Flying my freak flag

This was a joke between my best friend and I after seeing the FamilyStone but it is so true. I was born flying my flag, I am different, I am a non-conformist, I think for myself. If you are interested I only have my mother's word to go on... I was never a real baby, I didn't want to be held, I stopped the bottle at 5 months, I wasn't breastfed because my mom was 17 and nervous(according to my dad)
I sat up at 4 months and crawled, walked by nine months and the rest is history oh yeah potty trained by 18 months :)
I knew how to read BEFORE I went to half day K, they didn't worry about reading at 5 then...

This post isn't about tooting my own horn but about what happened because I was so *advanced* School crushed my love of learning, it was stupid, I remember more and more each day... I learned how the game was played and I quickly stopped being me. For a few years I did come home and teach my brother and sister, I actually wanted to be a teacher for a short time, then a lawyer and a psychiatrist, hint hint about my childhood.
One extra note my little brother was 4 and the school wouldn't let him in because he was born in Dec. So my mom put him in private school because he tested at least at 1st grade level. Which means nothing!!!!

I decided I would not make a good shrink because I would just tell people to *get over it* Hey that is what I do now, no pay geesh.

So my parents didn't like each other(total understatement) they can barely tolerate hearing about each other from me and I am 32 +4 LOL!
To know me is to love me :)

So why am I writing this??? Um because so many children are thrown into the depths of public school and their parents are both working, living separate lives and the family unit has gone to hell. Yes I am Christian and I believe that God had a different plan for us. Not one of destruction and adversarial relationships but one of families living and working together.

I am an unschooling advocate Ala John Holt, I'm reading Instead of Education and it's really good! But I was unschooling and APing before Dr. Sears named it :)

When my first was born we never planned on school actually before he was born. He never heard the word no from us, I was all about the positive and what you can do not what you can't do. I never had to babyproof or cage my child, he was so free! I had three more after him and we did our best to live up to our own standards and damnit it's hard to do!

Kieran will be 12 next week , I can't believe it my first baby with all the hoopla (fertility drugs) my gosh I can't possibly make one post here! Whoever reads this is probably saying, she never talks THIS MUCH!!!

So why did I write??? I am not alone many people are out there talking and promoting unschooling and respectful parenting but we are going upstream, against the wind (love Bob Segar)
Let's just do it and call it like we see it. I'm no saint but I am part of the unschooling movement. If I can save one more child from being dumbed down and disregarded it's all good!