This time to The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers 2010 Conference and Resource Fair! Looking forward to getting to meet and hear Linda Dobson, one of my favorite homeschool authors.

I will be presenting 3 sessions, a Beginning Homeschooling session this afternoon, Navigating the Legalities and So What Do I DO on Monday on Saturday and I will also be on a Strategies for Teaching Reading panel.

I am really looking forward to it - these conferences are so much fun and I love getting to meet new people, especially new homeschoolers. I am stealing away to check out the Incorporating the Arts: Encouraging Creativity and Nurturing the Genius in Your Child session which is bound to give me lots of ideas.

If you are in the Richmond area (or close to it…it is only 2 hours from Northern Virginia, well worth the drive and an easy day trip) do come and check us out. Walk-ins are welcome and the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen is a beautiful venue. Lots of great sessions to inspire.

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answers.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke, Letter to a Young Poet

This ties into something that I have become more aware of over the past couple of years…how quickly I jump to try to answer the questions (or solve the problem) when sitting with something and letting the answer come to you is much more effective (and less anxiety-producing). When I sit with something and let the answer reveal itself, I am more comfortable with the result (and usually learn something more about myself in the process).

Our society values “do-ers” and quick thinkers and people who can put out fires. But always having to have the answer can be exhausting (as well as daunting).

I need to hear this message…to know that it is ok (even good) to not know the answer. Because where is the learning if you know everything? Not to mention, it kind of takes the urgency out of many things, which, if you are like me where everything in life starts looking like a fire to be put out, is a good thing.

Kripalu, February 2010

What a weekend! I find that I am sitting here, a bit stumped about what exactly to write about and how to summarize the weekend. So much happened, much of which I am still processing which makes it hard to figure out what to focus on.

There was the trip up to Kripalu which involved catching a train for a 6 hour ride and then driving 2 hours all the while being worried about the uncertainty of the approaching mid-Atlantic snow storm. Everything, as usual, worked out just fine, but it really brought out and highlighted some of my many control issues related to travel. Gave me lots of food to work with at the workshop that is for sure.

Then there was the workshop itself. Sarah was just as wonderful in person as she is in her books and I found that exploring the topics in the book with a group of people very powerful. It was a bit larger (about 40 people) because several other workshops were cancelled and those participants were given the option to take hers (did I mention there was a mid-Atlantic snow storm?) Some people had read the book and were very familiar with it, some were more familiar with Sarah’s Not So Big House books and for others this was all new.

One of the fascinating things was to watch as the workshop unfolded. This was very much a group effort with lots of sharing and lots of questioning. We covered a lot of ground and it was a very organic process, led by (or probably more aptly, through) Sarah, but not run by her. It was interesting how many of our stories overlapped…not in the details but rather in the overall experiences and things that we all struggle with.

And then there was the personal work. We had morning, afternoon and evening sessions with long breaks for meals and I found that I needed those breaks to let things sink in. The grounds were stunning for contemplation (did I mention the snow?) and I did get a chance to climb some of those snowy hills with my camera. The quiet was wonderful and the exercise was invigorating.

The sessions gave me so many ideas to ponder. Nothing radically new, but rather adding additional layers of understanding. I journaled a lot and made a lot of “aha” connections, seeing some things with new eyes. And this growth is continuing since I returned, although re-entry (as Sarah warned) can be hard, wondering how to integrate this new-found perspective within my day-to-day life. One interesting aspect is that I am finding myself incredibly forgetful of where I have put things…I think that with everything that I am processing, my mind is busy elsewhere. But I am trusting that this is part of the process for me (although the fact that I returned from a workshop on mindfulness temporarily a bit less mindful is amusing).

I also found the evolution of the weekend fascinating as well. I started out knowing absolutely no one. As the weekend progressed, I found different connections with different people at different times. By the last day many of us were seeking each other out at meals and exchanging emails. It will be interesting to see where these new friendships go.

I am eternally grateful that I stayed the extra day, not leaving until Monday morning. The additional time to connect a little more with new friends, plus the chance to partake in an afternoon yoga class and evening meditation class were extremely beneficial. Not to mention having the additional processing time before returning home.

All in all, I definitely can not complain and am looking forward to see where life takes me from here. Now if I can just find my slippers… (and I am not making that up for literary effect…I can’t find the dang things and my feet are cold!)

I am going to be leaving my computer home (big for me!) and am looking forward to an entire weekend focused on inner work - on seeing if I can identfiy how to simplify my life and re-focus my energies on what is important and what feeds me rather than constantly getting caught up in my to-do list. Man, do I need this.

I was not even sure if I was going to be able to make this trip at all, but it has been a lesson at letting things unfold the way they need to and lo and behold, everything fell into place quite nicely (well, except for this storm, but that remains to be seen).

I think I am mostly packed, so I am going to head to bed early and listen to the winds howl. I do have to say that I am very tired of being impacted by the weather so much lately…I am ready to get back to not having to think about it.

Wish me luck. I am sure that it will quite an adventure…

One of the tricky things about dealing with interviews is that you never know what angle the reporter is going to focus on. And even if you discuss and reiterate certain points with them (such as the fact that homeschoolers are NOT isolated and that there are a tons of homeschool and community activities available) it may not always come through in the article.

All in all, the article came across as a fairly typical homeschooling article. You would not guess this however based on many of the comments it has generated. You combine ignorance about homeschooling (they are all isolated and completely shut off from the real world, sheltered, socially inept) and combine it with ignorance about Muslims (they are all jihadists who want to kill Americans in their sleep) and you get the extremism and hatred that showed up in the comments section. Sigh.

I am amazed (although I probably should not be) at how many people jumped to conclusions and were spouting off completely uninformed opinions without knowing anything at all about these families other than their religion and the fact that they homeschool. There have been a few cooler heads here and there (and more in the later comments), but it is still deeply maddening. For what it is worth, I added my own two cents:

What I find very interesting (and sad) in these comments is that what is being debated is stereotypes and what is being forgotten is that these families are real people, just like you and me, trying to raise their families the best they see how.

I homeschool for secular reasons (I like being able to give my children a customized individual education and I have nothing against public schools) and have the privilege of knowing and having met several of these families and their children. What people are insinuating about them is so ridiculous it would be funny if it were not so scary.

However, people see “homeschooler” and immediately think “isolated” and “sheltered”. Then they see “Muslim” and immediately think “terrorist”. How ignorant.

Muslim homeschoolers are active both in the local homeschooling community (my kids take classes as well as other activities with Muslim kids) as well as their local communities. My kids are not “isolated” and are on local sports teams and participate in many community activities.

Please, before jumping to conclusions based on ignorant stereotypes, remember that these are real families just like yours.

We have a very active Muslim homeschool community in Northern Virginia. I recently did a beginning homeschool talk for families considering homeschooling at the ADAMS Center (All Dulles Area Muslim Society) and had a great time answering everyone’s questions.

My hat is off to Priscilla and the rest of the families who are willing to put themselves out there to help spread the word about homeschooling, not always easy when you are a minority within a minority. And here is to hoping that we can slowly, bit by bit, overcome this myth of the isololated homeschooler.

February 2010

Snowpocolypse III - February 2010

Yes, we thankfully managed to keep our power for the Snowpocolypse II (or III or whatever) and I am pleased to report that it was much more fun.

Looking south down our road.

The snow started in the afternoon on Tuesday, getting heavier into the evening. We did a little bit of shoveling, but as before, it came down much harder overnight.

In the morning we were blanketed and the wind was howling. We could barely see back to our neighbor’s house. Quickly realized that it made no sense to even attempt to shovel. The wind seemed to diminish a bit around mid-afternoon so we spent some time shoveling out. I finally got out to take some pictures.

Our back porch

I have lots more photos from Snowpocolypse I, II, and III (but who is counting). I also pulled out some photos to show the timeline of the snow.

Rumor is that we are getting even more snow on Monday. Supposedly only a “light” snow of a few inches. Can’t we somehow arrange to send it to Vancouver? Seems like they need it way more than we do…

Winter 2010 - Annandale, Virginia

Mother Nature had a different idea. Short story is that we got more than 2 feet of snow (never got a chance to measure it) and lost power for 30 hours. Managed to stay on top of digging out but my car battery died and our neighborhood road was practically impassable (had 4 trees down and had barely been plowed). Luckily some good friends rescued us so we only had to spend one cold night and we got to have a fun sleepover. Power finally back on yesterday, in time to warm up for the next storm which has already dumped another inch and is expected to result in around 10 more more inches by the end of tomorrow.

I love snow. Honestly. I love how it encourages you to stop and slow down. And I don’t even mind being stuck at home. But not if we don’t have heat. Sigh. Here is hoping that the power stays on this time. I am emotionally and physically spent. In good news, I have lost 3 pounds since Friday. And the snow really is gorgeous. If you have a warm house to enjoy it from.

Wish us luck.

Digging Out - January 2010

Turns out that this past week wound up being more hectic than I could have know. Started out with the VaHomeschoolers hotline getting more calls in two days than we usually get in a week. Board members take turns manning the hotline and fielding questions and queries as they come in. This week was my week and it was all I could do to stay on top of it. Many were from parents looking for information about pulling their kids out of school. When we get calls at this time of year, it is mostly because things have not been going well in school for the child and the parent has finally gotten frustrated enough to start looking into homeschooling. I typically enjoy these types of calls as it is wonderful to be able to give them information and reassure them that they are not crazy for considering homeschooling and that yes, they can do this. But they do take time and some follow up, sending emails with links and mailing out information.

We also sometimes get parents wanting to know where they can find the “homeschool teacher” or where can they can pick up the books they need to homeschool (one infamous caller even wanted to know where they could find the “homeschool bus” for their child.) These calls tend to take a bit more time fleshing out what exactly they are looking for…do they really want to homeschool, are they confusing homeschooling with homebound instruction (which is handled through the public schools) or, more recently, are they talking about the virtual school programs implemented in a few Virginia school divisions? Once we get that squared away, I can point them in the right direction. I think that I scared one woman I talked to this week when I explained to her the difference between homeschooling and virtual schools through the public school system. She wanted nothing to do with teaching her child herself, did not want to spend any money on any kind of program, and was horrified at the idea that her child would not be able to get a state issued diploma in the end. She was very grateful to me for explaining the differences and pointing her in the right direction for finding more information about the public school’s virtual schools.

Then, to keep life exciting, Kyle had an asthma attack on Tuesday (actually 2am Wednesday morning). He is fine, but it was a bit scary at the time and is the closest I have come to calling 911. Back around Christmas he had a mild asthma attack that I chalked up to being a bit of a fluke since he had never had this type of problem before. Obviously not. Our doctor thinks that it is related to a cold he was coming down with. We now have an inhaler for him and we are working with our doctor on natural ways to boost his immune system and strengthen his respiratory system to avoid them in the future. He is pretty much back to normal, but still has a bit of a cough. I am still trying to figure out what this all means and how much to worry.

And then (yes, there is more) I had to decide whether to risk driving down to Blacksburg (4 hours away) on Friday when there was a large snowstorm potentially on its way. Virginia Tech offers this wonderful free program called Kid’s Tech University for kids 9-12 years old. The program is meant to introduce kids to the university learning experience (though not the living and drinking experience!) as well as get them excited about science, technology, engineering and math. Jason was signed up and Kyle was supposed to stay up here with Jeff (we are thinking about having Kyle do it next year, but this year I thought that it might be a bit much for him - 450 kids in a lecture hall, lunch in the dining hall and then hands on activities in the afternoon).

It was interesting to watch my reactions as I went back and forth over this decision, especially in light of Kyle’s asthma attack (worried about leaving him). I wound up deciding not to go, which turned out to be the right decision as they canceled the program this morning. While I handled this decision better than I usually do in these situations (I usually completely agonize over it, paralyzed with the idea of making the “wrong” decision), I am going to have to really explore some more into why it was still harder than it should have been for me. This was not life or death. Jason was fine either way (there are still 3 more programs in the series). But I still found myself a bit more wrapped up and spinning about it then I really needed to be.

So that was my week and why I was not able to post earlier. Now the snow is coming down and I am going to focus on decompressing a bit this weekend. While I do feel good overall about how I handled all this, I do still feel a bit emotionally wiped and rather than try to push through it, I am going to acknowledge it and maybe even take a nap.

So no more promising when I will write more. I will just expect to get to it when I get to it. And here is hoping for a bit calmer week next week.