For the Kids!

[Athena]

Hello Everyone,

I'd like this new thread to focus on children. So whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or someone who just cares about our children's well-being and future... let's support each other with ideas, resources and thoughts about how to raise our children through the times ahead.

Michael St. Clair just posted some of his thoughts on his new Talk Back Live Thread, Question From A Mother.

I agree with Michael that homeschooling is something to be seriously considered, but making the transition can be challenging... that's a good topic to begin with. I homeschool my children and have resources to share if there is interest, I'm sure there are others on this forum with great information and experience too.

As a starting point, even if homeschooling isn't an option for you at this time, thinking outside the system is really important. There are some good introductory books on homeschooling by John Holt and John Taylor Gatto (see Amazon.com).

I also acknowledge that the topic of raising children is very personal and can get highly charged, so please keep your mind open to the information, be respectful of others, and know that whatever you think is "normal" or "reality" on the visible and invisible level is undergoing a massive overhaul. Our children's needs have become more complex and dynamic and it challenges us, as caretakers of the future generations, to evolve in such a way that supports the process for all.

The test of a society is what it does (or does not do) for its children.

Best wishes to all...
Athena

[Kate]

Athena THANKYOU! isnt synchronisity an amazing thing?! only a minute ago i was thinking a thread covering the issues of KIDS is just what was needed here...and there you are! done....

I agree with what u say wholeheartedly...there are many of us parents out there in a state of flux and quandry of whether or not we are doing the right things by our kids..or not?

I have always desired homeschooling / alternative for my daughter, and did go visit a steiner school when i was in london..however, it was
over -subscribed at the time, so i ended up putting her into mainstream as I was trying to build a business...

I have now decided that this will be her last year...she has been prepared for a 'sudden change' and is totally excited about starting a new adventure and possibly getting rid of everything and going off somewhere else as part of our journey!! In the meantime, i am using all the hours awake to do as much ground work as possible!...

look forward to hearing from many others on this topic..

thanks again for starting this one up!!
namaste

[conniec818]

homeschooling is a great idea....only now they try to take you to jail..or take your kids from you if they are not in school...the regular schools that the gov. wants them in...basically they (the state,gov.)wants to make sure that they are the only ones that teach your kids what they want them to know...make sure they are "dumbed down" to their specifications....

[unlimited mind]

this is an area i am very excited about indeed. most people do not realize that children reside in the theta frequency until they are about 7 years of age. that is the frequency of oneness, and why they are always so good at knowing what is going on in the under current of things.

the education that takes place during those first years is of vital importance for the rest of their development. and learning about how their minds work should be at the top of the list.

after working with young children that came into this life to experience great hardships early in life, i soon realized that the system for retraining their minds was horribly flawed. this is a direct reflection of the society that is in place at this time, a reverse engineered mind field where the reptilian mind comes before the frontal lobe. exactly opposite of our brain's intended purpose and divine right.

i look forward to this discussion and the paths we will discover with one another.

thank you for starting this thread.

[Event_Horizon]

Originally Posted by firehorse10

Athena THANKYOU! isnt synchronisity an amazing thing?! only a minute ago i was thinking a thread covering the issues of KIDS is just what was needed here...and there you are! done....

I agree with what u say wholeheartedly...there are many of us parents out there in a state of flux and quandry of whether or not we are doing the right things by our kids..or not?

I have always desired homeschooling / alternative for my daughter, and did go visit a steiner school when i was in london..however, it was
over -subscribed at the time, so i ended up putting her into mainstream as I was trying to build a business...

I have now decided that this will be her last year...she has been prepared for a 'sudden change' and is totally excited about starting a new adventure and possibly getting rid of everything and going off somewhere else as part of our journey!! In the meantime, i am using all the hours awake to do as much ground work as possible!...

look forward to hearing from many others on this topic..

thanks again for starting this one up!!
namaste

My respect to you! Your full of great information! I hadn't heard of Steiner Schools before but I have just checked them out. Another great post and thanks for the heads up!

Peace out!

[Orpheus]

This is my area of expertise. I am a music teacher of ten years' experience as well as a father of two and the parent of an autistic child.

Homeschooling is definitely an option. There are lots of online support networks for homeschooled children. Just be aware that many homeschool families choose homeschooling because of their fundamentalist Christian beliefs that are not supported in public schools.

There are also some outrageous out-of-the-box schools that are pioneering new ways of doing things. I just started a new teaching job at one of them. It is a public K-12 charter cyber school. Students take classes over the internet from home, and then in 5th grade begin travelling twice a week to a performing and fine arts center where they have total immersion in art, dance, drama, and music for an entire school day. We attract the eclectic, unusual, and the driven student. http://www.palcs.org

Another outrageous school is the Children's School of Excellence in Yelm, Washington. It is a K-8 public charter school that has "mind over matter" as part of the curriculum.

There are alternatives out there. Simply keep your intent in mind and search - the possibilities will drop out of the quantum field and land in your lap.

I am applying all I have learned about neurology and quantum physics in my music classroom as well as in the articles I'm writing for my own personal website. The new frontier of education for our children is combining the latest science with ancient wisdom. I am also exploring the connection between music, sacred geometry, the lost solfeggio scale, binaural beats, and fractal geometry.

My friends, the time for fear and separation is over. Start following your passions and thinking NEW thoughts that take you beyond the changes to come. If you are growing and uncovering your own personal unknowns, your children can only benefit. They, after all, are you.

Love/Light, Light/Love,

[RubyTuesday]

I've been homeschooling my kids for years. My oldest is 11.

I suggest getting used Saxon Math books. They are self explanatory through physics. Just get them and have them on hand.

Start buying historical nonfiction books. Not textbooks as they are piecemeal at best. It's no wonder most of the country doesn't know the Bill of Rights...

Ebay is a great place to pick up books. So are libraries as they often sell (cheaply) or give away old reference books (we have several sets from the library).

The most important thing you can give to children is the space to learn to think critically and ask questions then discover the answers to those questions.

Have to run, will add more later...

[Athena]

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for all the input launching this new thread... let's keep it alive with ideas and resources

Namaste Firehouse--yes private Steiner schools and Waldorf schools are definitely worth looking into, can be a bit pricey, but there are lots of websites where you can find Waldorf-related information and products you can incorporate into whatever learning situation you children are in.

conniec818--your point is well taken, however you only see what TPTB want you to see in the news about parents being taken to court, children being taken away from their parents, which is designed to intimidate you and squash any plans or wishes you may have to create the best learning situation for your children. Regardless, homeschooling in on the rise.

You might find this link helpful for State-specific homeschooling laws:
http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/

unlimited mind--please share more...

Orpheus--yes, there is a strong community of fundamentalist Christians who homeschool (not my reasons for homeschooling), but the only way that has impacted me, is in the arena of "curriculum". When choosing materials, it's always good to preview them, before buying, to see if the language/concepts are a good match for your own children.

The good news is there are people from all walks of life homeschooling their children or supplementing public/private school curriculum, and hence there are huge amounts of diverse resources now available through libraries and the Internet.

And yes... there are also some great schools out there that are allowed to function "outside the box"...

Do post more about the fascinating work you are doing with children.

Ruby Tuesday--yes, the time to get resources together is now! As we look at creating safe places and small village communities, those of us who have gathered these materials ahead of time for our children will need to make them available to all.


With that in mind... would anyone care to share ideas about the most useful apprenticeships our children can benefit from, given the changes ahead?

Some of the basics my children apprentice in are: gardening, cooking, cleaning and doing their own laundry. It might sound like a mundane list, but how many children actually know how to do any of this? I believe "common sense" is fostered through the pursuit of everyday life... which is often an overlooked skill.

Best wishes to all,
Athena

[Peace4Gaia]

Excellent topic! I have no expertise to share beyond being a single mother of two having raised -- well, still raising -- two sons who are now 19 & 23, both of whom I ended up pulling out of High School early. Our "mainstream" schools are soul-deadening and in my opinion, no place for kids!

First best advice I have is to research the laws concerning homeschooling in your particular state. As of 2-3 yrs. ago, Indiana had only a requirement to keep "attendance" records and that you register as a homeschool with the state Board of Education - as I recall, you had to give the names and ages/grade level for each child - that's it!! I couldn't believe it, but was pleasantly surprised by the staff I encountered, who were extremely helpful. I might point out that the reason I think things are the way they are is mainly because or our fundamentalist friends... it would be difficult to change the statutes without raising extreme protest from that faction of homeschoolers.

Thankfully, both of my sons are doing well, although not quite out on their own yet. We all have mixed feelings about that -- I'm willing to stick with them until they are well-established, but then again, things are changing and I don't think the whole "nuclear family" concept is going to survive into the new reality we are creating here. And then there's the seemingly impossible economic times we are entering... we're struggling as it is now! But I digress...

My next best advice, especially if homeschooling is not a viable option in your own particular circumstances, is to ALWAYS BE AN ADVOCATE FOR YOUR CHILD!!! Do not, ever, take an outside authorities word over your child for any reason... gather all the information, make an informed decision and TELL THEM how you will handle it. I cannot believe how many times they just assumed I was on "their" side against my own child. I could go on, but one quick example is having to argue with a substitute teacher over her having withheld a book order from my 3rd grader because we had an overdue library book... and this was during National Library Week, in which they were encouraging the children to read. We dealt with other much worse situations, but they seem to have come through it all Ok.

I have also tried to teach them empathy for the other... whatever the situation. I'm sure they got tired of me playing devil's advocate, but there's enough hate in the world, I was determined not to raise idiots! And another question I asked often is "what did you learn?" So much so that they now ask out loud on their own sometimes.

And finally, as for "religion" -- that's what started me on this path in the first place. When my eldest son was born, I was determined to nurture him in every way... physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. In the end, I decided I would share all that I knew and let them determine their own way.

Sorry such a long post... is hard to condense 20 yrs. of child-rearing into one page!

Peace

[CONDE]

My wonderful daughter Diana starts school tomorrow, this will be
6 th. grade, she has a 98.9 average A+, she is 10.

This year she will take web design and photography as optional
courses besides science, social studies, math, english, p e, art
and more.

She signs her user name and password in the morning after breakfast,
works for 6 hours average daily w lunch in between, then play/exercise,
then yoga/meditation dinner and to dreamland she goes...

INMENSELY RECOMMENDED
The Learning by Grace on line community is a joy.

http://www.learningbygrace.org/

Learning By Grace, Inc. is a provider of online educational solutions for Christian home school families. Through several online Christian schools offering PreK-12 curriculum for home schooling, Learning By Grace is changing the way people view education.

Founded by Mimi Rothschild, a veteran home schooling mother of twenty years, and her husband, Learning By Grace is dedicated to providing an affordable Christian home education to families all over the world. The home school curriculum used is comprised of engaging multimedia activities through etexts, workbooks, online education assignments, video, audio, interactive field trips, and so much more. By providing children with a quality home education, parents can take an active role in instilling Godly values in their children. With just a computer and internet connection, parents are now able to offer their children something more.

Because the Learning By Grace home school curriculum is so flexible, students are able to work at their own pace. Special needs students and quick learners both are able to achieve academic success by taking as much time as they need to comprehend the course material—no more, no less. Learning By Grace provides an alternative to the negative influences that permeate the nation’s public schools such as worldly thinking, humanist teaching, and moral relativism. Free from peer pressures, distractions, and a rigid educational formula, our home school students can pursue educational excellence.

Frank Conde

[alkalurops]

thank you athena

we live in germany,bavaria, munich, our daughter clara sophie is 5 years old.
we also thougt about homeschooling but since hitler it is not allowed (prison, fine, child deprive?? kindesentzug in german???) as in china. in all other countries it is allowed. a lot of parents move to austia and start to live there, homescholling is allowed in austria.
finally we found a very nice school for our daughter for the next year . steiner or montessouri schools we don´t like, because of the view of life the teach there.
our daughter is very gifted (IQ 130) with 4 years she could write and read and loves mathematics. she is not into kindergarden, we had two trys but she felt so bad and missunderstood there
for gifted children it is not easy to find a place, these elite schools which we also have are horror for the souls of the children.....

[Carol]

Originally Posted by RubyTuesday

I've been homeschooling my kids for years. My oldest is 11.

I suggest getting used Saxon Math books. They are self explanatory through physics. Just get them and have them on hand.

Start buying historical nonfiction books. Not textbooks as they are piecemeal at best. It's no wonder most of the country doesn't know the Bill of Rights...

Ebay is a great place to pick up books. So are libraries as they often sell (cheaply) or give away old reference books (we have several sets from the library).

The most important thing you can give to children is the space to learn to think critically and ask questions then discover the answers to those questions.

Have to run, will add more later...

Thank you so much for the tip RubyT as I've been looking for something like this for our 12 year old.

[Orpheus]

Originally Posted by RubyTuesday

Ebay is a great place to pick up books. So are libraries as they often sell (cheaply) or give away old reference books (we have several sets from the library).

Just a heads-up: Pay Pal is on the "bailout list" for the possible Federal bailout, so if you have any substantial money in a Pay Pal account, you might want to consider moving it.

[Shellie]

Another suggestion for math is the Singapore curriculum (the OLD one). The older Saxon books are good too, but Saxon got bought out (by Addison Wesley?) and it got watered down and ruined.

I have taught my children to read using the 1879 McGuffey Readers. Highly recommended! It just cannot be improved upon.

I was wondering though how everyone feels about science education. Since it is becoming evident that our "scientific" understanding of the world is so flawed, wouldn't it be better to NOT teach/brainwash/front load our children with "science" classes? Certainly health, biology and basic chemistry can be there... but how much of our civilization is going nowhere because we have all been taught already "how everything works"?

[Steven]

I'm very concerned about this topic. We have two young boys, 30 months and 4 months. They are surrounded by love and care. But I really doubt they will go to the actual educational system.

Of course, they will learn tools to learn. Reading, writing, calculating, science and social activities are important. But most importantly, they will learn the Universal Laws. How to use them and how to evolve into them. Their education will lean toward making free Hu-man with meaningful knowledge rather then robots to feed the economical system.

Naturally, they could go to public school and be thought the Laws of the Universe at home. But sincerely, I really don't see this education system to last for long. We wouldn't invest in something crumbling already.

On the other hand, I know the educational system will drastically change soon. So, I hold in confidence that our boys will know a very different experience of education.

Namaste, Steven

[mikey]

Great topic...i regard children to be very important and i resonate with them profoundly well, especially babies...or rather i feel they resonate with me. Both
It is quite bizarre sometimes and never stops to amaze me and continue to confirm how beautifully true they all are.

Amazing and gifted all of them...

I was educated at home for a spell whilst growing up..

peace

bananaman

[Orpheus]

Originally Posted by 99Boogies

I was wondering though how everyone feels about science education. Since it is becoming evident that our "scientific" understanding of the world is so flawed, wouldn't it be better to NOT teach/brainwash/front load our children with "science" classes? Certainly health, biology and basic chemistry can be there... but how much of our civilization is going nowhere because we have all been taught already "how everything works"?

It only makes sense to me to include a study of Newtonian physics because those action/reaction relationships are very observable in our hertzian plane of existence. Likewise, basic chemistry and biology are observable phenomenon that help the analytical mind attach meaning to what we sense around us.

However, young people need to begin to learn from primary grades how their brain receives and processes vibration and how consciousness affects energy and organizes what we think of as "reality." Basic concepts from Quantum Physics (a wave collapses into a particle when observed) and things like remote viewing (the brain picking up and interpreting data from the infared band and beyond) should definitely be included.

More important than anything else, young people should be taught about their ego/conscience/body-mind and how it is NOT them. They should be allowed to explore the world with as little barriers erected around them as possible while still keeping them safe. They should be taught to be free-thinkers, dreamers, meditators, artists, and creators.

I'm sure that many of you that home school do so because you desire your kids to learn about the world without being molded into another drone for the free market machine. Teaching your children that EVERYTHING they sense around them is a reflection of what is INSIDE them is a new concept for most western cultures. Teaching techniques like meditation (check out AMA-Gi's class here on the forum), things like O'hoponopono, and learning concepts from Ramtha's Beginner's Guide to Creating Reality and Abraham-Hicks are all good ways to get a child to make connections to the simple idea that there is more to this life than what we can see with our eyes.