I like my children

We started the day well. I told Aria we weren't turning on the TV or the computer until we got done with school. She looked unhappy at first, but I reminded her that if she wanted to go to high school we had to do school like they do. I told Casey about the situation when he got up and he said, but didn't you say I didn't have to work if I didn't want to? I said, things have changed. He asked how they've changed and I said we're gonna do a little bit of fun school everyday of the week. Monday through Friday. Then he seemed to accept it with some indifference.

We had Main Lesson time. We read about Mul de Plier from the land of plenty. :) And they drew pictures of what they were hearing. They seemed to enjoy the story pretty well. Then we painted with watercolors and listening to DJ Aria's playlist. I made lunch and the children all played house together. IN THEIR ROOMS. Their very own idea.

How nice it's been so far. No TV and no games. No whining or crying or arguing over finishing a TV show or game on the computer. Aria being responsive and talkative. I wish everyday was like this. I like my children and I feel like they are much happier people when the TV and the computer goes off. Unschoolers, please, don't picket me if you read this. :)

I'm finding that our deschooling seems to be completing itself. We went for a long time without any agenda or school at home type time table. And when the other children on the street started school Miss Aria decided it was time for her to start also. Little did she know that I had already created an outline of the school year and planned to institute a Waldorf inspired schedule. I am still not pressing too hard. I don't want it to become an ugly battle to get boring worksheets done in order to play, but I am hoping we will all learn together. I hope we all learn because we all realize that it feels so good to learn. It's not about grades or competition but about bettering ourselves. We want to be able to like who we are and be confident in ourselves and what we know.

A good day and I like my children.