-12 Since
1975
Integrative Learning For hdy, Mnd and Spirit Oak Madow Mtml Post Office Box 712 Blacksburg, VA 24063
(703) 731-3263
Pinewood School Brinos Home Educotion lo Yo-u (30s) 670-EtE0
Olivio C. Lorio
Director
SCHOOL
ll2
Rood D Pine Colorodo 80470 Seving Home Educofors Since l98l
ist.
At that time, we had been homeschooling fbr about ten years. We were cleclicated to helping our children open up the worlds of mathernatics, literature, science, and l"ristory and the skills of writing and thinking well, and to encolrraging thern to follow their interests. Brrt rve finally realized that we were also showing the rn tl-rrough orrr example horv to be stuck becatrse of inertia, a misplacecl sense of "dtrry to the family," orjust plain fear, spending the majority of the day in a job that clid not allow for growth and was not integrated with what we felt was important. We decided to nrove to rural northern Pennsylvania where the cost of living was low. But abject poverty was not otrr goal, so we spent three years of preparation fillecl with harcl work - sometinres intense research, sonretirnes emotional agonizing, sornetinres lrard, physical labor as we prepared one house for sale and made the olcl farrnhotrse we hacl bought livable. Fivc ycars ago Torn qtrit hisjol-l anrl rve nroved, taking a great leap of
Alnrr.,/M,ry l!)!)5
I|IDS-OI ?rCSt At l{esds.on
Pr€cs,
we bclteye
6et the best learnhg ls dme he.ods@. Ifs been Droven egrln 1a6t rgaln. thifs why we sp€dallze ln hdependent leamtqg guldes ful of adrddes to sdte you4g people.
\[e
also knsw that stu.lents arc lndMduals, and wlll beve dlffer-
eoces ln el€as of lnt€(€st. olrr selfdrcded guld€s pruvlde 6ern wilh room to run ln arcas 6ey flnd mo6t lntsesdng; and plenty of ruggesdms to eoable rhem to go a lide deQer. Please call or write to us
more
fc
lnf@ed@" At llaads-On
Press, we're
pudng the ftm
back tn leamlngl
ZElm DE G .rsHtr6 cL
AOI
fil9]s9]r8t5''rn