We are trying this out and hopefully it will continue….
The boys wanted to write something recently and then we had the idea of starting a blog and sharing the things they write and do… So it is our homeschooling blog that will hopefully be a journal of what the boys are doing, thinking and what they are interested in…
So here it is…named after the translated name of the park nearest to our home..
I used to hate the holidays because of all the expectations that were placed on me… I used to hate going to my grandmothers only for everyone to watch TV in silence, having to stay in places that I had trouble breathing in because of the smoke…
There are still many things I hate about the holidays… the crowds, the rush… and even all of the religious stuff and debates about political correctness in a multi-cultural setting like Montreal when it comes to the traditions of the holiday season…
But in the last few years we have been making the holidays more of our own and this year we are getting pretty excited about it… we are celebrating alone… Simon, the kids and I… we will see Simon’s family on the 26th and we will have a simple supper with not too much preparation… The eve and the day of x-mas will be spent alone… something that we are cherishing…
Simon has been on vacation since Thursday and on that day we went out to the homeschooling group’s x-mas party at an indoor playground…and that was a lot of fun… the boys enjoyed their time there and then we went out for supper afterwards.. and though Simon will have to work 2 days in the week of the new year, he will be home until the 4th…which means that I am getting some vacation time also…
So now, we have been getting into the spirit of x-mas…I did the groceries yesterday and we should be good for a while… Today we are having a turkey and the next days will be meals with leftovers and I just made a batch of eggnog and we have been listening to music, watching the classics with the kids and staying snuggled inside because of the -20 to -30 (with windchill) cold that we are having…
The holidays are now becoming our own… and we are feeling it…
Last night I went out for a supper with some of the ladies from the homeschooling group…
We were to go to a fine Italian restaurant (Restaurant Laöra in St-Hilaire to be exact) and have a supper and talk and share… it was awful…
not the company, not the food, though it wasn’t amazing… but the atmosphere…
The restaurant had booked another group that were having a x-mas party and were really partying… and it was so loud that we had to scream to be able to talk… it was just really unpleasant… I wish they would have at least told us that there was another group and that there would be live rock music we could have made the choice to go elsewhere…We asked them if they could put the volume down just a bit and they ignored us… awful… really awful…
but something else happened last night… and I really felt pushed to the sidelines because of our choices…
The local group have been getting together for the kids to do things and they assumed that I wasn’t interested… and maybe I would have been, maybe not, but I don’t think it was their decision to make… I have to admit that I am pretty hurt because one of them is a good friend.
They just really don’t get the way we do things… So I wrote an e-mail this morning saying that I was pretty hurt that they made the decision for me and my children and that unschooling isn’t about doing nothing, it is about having resources and activities available and letting children make their own choices about what they want to do with them. That even if we were invited, it wouldn’t guarantee our participation but at least the kids would have the option and they might very well be interested… and even if they didn’t do it they might like to hear the other kids do it and would love to get to play with them after… (they were doing oral presentations)
Though I truly believe in the way we are doing things I am getting tired of being in the sidelines all the time… having people misjudge what we are doing yet not wanting to learn more. Trying to explain and instead of being listened to having the person go into a defensive mode and see what I am saying as judgement instead of opinion…
The friend whom I am close to called me after she got the e-mail and said that she really felt bad about it and that I could of course come over… but I didn’t go… I would have felt too uncomfortable and I am feeling a bit too hurt by the whole situation…
Yesterday we went to Simon’s work party for families… It turned out to be pretty nice…
Last year wasn’t the best because of the location… it took a long time to get in, the space was small and dark and it just felt crowded… this year though the space was nice and everything turned out great…we got there early so we found a table and the boys went on the bouncy structures and didn’t have to wait too long for a few turns…
I wonder what Colin was thinking…
Then the santa clause arrived and the boys got all excited but had no problem waiting until we could get in line (it was by last name) and while we waited we helped ourselves to the buffet… and it was quite good also…
There were a few things that we couldn’t eat, but the boys had no problem with that and it wasn’t even mentioned on our part or on thiers… though I do know that Xavier noticed…
When they could go see the Santa…Xavier and Colin went to him and Khéna stayed in Simon’s arms…
The gifts are bought by age and are different for boys and girls and this year the gift were pretty cool… (last year we were not so lucky)
Khéna got a set of Crayons (the ones that are big and easy for kids to hold and can go on fingers) along with a colouring book and a wooden puzzle.
Colin got a wooden pirate themed “tock” game (simular to sorry!)
Xavier got a wooden model biplane to put together…
Anyway… the party was from 10am-1pm but since we got there before 10 and the structures were getting crowded we decided to leave at about 12… we were pretty close to the MEC which I had been wanting to go to for a while now so we stopped by there and then Best Buy for another set of controllers for the Wii that we are giving as a gift for the family at x-mas and then headed home…
We were home by 2:30 which was pretty good for having had a full day already and we ate leftovers so we were able to relax…
It ended up being a pretty nice day…
Colin did the honours…
got two so he choose one….
and the winner…. 🙂
here is Andrea’s Comment 🙂
I found your blog after I heard you speak about childbirth at the social forum at UQAM in summer 2007. We talked a bit afterward and you were very encouraging! I was pregnant at the time and gave birth to my daughter (naturally, although in a hospital) Dorothée last December. I enjoy reading your posts about breastfeeding, babywearing, and the day-to-day life of mothering 3 sons. Thanks!