:seeya: Another bleeding heart liberal girl here! I can't wait to read the other posts and get to know some of my more liberal counterparts here! :D

I honestly immediately thought "that is CRAZY!!" when I read the title and then "OMG, camping for a WHOLE week - that is just INSANE!" LOL but not really for any of the reasons that anyone else listed. For me, the last week or so of my pregnancy was soooo uncomfortable. I could not sleep in my bed with my arsenal of pillows. I can't imagine sleeping in a tent or on a cot in a cabin or somethin equally rustic at the end of my pregnancy. But I do agree with some of the points other posters made - I would not feel comfortable if I was far from my midwife and got whatever crappy MD was on call at the local ER. BUt I had a very specific birth plan in mind for myself. Also, being in charge of the youth program may be a bit too much to take on at that stage of pregnancy- what f the babe comes early, or while you are there, or you are just plain exhausted at that point - it is better to go as a guest and let someone else deal with that crazness of being in charge of all those kids. ANd more fair for them than having to scramble for someone to take your place at the last minute...

It makes sense to me!!! So many of my SAHM friends feel the same way - even ones who are not religious! Women have a tendency to give and give and give of themselves until there is nothing left, and then give some more. I am a working mama who wishes I could be home all the time with my child - I love caring for my child and my man - it makes me feel good inside, and being at work and having to say goodnight over the telephone 5 nights a week makes me feel hollow inside. It is horrid. But it is keeping that child fed, clothed, and recieving the precious medical care he needs. That said, I do appreciate that I have a choice and the possibility of working and helping my family in this way. I wouldn't change that. I don't want to be "just" a mother or "just" a wife. I don't fit neatly into a box. Oh no, Not me! LOL I like being a woman, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a mother, a wife, a nurse. But most of all I like being ME. I do feel like I need some "ME" time - whether at home full time, or working full time. I need some "me" time to recharge myself so that I have more to give. Maybe it is read a stimulating book, take a class just for the fun of it, have coffee with a friend, walk on the beach alone, teach my childbirth classes - something that it just for ME. I think that as women, we are so programmed to serve and to put the needs of others above our own - we lose sight of how special and important WE are, and lose the ability to serve and nuture ourselves.

I have not read any of the replies, but want to respond to the OP... I am "gifted", grew up Catholic (very active Catholic) - and while I am not a practicing catholic or any other demonination - I have a very strong faith in GOD and relationship with GOD. My faith doesn't fit with most organized religions though - I but heads with Dogma and with the restrictions placed upon women due to our gender. I do not believe in a lesser gender or that I must have a man talk to God for me. God made me and he made me exactly the way I am for a reason, he must be able to hear the loud, opinionated mouth he chose to give me LOL I have been sharing my faith with DS and I am taking DS to a UU church cuz it fits us "best" out of any organized religion. I strongly suspect DS is highly gifted too - but he is too young to test right now. Not that it would change anything. He is very sensitive, intuitive, and really questions things. Just like me. I like that UU encourages free thought and questioning, but supports a close relationship with GOD by whatever name at the same time. I think that is where some gifted people, or intellectual people in general, lose the "faith" - So many religions are so anti-free thinking, anti-questioning. There is such strict dogma. I see validity in most of the teachings of the major world religions - cuz they all teach the same thing, the basic principles left to us by Christ. But I tend to disagree with the Dogma aspect of the various religions. Dogma is not what it is all about, atleast not for me. For me, Dogma was ruining my religious eperiences and suffocating my faith. I have a friend who is also gifted and raised with no significant religious experience but with a faith in GOD - she questioned and investigated and came to decide that she was Christian as a late 20-something. Several of my other religious as children, gifted friends - they still have faith in GOD, but don't actively practice any specific religion - again due to dogma. My hubby, was raised with no religious or faith experience at all. He was an atheist when we met - I have managed to get him to move to agnostic in the last 12 years. He is not gifted, but it is smart. I think for him, it is more a matter of having no faith taught to him or demonstrated to him as a growing child. Honestly I think that your exposure to faith, not just religion but true practice what you preach faith - I think that is the biggest factor. Intellectual people tend to question - but if they have a strong faith (not religion) starting as a young child - then they can question and process those questions in terms of their faith. Hopefully coming out on the other end with it stronger.

Thanks to our Puritan roots, the US is one of the most sexually repressed countries. We see sex in every single thing and need to ban it, demonize it and make it "dirty". I see nothing wrong with same sex nudity - it is not sexual to me. And I dont believe that it will "encourage homosexual behavior" just to be nude around others. I also believe that men and women are in fact capable of platonic relationships. I see NOTHING sexual about breastfeeding in public - not even older nurslings, but have gotten nasty comments made about it. Heck, I have gotten nasty comments just about DS nursing "so old" - so sad. I see nothing wrong with stripping a toddler or young child down at the beach and washing them up in the outdoor public showers - why have the sand chaff them raw?! Or even *gasp* letting them play in the yard and the kiddie pool naked. They are children! BUt I have many glares and even comments for washing the sand off child at the beach. I personally have no issues with being nude in my own home (even if that means by kiddo seeing me nude), sleeping nude, etc. I may not run to the nude beach, but that is cuz of my own insecurities and hangups - I also feel self concious in my favorite jeans and T. I am amazed and in awe of the self-love and freedom it takes to go to a nude beach....maybe one day. LOL

I totally agree! especially on the PJ pet peeve - they actually dress in PJs to go out - what is wrong with these girls?! If you take the time to do your hair and makeup and put on fresh clothes, why are you putting on fresh PJs - cuz you want to give off that girl next door bedroom vibe? UGH!

:iagree: Well said! It also varies with situation too. Some clothing or behavior is outrageous in specific settings and acceptable in others. I also think that it is more an attitude than a manner of dressing - you can be completely covered in clothing but talk and move VERY provactively and thus attract alot of negative attention. Yet, on the flip side, you can wear an elegant but cleavage or leg revealing dress at a cocktail party or a bikini at the beach and still give off a CLASSY vibe.

Yes it could. Try a good diary free probiotic to heal the gut too - I like the Blue Bonnet brand, or maybe it is Blue bell....they make capsules and chewables. and remember that it takes about 6 weeks for the dairy proteins to fully clear from your body - and that the issue may be more than just dairy...have you looked into the elimination diet?

Personally I would (and have) let me child pick.

I love love love Rehoboth Beach! It is small, eclectic and laid back. About 30 hour away is party central Ocean City with the rides and such (very party central atmosphere) - but there it is the beach, a small boardwalk with lots of little independent artsy shops. Very family friendly. GREAT pizza at Grottos - Yummmmmmm. We used to go every summer when we lived up in PA - stayed at the cute pink Sand Castle hotel a few block from the beach. A little bit away from the beach is the huge outlet malls. Those can be fun too. Also there are great water sports. We went jetskiing there and it was so fun! And there is a fudge shop there on the boardwalk with the BEST fudge ever :D

BTW - Gay marriage isn't the only marriage looked down upon by churches. Legal unions between men and women are also not considered "true" marriages - I have great issue with that too. Based upon church dogma, my own grandmother told me to my face that my son (who she absolutely ADORES) was a bastard and that she fears for his soul. I was hurt beyond words. My husband and I have been together for 12 years, married for 9. My son was born after 4 years of marriage - but it was a legal union, not a church sanctioned marriage. According to church dogma, we are not truly married in the eyes of God and my child is a bastard. Yet we have a strong, healthy, loving marriage and the most amazing committment to each other and to our son. Better than any of the church sanctioned marriages that I personally know. It is the nature of the relationship and committment - not the location of the marriage or the credentials of the person signing the paperwork - that makes a great marriage.

If it isnt the Bitter card, then it is the Confused or Angry cards. UGH! Disagreeing with church dogma has nothing to do with being bitter, confused, angry, etc. We disagree cuz believing it violates our own personal basic human and spiritual nature. Dogma is nothing more than a means of control. And has very little to do with any of the true teachings of Christ himself.

I LOVE that quote! It is actually hanging on the side of my fridge

I did not read any responses yet - first :grouphug: and welcome to MY crowd ;) many of the issues on your list - well they are some of my biggest issues with organized religions as well. I have a strong faith in God and a wonderful relationship in MY own personal way. I don't feel the need to follow any church or religious dogma - I have great issues with Dogma that was established and is ruled over by Man, not any God. Recently my son started asking to go to church - I was honestly surprised by his request. I did some research and found the UU church - WOW! This place is AWESOME. We both love it there. It openly welcomes EVERYONE - Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Pagans, Wiccans, Agnostics - everyone is welcome. It focuses on each person's individal life journey and their relationship with the Divine, and supporting one another in this journey. There is no one "right" way - but instead acknowledges the validity of every way. The kids program is called Religious Eplorations, and it is just that - they explore different religions, the shared themes, the symbolism, etc. DS loves it. I love it too. The UU church is very active too in human rights here and abroad - not spreading the message of Christ abroad, but maiking sure people have basic human rights, food, medical care, etc. I like that they are active locally too, not just abroad. They are vocal supporters of human rights issues here too - like homosexual marriage. They are also really involved in ecological issues too. Really believe and practice being stewards of the planet. Their "sermon" topics are always really interesting too. Thought provoking. And before the service, there is also a "discussion group" that is awesome - usually topics that relate to the service topic and range from spiritual teamwork, to domestic violence, to global topics. Really stimulating for the mind and the soul. And thought provoking vs being spoon fed someone else's views and beliefs. www.uua.org On their website they state If you are looking to have that communal worship experience or just some support of like minded, open minded people - I would seriously recommend checking them out. ETA - I don't think you *need* a church group to be close to God, until my son wanted to go to church, I had been church free for 13 or 14 years...just wanted to share one that I found that is very open minded and dogma free. :)

Crayola washable markers are what I let DS use for his dry erase boards - cuz I am worried about the junk in the dry erase markers and the fumes kicking up his asthma. Not a bold, bright line, and it can smear sometimes, but it is well worth it to me - just make sure they are the washable markers! LOL

BTW we are peanut, tree nuts, most seeds, gluten, rice, dairy, soy, eggs, sugar (HFCS and all organic forms too), squash family, nightshade family, and lots of tropical fruits free here :D That is our new improved, shortened list - we added about 10 foods back in the last 6 months

have you tried the vanilla or the coconut flavored coconut icecream? due to my DS's laundry list of food allergies, he can't even have any of the other flavors except those - but we loooooove those! I will add some enjoy life choc chips to it or fruit or maybe some allergen free choc sauce. I have been wanting to try the mint flavor for sooo long - it looks so good on the carton. Hope YOU enjoy it. I hate when we finally find something that is safe and he gets all excited in the store, but when it comes time to try it he freaks out and is too scared to open his mouth (even after the homeopath tests him and okays it!) I just spent $3 on 10 jellybeans, after spending an hour on the phone trying to track down the hidden ingredients and share equipment list to make sure they are safe and then he cries and begs me to eat it instead - only to want to try it the next time we are in the store (and again refuse to eat it at home!) :tongue_smilie: It is amazing how crazy we get when it comes to our kiddos :D

alive but only occasional contact. even though our relationship has improved over the years, it is not really a "good" one. And never was. I grew up hearing what a burden I was on her from the moment I was concieved....she has never forgiven me for being a CSection baby or for the fact that my father loved me to pieces and that he and I are close. I guess I could say she did the best she could considering....but dont know that I truly believe that. I think that she could have done much better if she tried.... there is something just soul crushing when you realize that your own mother truly truly does not like you, and instead is angry, jealous, spiteful, and downright hateful. Same applies for the first time you realize on that deep level just how truly dysfunctional the relationship was/is. I still love her, but I sure don't like her as a person - especially after becoming a mother myself, I see how toxic she is (to herself and to others) and try to limit her contact in our lives. It has helped me to be a better mother though - to actively decide how I greet each new day and new obstacle in life, how I treat those closest to me - how I love my son. I actively work to break the cycle every day.

:seeya: I'm here!

No offense taken - but i think it depends upon your definition of unschooling. I do not claim to be a radical unschooler. And I do like the term child led better. Most of the unschoolers I know are just not big fans of prepared curriculum or set objectives. But unschooling does not equal a lack of educational instruction. It is just a vastly different means of instruction than traditional homeschooling or public schooling. Originally, the term unschooling refered to parents who pulled their kids out of school to learn at home (homeschooling!!). We may not have a formalized and formula based curriculum but the kiddos are still learning alot at home. Most unschoolers have absolutely no problem providing activities, books, instruction, etc in any area that our child has shown an interest in. It is NOT a sink or swim mentality towards education. Far from it! I am all about furthering his knowledge as he is ready to expand it and grow - but I refuse to push anything on him. I will not have a schedule of subjects or even really any sort of scheduled "sit down school time" - we learn thru reading adn doing and talking and plan to continue to do just that. My biggest objective is to have fun and keep his passion for learning stoked. I used the term curriculum loosely. It is simply the resources I plan to buy/use to feed his fire. The only curriulum I am planning on using is MUS, and really only adapting it to fit our needs - so far all I bought is the blocks. workbooks are a huge no-go around here. I also don't plan on tests or anything like that. I honestly don't plan on grading anything either. The other "curriculum" stuff i spoke of - well that is where his personal interests are, and most of those are books we already have in our house cuz he has begged us to buy them for him. Or activities we are already doing with him. I don't believe that learning about something in detail or doing science experiments like building a volcano together or mummifying a chicken are going to interfere with the fact that I am "unschooling" - it is part of the whole unschooling process actually. So as DS shows sparks of interest, we provide him with the means to turn that spark into a blazing fire. Trust me, Dh would love to study on his own, but DS won't allow it. He actually attacks the new texbooks and pulls the shrink wrap off like it is Xmas wrap and gets excited when daddy has a study group over. He is learning geography from the world atlas shower curtain *he* insisted we needed to have - sure I turned it backwards so he could read it in the shower. But do I teach it, nope. He is obsessed with ancient egypt - picking out books, searching discovery and science channel shows about egypt, pretending to mummify things ranging from spoons to his cabbage patch kid. I don't prompt any of those activities, but you can bet your booty that I capitalize on them when they happen and use them to epxand our discussions about egypt and mummies. He literally carries book of greek mythology with him everywhere he goes, and know more mythology facts than even I do (and I thought I knew alot!). He started reading at 2.5, not because we did any fancy early reader program with him or flashcards or anything like that - just cause he loved books and we read together ALL the time - and he just starting reading along and then indepedently. We have lots of guided play but no formalized instructional time, and it works well for us. But it isnt for everyone. But to pigeon hole DS into a traditional K curriculum would be stifling and boring beyond belief for him. I like that with the child led learning, we pick up on his passions and use it as a spring board for learning. I think this can work beyond elementary age too. It is the fundamental basis for magnet schools; magnet schools just take it to a formalized, testable level. But to take it back to the OP - I dont consider that style to be unschooling. The term unschooling originally applied to anyone who removed their child from a PS (hence the un-schooling) and decided to learn at home (which evolved into the term HS). It seems to me like this situation the Op describes is more on the radical or "non-schooling" end of the spectrum. If you arent willing to get creative and put in the time and effort to stimulate your child and prompt them to grow and learn, then you are NOT schooling them. Just as you can't expect a plant to grow without sunlight, you can't expect a child to grow and learn and thrive without access to stimulating opportunities.

Sounds more like your friend is one of the unschoolers who give all unschoolers a bad rap. That is NOT how most unschooler are - atleast the ones I know. Most unschoolers truly care about their kids and their kids' education - just want them to learn - As They Are Ready. Learning that is uncoerced often tends to be easier and lend itself to mastery and retention. There is no point forcing math on a child who is simply not ready or unwilling to learn it. Instead providing lots of imbedded learning experiences and math experiences in daily life (like shopping, cooking, money, etc) teaches them without formally teaching them. It isn't that they are anti-curriculum or anti-teaching - just wait until the child shows interest and ability to learn before actively, formally teaching. But the daily life experiences are teaching experiences! Especially when you think it out and plan them ;) Most WOULD be concerned if their 7th grader was not reading or showed signs of a learning disability. They don't neglect their child's education, just approach it from a different method....your friend just sounds neglectful of their education.... We do the natural led learning here - not quite hard core unschooling or hard core homeschooling - we follow DS's led and do what works (which most unschoolers say is what they do - I just personally have issues with the term unschooling and all the radical unschoolers - mainly due to the above sterotype) I let DS work at his own pace but I am obsessed with where DS is and what he is learning. I plan out his learning - not with books, workbooks, tests, etc - but with experiences and learning opportunities. I find that he learns best that way. He excels this way - but you put a workbook in front of him and he freezes up. Whatever works! is my motto :D Today he was playing with clay and decided he was making a volcano, and then informed me it was lots of work cuz he had to make the magma, the vent, and the magma chamber - and explained the innner workings of a volcano and the process of eruption in create detail - Did I ever teach him that? Nope! He learned it by reading his volcano books and by playing a cool volcano simulator on Cosmeo.com and engaging in some great creative play - about 4 months ago!!! He hasn't been interested in the topic of volcanos for the last few months, but obviously he retained what he learned. he was't taught, but he learned it and mastered it. I really like that. He devours history, science, and literature but doesnt like math - so we just provided lots of daily life skills math in the hopes of sparking his interest. It just recently worked and he started asking "to learn more math" when he tried to do upper level math that interested him and he struggled cuz he couldn't add, now he has the drive and desire, and is really taking off - now I am getting MUS to learn math together (I will likely use it a bit more loosely than others here but I like the progression of skills and hands-on learning). Because we are following his lead, my K curriculum is NOT the standard K curriculum. He already has the K skills and topics mastered (aside from handwriting). He actually has several grade levels mastered (aside from the math :tongue_smilie:) So I have adapted the curriculum to meet his needs and current passions. It is definitely NOT a K curriculum though. It is really relaxed, and learns thru literature, experiments, experiences, field trips, etc But it is challenging too... So our wacky K curriculum is ~History - ancient histories (egypt, rome and greece per his request) and mythologies (he already has a better grasp of this than I do!) and world and US geography (flat stanley project, world atlas shower curtain, M&D wipe off state mat, and lots of books lol); ~MUS math (with some ancient roman and egyptian math thrown in cuz that is his motivation for learning basic math); ~science is a mesh of A&P (college level mostly thanks to Daddy being in school and them learning together every night), basic physics, biology and ecology, astronomy (he is a Stephen Hawkings nut!), and general nature studies. Not any new topic, just expanding on his knowledge already. Books, discovery channel, science channel, experiments, field trips to the space center, the zoo and nature hikes. And of course study time with Daddy :D ~ Language Arts - the endless books that he reads on a daily basis, plus all the other curriculums are mainly literature based. Some fun language arts games cuz he is excited over sentence structure and verbs/nouns/adjectives at the moment. This is so NOT what your "average" 5yo learns - but actually fairly typical for "unschoolers" of the non-radical sect around here. We are following his lead so that is what we are learning. What we are doing and how we are doing it is nothing new, just a continuation of what we are already doing with him. I am personally stressing over how to keep records and track all of it for his portfolio. For me, unschooling/child led learning is more "work" than following a prepackaged curriculum - but it is so much easier for him to learn. Unschooling started out as meaning not learning in a brick and mortar school, but learning at home. Now that definition has evolved so much (often thanks to negative media coverage) and there is such a spectrum of homeschooling, unschooling/child led, and what I think of as non-schooling (that really radical unschooling sect). And sadly, many many negative stereotypes for all the spectrum. I am just surprised that your friend is not required by her state to have him complete a portfolio or some sort of test to measure his progress prior to issuing a diploma - that is kinda scary. I think that a diploma infers a specific set of skills/knowledge base, and should have some basic requirments attached to it for HSers just as for PSers. He will not be equipt to succeed in college if that is his plan.

It is a film-making class or a film appreciation class? It they are going to be sitting around watching movies and discussing them - I probably would skip it until he was older - simply cuz alot of the movies will be controversial and I would like to be the one to expose him and discuss some of that stuff initially, plus he would get more out of it if he was older/more mature. But if it is actually film making, where they are actively learning techniques like lighting, camera angles, editting, etc - then I would totally consider it for my kiddo. Ask for the name and some contact info for the teacher and talk directly to them - find out what is covered and how it is covered. If you think your DC can keep up and will be enriched - then go for it! Yes he is young, but you have instilled your values into him and that won't change just cuz he is at the CC a few hours a week learning. You will be dropping him off and picking him up - so it isnt like he will be socializing outside of class. And while a lot of college aged kids are goof-offs, there are alot of great kids there too! They won't all be sitting around trying to get him to smoke or engage in grown up behavior either. You'll find more party attitude at universities, than at CC - atleast from my own personal experience. Most CC kids live at home or on their own, hold down a job, AND go to school - granted they can be kinda quirky sometimes, but they generally seems to have more "real life" experience and responsibiliy than U students.

I do think the school should be prividing basic supplies like art supplies for art classes, kleenex for classrooms, microscopes and shared lab supplies, etc. I think that personal supplies like notebooks, pencils, pens, calculators, personal lab kits - those are PERSONAL supplies and should be supplied by the student. the graphing calculators are used in advanced level math, you need to expect that advanced classes will require advanced supplies. Since it is something that students will also need for college, I do not see it as unreasonable to ask students to purchase it in HS. Especially since it is something that is necessary to bring home and use for homework - increasing the chances it could be lost, damaged, etc. Plus it is known well in advance, so you have the entire summer to save up for one, borrow one, etc.

I love colored and patterned socks! I would also wear totally mismatched socks - fun and funky to mix and match like that - my only concern was whether they were low,ankle socks or higher, thicker wintery socks. As long as length and thickness were similiar and my toes were warm, I was happy. Especially since the laundry goblins seemed to love to eat my pretty socks!! When give them up just cuz there is only one? Just pair it with another orphaned sock! It drove my mom crazy when I was younger :tongue_smilie:

I moved to FL and we only wear sandals/tivas. :D Seriously - pitch all the socks and start over - one brand/style only per person. You can either do different styles for each person - like my socks are way different from DH or DS, so it is no biggie to pick them all out. But if you have multiple kids and they like the same kinda sock - get different colored sharpies and put a little line on the heel or toe of each sock - colored coded per person. Then you can just sort colors. Then can fold their own, or throw the socks in a drawer and pull out two as needed (cuz with only one type you KNOW they will end up matching!). GL!