Feed on
Posts
Comments

Let’s unschool for a while

July 13, 2008 by suchlovelyfreckles

I have been a bit “worried” about our homeschooling approach for some time now (although I would never admit that to anyone!). Whenever I even tried to sit my daughter down for school work it didn’t happen without much whining and crying on her part. This was tough for both her and myself, as I felt she needed to sit and learn something… and she felt… well, differently. ;) Our approach to schooling has never been to structured. There would be times when we just slacked, and then there were times when we picked up the pace again. And maybe that’s what led to the frustration. Maybe, in an effort to catch up with “stuff” I pushed it a bit too hard. Gotta sit down, gotta do math, gotta work all morning…

I was secretly jealous of unschoolers who trust their children to do whatever they think they need to. I heard unschooling success stories pop up all over the place. During our camping trip (J., where are you?) I read “Dumbing us down” by John Taylor Gatto and the “Unschooling Handbook” by Mary Griffith (whom I had the honor of meeting and chatting with over dinner with a group of people)… and I made a decision. We’re going to unschool for a while. Leave behind the schedule (well, except for the VH schedule, that we’ll go back to in September of course), leave behind the whining and complaining, and enter a different world, which will hopefully turn out just the way I read in the Unschooling Handbook. I have told my daughter about this, and she was thrilled. No school whatsoever? How cool is that? Right?

Well, in the meantime she has found a CD-ROM set on Ancient Egypt at the library, which she wanted badly. She has worked on it several hours. She also borrowed a chapter book, read 30 pages in one sitting, and also borrowed a new Zoombini game. She practiced math with Reader Rabbit, cooked lunch and learned fractions by measuring quarter cups and half cups, went shopping and calculated the price she’d pay and the money she’d receive as change. She learned that sometimes it’s worth saving money for something better than a cube of ice with purple and pink syrup on it. She went to Irish Dance and made an important decision about her Girl Scout career. She watched How it’s made with an open mouth and great interest. And of course she was entirely unaware of the learning she did, until I sat her down to write in a journal. When she realized just how much she learned during this last week a big grin appeared on her face. She is quite proud of her achievements now, and I’m certain she’ll be an excellent ‘un-student’. ;)

Oh… she is turning into quite a sleeper too. My child who usually doesn’t get up later than 7:30am has slept in until 9:00 or later ever since we returned home. One day she walked into my office close to 10:00am and couldn’t believe her eyes, when she saw what time it was.

Life is good!! :)

Posted in Freckle homeschools, Freckle's good life | Tagged | 9 Comments »

The Real Gold Diggers…

July 10, 2008 by suchlovelyfreckles

You sit at a traffic light, waiting for your left turn signal to turn green. You’re bored, and so you look around, when you’re eyes suddenly focus on the guy in the car beside you. He is very busy, very concentrated, his finger stuck deep inside his nose. You want to turn away, but for some reason you are so fascinated by the fact that he apparently fits half his finger in his nostril, you just can’t get yourself to look anywhere else. Besides, he doesn’t notice you at all. Seconds later he produces the results of his digging… something long and skinny, of golden color, that he stares at with obvious amazement. What to do with this treasure? The answer is obvious, it’s clear, it’s gross too. As his finger approaches his mouth you finally manage to pull your gaze away from him, for otherwise you know you’ll puke your guts out, right there at the red light.

Of course you can’t quite forget this little scenario, and so you do a Google search at home… and you realize that apparently nose digging/picking is an epidemic. ;)

Have a lovely day. ;)

Posted in Freckle's laughs | Tagged | 7 Comments »

Wooohoooo, I’m home!!

July 8, 2008 by suchlovelyfreckles

So we pulled into the driveway around 5pm, the kids screaming excitedly, my heart jumping with joy… home again. Hooray! This has been quite the trip. There was so much to see, and I can’t wait to upload pictures and share them. The Oregon high desert certainly is an interesting place. Who knew the “desert” would be home to millions of mosquitoes and plenty of frogs. :)

Well, I have been away from home for about a month now (that includes my mom’s weekend away, my Oregon tour with my parents, and of course this camping trip)… and I am truly ready to jump back into my every day life. No more campground dust, no more campground toilets (although these were incredibly well maintained… very very clean), no more dirty clothes, no more hard trailer bed. Seriously, this bed can screw up your back for good.

I’m excited to make my blog-round this evening and catch up on all the things I’ve missed during the past month.

:)

PS: Thanks, J, for this trip, and for being my friend. Love you.

Posted in Freckle writes, Freckle's good life | Tagged , , | 6 Comments »

Still on vacation…

July 5, 2008 by suchlovelyfreckles

and with a terribly slow internet connection, so this is a quick one. We’re leaving on Monday, and I’ll be honest… I’m ready to go home. It was nice and fun, but I’m missing my house, my bed, my stuff… and yes, my blog and the great people I’ve met through it. :)

Two more days!!! Woohoooo.

Hope you’re all doing fine and enjoying the summer.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Home Sweet Home

June 25, 2008 by suchlovelyfreckles

It’s a bittersweet day today. I’m glad to be home for a day (although we’re leaving for another trip tomorrow, so we don’t get much breathing time)… but the bitter part is that my parents left a few minutes ago, and I cried some big, fat tears. I know I won’t see them for at least a year, and the realization, though not new, always slaps me in the face.

The trip was wonderful (aside from my complaining aunt who found new reasons to complain every day). I enjoyed every minute with my parents, and I think they did too. I will post some pictures later today.

Oh, and there are some good news too. I have a job. Thanks to Molly, who sent me an ad from CL. It’s a writing job, that earns me a nice little income on the side. Thanks Molly for keeping your eyes open. :)

Well, I’m off to the gym. I figure if I go into public I can’t just sit and cry. So working it off sounds like a good idea to me.

Posted in Complaining Freckle, Freckle writes, Freckle's good life | Tagged , | 5 Comments »

Mt Hood, Bend, Sisters Rodeo, Crater Lake…

June 17, 2008 by suchlovelyfreckles

These are the places we have seen since we left Portland on Saturday, the 14th. :) Today is the 17th, and I feel like I’ve been on the road for weeks. I have been to the biggest rodeo of North America, and loved every minute of it. I didn’t think I’d be a rodeo kinda girl. Turns out, I’m a fan. And I’ll so be back for the next one. :) I do wish I could have spent some more time in the touristy yet charming little town of Sisters. I wasn’t too impressed with Bend, but maybe I just didn’t see the right parts.

We saw Mt Hood on the first day of course, which was amazing. I love Mt Hood, but close up, it’s just fascinating. I actually played in the snow at the foot of the mountain.

Yesterday, on we went to Crater Lake, the bluest and most surreal lake I have ever seen. It’s just gorgeous, and I’ll be happy to share pictures when I get home. Unfortunately they don’t offer boat tours yet, so I didn’t get to go down to the water.

Today we’re driving down to California to see the Redwoods. Wow! I am so excited about this, and can’t believe all the things I’ve been able to see in those past few days.

Of course it’s awesome to travel with my parents and get some real quality time with them. I don’t get to see them often enough, and it’ll be at least a year, before I see them next, when I travel to Germany again.

Well, that’s it for now. I wish I could make my usual blog round and read and comment… but I’ll catch up. Promise. :)

Posted in Freckle's good life | 1 Comment »

The Germans are keeping me busy :)

June 13, 2008 by suchlovelyfreckles

Yes, my mom and dad are here, with my aunt and uncle. And although my aunt broke her arm and sprained her ankle during a hike in Arizona, and is in a bit of a cranky mood, it’s great to have them here and enjoy this time with them. We’re off to see the Spruce Goose today. :) The weather is finally what you would expect it to be in the summer. I think that big fireball in the sky must be the sun!!! Clear blue skies, warm temperatures. It really doesn’t get much better than that.

Have a lovely weekend.

Posted in Freckle's good life | 5 Comments »

Outrageous… seven year old giving birth

June 10, 2008 by suchlovelyfreckles

It happened in the early morning hours of Monday, June 9th, in the suburban town of Beaverton, OR, where 7 year old FM1 gave birth to a beautiful little baby girl. She weighed in at 1.5 lbs and is approximately 14 inches long. Her name is not determined yet, although the 7 year old mother seems to be quite enamored with the name Jessy for now. This might change to Katie tomorrow. The birth happened rather quickly, and took all of five seconds, without any pain killers, as there was no pain involved.
FM1, despite her young age, seems to be a wonderful mother, who nurses her child, and believes in attachment parenting. When asked about the father, FM1 smiles nonchalantly and stays silent.

The grandparents U. and M. couldn’t be happier about their brandnew grandchild. While U. feels somewhat unprepared to be a grandmother, she says, she’ll grow into this role just as easily as she grew into her role as a mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don’t think I ever played with my dolls with such passion and love, as my daughter does now. She actually made a baby carrier out of a piece of fabric. She carries her baby around, nurses, changes diapers, sings songs… Yep, quite a little mother.

Until just this minute that is. She has now decided to be a university student, writing a report on the human body. Quite impressive, if you ask me. :)

Posted in Freckle's good life, Freckle's laughs | Tagged , , | 6 Comments »

Mom’s weekend away…

June 9, 2008 by suchlovelyfreckles

Oh, how wonderful it was. How lovely, funny, interesting, peaceful, relaxing… It was perfect in every way, and while physically I’m back home… emotionally I’m still at the coast, looking at the sun setting in the ocean. It was quite the spectacular view, and I can’t stop staring at the pictures.

I left my house Friday afternoon, and arrived at the hotel in the pouring rain. Not exactly what I had hoped for. But the forecast promised at least some sun for Saturday. And sure enough, after a morning shower, the sun finally got strong enough to burn away those rainy clouds.

It was a special day in Pacific City. Besides a wedding at the Pelican Brew & Pub a blessing of the Dory Fleet took place at the beach. And while I’m not a fan of prayer (duh!), I loved the little ceremony when they Dory “Princesses” through roses into the water.
Roses on the water

The real highlight however was the part, when the guy in this VW bus thought he could actually drive through the deep sand and got stuck. To my left these kids were helping to push the bus out of the deep sand, while to my right people were singing, America, The Beautiful.
The VW Bus

This little guy seemed to have similar trouble. He just couldn’t get his dog to move. ;)
Boy and his dog

My favorite part of Saturday? This…
Sunset

At night people were standing around campfires at the beach. The sky was completely clear, and millions of stars were visible. I think I stopped counting after 10.945 though… ;)
For more pics, go here.

I will now enjoy a glass of wine, before I go to bed… and hopefully my dreams will take me back to the beach… and to this perfect weekend.

Posted in Freckle's good life | Tagged , , | 6 Comments »

Suchlovelyfreckles, the friendly atheist

June 6, 2008 by suchlovelyfreckles

Yep, I have a new reputation at VH (our homeschooling school). I am now known as the friendly atheist. Of course many atheists around the blogosphere know the friendly atheist to be this guy. And I am in no way trying to compete with him, because he’s the actual friendly atheist. :)
Why am I known in my community as the friendly atheist? Well… a super smart (and oh so cute) young boy wrote a presentation about atheism in general and about me in particular, for one of his classes at VH. The presentation was excellent, humorous and interesting. And the parents, who came to listen to their children’s presentations, listened carefully and watched more carefully, as they recognized the friendly atheist girl to be sitting right there in the classroom.

Now I have of course experienced all kinds of reactions to my atheism, generally negative, sometimes neutral, and very few times positive. Not so at VH. I have been stopped many times today by parents, commenting on the presentation, and giving me positive feedback.

I have generally been careful to address my atheism around others. Not only because I try to avoid useless discussions, but also because sometimes I’m afraid of attacks or some other kind of hostility. Kind of silly, isn’t it? But my own personal experience has taught me to be cautious. Briefly I considered calling myself something else, like humanist or secularist or whatever, since the word atheist to some people seems to equal the word devil.

Many atheists around the country feel the need to change their “label” to something other than atheist, in order to be more “popular”. Well, the truth is, this reminds me a bit of school. Be popular, and you’ll be accepted by the other popular people. And well, I’m not a fan of schools, or popularity. But more importantly, I want to make people realize that no matter what you call us (humanist, agnostic, secularist or any other word)… we are still atheists. Like me the way I am or well, don’t like me. But don’t expect me to be someone else, because you can’t handle the a-word.

I like to be known around VH as the friendly atheist. It’s a good name. If I can change people’s perception of what atheism is even just in a very small way, then I know I have changed the world just a little bit. Plus, I show my children, that it’s okay to be proud of who you are. “Good night, Mommy, the friendly atheist” said my daughter to me a few minutes ago. It’s all good.

And to the real “Friendly Atheist”, you so totally rock!!!

Posted in Freckle's good life | Tagged , | 15 Comments »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »