There are three kids in the journal my mother kept in 1987-88. Me, my older sister Mindy, and our childhood best friend Camille, who we really grew up with. Our parents met in Lamaze childbirth class, and Mindy and Camille…
Something happened to me since the first post in April. I’ve been… activated. I was born into a family that was living an alternative. That was just happening, it was pre-decided. And I grew up the way that I did — without school….
Last winter, when this blog was a seed of an idea, I just thought we would be writing about homeschooling. A thing I grew up with and can comment on in a very personal way. But 6 months after we…
My daughter Lindsey is the primary voice in this blog, although the process of writing the blog has been a collaboration in many ways. We discuss and edit together, exchange ideas, debate, proofread, etc. Of course, it is also a…
One of the questions I posed for myself at the beginning of this project was this: How much of who I am today is because of homeschooling? But, this morning, my mom asked me this: How much of the way we…
In writing this blog there has been an underlying fascination for me. Beyond homeschooling, or education, or community, this project is also very much about family. And parenting. And motherhood. My mom’s old journal that inspired the beginning of this…
In my last post, I introduce an old friend who was also unschooled growing up, and who today is an Anthropology teacher at community college. In between her homeschooled upbringing and becoming a college teacher, Nina has spent a lot…
My friend Nina and I met when I was thirteen. We became friends at that young-teen moment when your friendships are the most important thing in the world. And, being BFFs at that age when you’re unschooled also means you have…
One of my best friends, who was also unschooled, asked me yesterday if I had considered writing about my transition from unschooling to college. Specifically, what it was like to enter the classroom environment? As a quick refresher, I was…
One really central part of our experience growing up was the network and support group of homeschoolers that we met with over the years. I’ve mentioned this formative group of friends and community in my post on age-diverse play and…