Combined with this, I had a series of blood tests done and a variety of other non-invasive tests performed which I plan to repeat after 4-6 months of this healthier diet.

Tips for increasing the nutritional value of the food you eat:

• Read the labels.  Seriously! Things to look for: serving size, fat grams per serving, fiber grams per serving, and cholesterol amount (it should be ZERO grams of cholesterol if you are eating healthy).

• Eating fresh fruits and veggies that don’t have labels? Good for you! Look on NutritionalData.com for nutritional data for these items. While you can eat virtually unlimited quantities of most fruits and vegetables, some have more fiber and more vitamins than others. As I’ve been increasing my fiber intake, I’ve switched from strawberries to raspberries for my morning fruit of choice.

• Go back to basics.  Eat whole foods without processed foods on top of them.  This doesn’t mean boring or bland — quite the contrary!  Most people enjoy meats because of how they are cooked, not the plain meat itself.  Use your favorite spices on grilled yellow squash, roasted yams, or even microwaved corn-on-the-cob.

• Lower your fat intake. Dr. McDougall states that people should strive to eat 10 or less grams of fat per day. As I’ve lowered my fat intake from about 30-40 grams of fat/day to 10 grams or less, I’ve noticed a huge increase in my energy levels and a marked increase in the quality of my sleep. I had so much energy last night that I actually had to go running — I just couldn’t keep my body still (and I’m a person who detests running — I prefer swimming, Wii, walking, or doing other “fun” types of activities such as skydiving).

Have your blood work done yearly, or more frequently if there are any abnormalities and/or your total cholesterol is higher than 150 or so.  Taking charge of your health is something that only you can do for yourself.  Read on the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine website for more information on how to live disease-free.

Related posts:

1. Going Lowfat Naturally (Plus Vegan Brownie Recipe)
2. Have your say: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
3. Cholesterol Free Diet
4. Seriously, Dairy Products Do NOT Help People Lose Weight
5. Eat MORE Carbs, Not Less — Dispelling a Deadly Dietary Myth

Three years ago, my family and I wanted to make a path around our land — something raked free of cholla and other cacti — where we could roam free in sandals without worry of stepping on something we didn’t really want to step on.  We spent several hours every evening for a couple of months raking, gathering rocks from our land, and placing rocks.  The end result is a lovely 1/3 mile rock lined path.

We were lamenting recently that we wished for little offshoots of this path on at least two separate points.  One in particular would bisect the path in such a way as to make a full circuit be nearly 1/2 mile long — a good distance to be able to track if/when one of us goes for an exercise run/jog/walk.

So, right then and there, we got out the rakes, moved aside a portion of well laid rock, and starting making that path.  It’ll take us at least a month or two (maybe longer) to complete this, but we’ve started — which is often the most difficult step.  We were able to rake and set rock for a good ten feet all in one go of it (see photo above).

Life is about building your own path!  Paving your own way!  Doing what those around you think isn’t possible (but you know is).

What paths have you been wanting to build?  Take some time to think of them — dream of them — then go out there and build them.  You have it in you to accomplish anything you can dream of.

Go live the life of your dreams!

Related posts:

1. How to: Raise Venture Capital (in 10 Easy Steps)
2. Just Where Is That Pointy Mountain in Star Trek?
3. Overcoming Obstacles
4. Happy Mother’s Day!
5. Stop Getting in Your Way!

Difficulty: Not very.  I’ve increased the amount of fruits and vegetables in my diet, and have kept them all as much in their natural states as possible (within my own liking).

Results:  I’m more energetic, feel lighter, and feel healthier.

As a fun brownie treat, my family made Happy Herbivore’s Vegan Black Bean Brownies:

Since I don’t like bananas in cooked foods (or smoothies), I’ve found that the recipe works better with pumpkin.  We also like the amount of cocoa doubled.  Many times, I’ve made lowfat brownies by using a box mix with canned pumpkin rather than eggs and oil.  It tastes just as good, has added fiber, and is incredibly moist!

Enjoy!

Related posts:

1. Vegan Recipe: Harvest Casserole (a.k.a. New Butternut Squash Casserole)
2. VEGAN RECIPE: “Chicken Parmesan”
3. Vegan Recipe Websites
4. VEGAN RECIPE: The BEST Carrot Cake Ever (Guest Post)
5. RECIPE: Vegan Biscuits and Gravy

There are many different kinds of popsicle molds.  The ones that are the easiest to use are the plain rectangular shaped ones and the silicone ones (these are amazing for popping things out of, both in the oven and the freezer). Even so, we really like our little Lego guy ones. 

Watermelon Popsicles:

• Take 4-5 cups worth of watermelon.
• Pick out all the seeds.
• Blend thoroughly.
• Pour into popsicle molds.
• Freeze for at least 6 hours (these take longer to freeze than lemonade ones).
• Eat and enjoy!

Related posts:

1. Prickly Pear Fruit Harvesting PART FOUR
2. Prickly Pear BBQ Sauce
3. Vegan Kit-Kat Recipe
4. Supper Tonight: Roasted Red Peppers and Baked Potatoes
5. RECIPE: Vegan Biscuits and Gravy

———————–

DoLifeRight: Tell me a bit about yourself and your family (name, children’s ages, where you live, etc.).

Liz: My name is Liz, and my husband Nate and I have two kids: Meredith, 7, and Simon, 4. We live in Tucson. I grew up in Michigan and lived in Minnesota before I moved to Arizona. Nate grew up in Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and has also lived in New Mexico.

DoLifeRight: How long have you homeschooled your children? Do you consider your family an unschooling family? What does this mean for your family? Did you consider yourself an “Attachment Parent” when your children were infants? How did this (or didn’t this) affect your choice to unschool/homeschool your children?

Liz: Our kids have never been to school, preschool, or daycare, and have never been schooled at home, so depending on how one defines the beginning of homeschooling the answer could be since birth or since reaching school age.
We absolutely consider ourselves to be unschoolers. To me this means living a full, rich life in which school is irrelevant. I rarely think about what my kids would be doing if they were in school. I don’t gauge their knowledge or skills against grade levels or slot their interests into school categories. Those issues are just not part of our lives.
Our unschooling life is a logical extension of how we lived with our babies. The principles of providing them with a rich environment and lots of parental support are the same, and the trust in their individual development is the same. We also continue to live by the same principles of connection and respect that have shaped our family from the beginning. The specifics have grown and shifted with the kids’ maturity and interests, but the underlying principles are no different.

DoLifeRight: Did you plan to homeschool your children before you actually had children? What is your own educational background?

Liz: We decided to homeschool–actually, to unschool–while I was pregnant with our older child. Our decision was not a reaction to our own school experiences, though it was informed by them.
I have always been a passionate learner, and in general I enjoyed school and did as well as I chose to do. However, I was aware early on of the arbitrary nature of a curriculum and of the many rules that governed classes, projects, grades, and all the rest. I was usually willing to jump through the hoops, but I knew even in elementary school that it was a game. Beginning in middle school, I was unhappy with the social aspects of school more often than not, and uninspired by the occasional teacher who either didn’t like me or wasn’t enthusiastic about his or her subject. In high school, I had health problems that were exacerbated by the stress of the social scene and various frustrations at school. I remember that my family briefly discussed moving me to a Montessori school, but in the end I stayed at the public school. I went on to study Linguistics and Anthropology at a private college and then at graduate school.
Nate also went through public schools, and has a 5-year Architecture degree as well as a great deal of college coursework in other fields.

DoLifeRight: Why did you decide to not send your children to school? What research did you do to make this decision? Were there any books, magazines, or websites you would recommend new parents (or parents who are new to homeschooling) read?

Liz: I am a research nut, so when I was pregnant the first time I read everything I could get my hands on about pregnancy, birth, and life with a baby. When I had exhausted those topics, I started on education options. Nate and I took the position that there was no default choice, that we should weigh our options based on their merits rather than doing what this or that group of people did.
We determined that our goals were family closeness, flexibility to pursue passions, and intellectual strength and confidence versus the amassing of an arbitrary set of facts. With those goals in mind, we considered traditional, magnet, Montessori, and Waldorf schools as well as a number of homeschooling approaches. Our goals, we decided, would be best met by unschooling.
Some of the parenting books that inspired me are “Our Babies, Ourselves”, by Meredith Small, “Unconditional Parenting”, by Alfie Kohn, and “Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves”, by Naomi Aldort. I also read articles on a number of websites, including www.naturalchild.org and www.lifelearningmagazine.com. Specific to unschooling, most of my reading was on discussion lists, but I also appreciated the collections of essays in Sandra Dodd’s “Moving a Puddle” and Rue Kream’s “Parenting a Free Child”.

DoLifeRight: What specific benefits to your children (or family as a whole) have you actually seen since you became unschoolers/homeschoolers? What have been the benefits (unexpected and expected) to homeschooling?

Liz: As my kids have reached school age (and I include my 4 year old, because so many of his agemates are in preschool), I have been grateful that we made the decision to homeschool before they were even born. I can see that school would not suit either of them well, though both are very bright and eager learners.
My daughter pursues her interests intensely and for long periods of time, a learning style that would be hard for any school to accommodate. In our unschooling life, she is fully supported in her interests and free to immerse herself in them as deeply and for as long as she desires. The immensity of her learning is truly inspiring! At the same time, I am able to use the natural connectedness of all things and ideas to provide her with varied and rich experiences.
My son has a physical intensity that would be disruptive in a school setting. I have no doubt that if he were in preschool we would be having regular conversations with them about his all but constant noise and motion, and most likely about possible medications to “help him focus”. With unschooling, we are able to provide for his enormous need for movement and noise, and also to recognize the depth of focus he actually has and the learning that is taking place within his apparent chaos. I like to say that he is the eye of his own tornado
Time is a huge benefit of homeschooling. My kids are anything but overscheduled. They have plenty of time to sit or bounce on the trampoline and contemplate. They have plenty of time to sleep, to eat, to move, to be still. Our days are very full, but it is rare that we find ourselves dashing between one activity or errand and the next. We almost never have to cut an activity short because we are due someplace else.
Besides the benefits for my kids, we have reaped enormous benefits as a family from our choice to homeschool. Flexibility, family closeness, connections with other wonderful families–these are just a few.

DoLifeRight: How important have support groups been for you? Do you have online ones, in person ones, or a mixture? Please list any you want to share.

Liz: For several years, I was an avid reader of a number of online discussion groups, especially UnschoolingDiscussion (on Google Groups), AlwaysUnschooled (on Yahoo! Groups), and the message boards on Unschooling.info. My family also went to the Live & Learn Unschooling Conference twice–an amazing experience both times. For perhaps the first five years of our unschooling journey, these networks were an important part of my exploration of the unschooling philosophy. They helped me see the difference between “not doing school” and “living life to the fullest” and gave me many examples of the kind of creative problem-solving and resource-hunting that are now essential to my role as an unschooling parent.
In more recent years, I have focused on the local unschooling group that I helped form, called SOARingUnschoolers. This group has been an amazing resource for me and my family, a source of friendship, support, ideas, inspiration, and more. I can not imagine this chapter of our lives without that group.

DoLifeRight: What resources do you use for your children’s “educations”? Feel free to comment on the word “education”.

Liz: I view education as an unending process of learning, growth, and discovery. My own education is ongoing, though it looks different now than it did 30, 20, or even 10 years ago.
We facilitate our kids’ education with anything and everything that they are or might be interested in. Or at least the things we (or they) think of or stumble across! Their education is their life, and their life is their education. We make no distinction between ‘educational’ materials and everything else. We also don’t avoid or limit resources out of fear that they will ‘stunt creativity’ or ‘inhibit learning’ or ‘turn their brains to mush’.
I find that the popular homeschooling expression “the world is my classroom” is never more true than in unschooling. Everything in our home, our community, and (through travel, the internet, books, videos, etc.) the world is a potential resource. Everything has potential for learning. Everything is connected.

DoLifeRight: How does your family make money? Do you have a job? Full-time or part-time or something in between? Can you tell us about your choices and how you made these decisions?

Liz: Until recently, Nate worked full-time as an architect. He has been laid off for economic reasons and is pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities. I earn a small income teaching periodic test prep courses at the local university. For many years, I worked full-time as a policy analyst at a large corporation and Nate did occasional freelance projects.
Our current cultural norm disconnects professionals from their families far more than is healthy. I would love to see more options available in the working world, such as the opportunity to work part-time in a professional context. It’s hard to find a good-paying professional position that requires only 40 hours per week anymore, much less one that allows 20-30 hours. I would also love to see self-employment become a more viable option through the easier availability of reasonable health insurance and other supports.

DoLifeRight: How have *you* personally grown since you started unschooling/homeschooling your children? How has your relationship with your spouse/partner grown?

Liz: Parenting and unschooling–the two are inseparable for me–have been a tremendous journey of self-discovery and self-improvement. In my life before kids, I was always content with my emotional and relationship skills. I dabbled in some philosophical and spiritual traditions, but I had no real impetus to challenge myself or to make personal growth a specific goal.
Until Meredith, my first child, was about a year old, I was focused on pragmatics–what to do and not do to be a good parent: hold the baby, breastfeed, don’t let her cry alone, and so on. As my relationship with her grew more complex and my understanding of unschooling deepened, I began to find that I did not always have the skills to do what I wanted to do for her. I could not always react as calmly or patiently as I wanted to. I could not always trust her natural rhythms of sleep and eating, as much as I wanted to. I could not always ignore the voices in my head telling me that I needed to be “in charge”.
I began at that point to dust off and sort out all the personal baggage that was getting in my way and replace it with tools and resources that could help me be the very best parent, the very best me, that I could. I am still on that journey.
My marriage has been simultaneously challenged by our parenting and unschooling path and strengthened by it. Although we have always agreed in principle to be attachment/unschooling parents, Nate and I have not always agreed about the day-to-day particulars. Because both of us feel our responsibility to our children so deeply, it is hard for either of us to “give in”. However, facing that challenge together and revisiting again and again what it means for us to be a team, working together, has in the long run made our marriage stronger.

DoLifeRight: Are you able to find time to have your own hobbies, interests, and friends? Beyond your children (of course), what are your interests?

Liz: One of my greatest interests at this point is personal development and growth, and my life as an unschooling parent is an ideal setting for that! My commitment to be the best parent I can be has led me to work and contemplation that make me the best ME I can be.
I am lucky in that many of the things I do for my kids are, in fact, my interests. I am a researcher by nature, and I genuinely enjoy answering questions, tracking down the best resources for a topic or project, travel planning, and so on. My daughter and I share many interests, so I find much of the learning I do alongside her to be fascinating. Similarly, I am lucky that my friends are, for the most part, the parents of my kids’ friends. Our get-togethers provide “friend time” for all of us!
I find that I am easily frustrated by having hands-on projects interrupted, and since my kids are quite young, I choose to be careful about what projects I take on and when I work on them. Having said that, I do some sewing, knitting, and home improvement projects. I read every day. I exercise. What I *don’t* do is spend time thinking about how I would spend my time if I weren’t busy with my kids–I am too busy and happy to worry about that!

DoLifeRight: If you have more than one child, how do you handle their different interests and desires? If you have one child, how do you handle his/her desires to be with other children? How do you reconcile these interests with your own?

Liz: This is an issue that I have been paying a lot of attention to recently, because my kids have very different interests, desires, temperaments, and rhythms right now. There is no single answer to how I handle this, except that it is a part of my planning for every day and every activity.
As with everything else, I start from the principle of respect. I respect that each of their interests (and the areas in which they are not interested) are valid. I respect their individual levels of maturity and flexibility. I do my best to be honest with them and with myself about what the options are. I neither withhold solutions to ‘teach them to share’ or ‘make them accept life’s difficulties’, nor try to change the world or exceed my realistic limits so that they never have to accommodate one another. We talk a lot about supporting one another as a family principle, and discuss the need for each of them to sometimes go along with something that is important to the other.
I try to remember, in those times when both of my kids want my full attention RIGHT NOW for mutually-incompatible activities that it doesn’t help for me to give part of myself over to anger and frustration. If I do that, there is even LESS of me to go around! Instead, I breathe deep and take a moment to let the spaciousness of the breath suffuse my whole being. Then I apply myself–my whole, spacious self–to doing the best I can to take care of everyone’s needs, including my own.

DoLifeRight: Any regrets? We want to hear the good and the bad! This is the best way to make informed decisions.

Liz: I’m not a person who regrets. Even if that weren’t the case, though, I can’t think of a single choice regarding my family life that I would change. My life has its frustrations and uncertainties, but I am happy without reservation and can not imagine that any other path would have served me better. I have the satisfaction of living in alignment with my goals and principles.

DoLifeRight: Thanks, Liz!

Related posts:

1. 20 Unschooling Questions: Brianna from Tucson, AZ, USA
2. 20 Unschooling Questions: Kate from WA, USA
3. 20 Unschooling Questions: Sandra Dodd from NM, USA
4. 20 Unschooling Questions: Sylvia from NM, USA
5. Be Questioned: 20 Questions for Unschoolers

As of today, all of the illustrations for my upcoming children’s chapter book, Wright on Time: ARIZONA, Book 1, are completed! I’ve been working on the website, adding new things each day. Please sign up for the newsletter!

While we all impatiently wait for the book to be available for sale, I’ll be posting little tidbits.  For today, check out a couple of the illustrations on these posts of Tanja Bauerle’s:

• Wright on Time Spot Illustration — 1
• Wright on Time Spot Illustration — 2

Related posts:

1. Wright on Time Books — Sneak Peek at Logo
2. Announcing: Wright on Time Book Series
3. How to: Make Puzzles for Our Tri-Wizard Tournament Task 3
4. Fun with Light at the Arizona Science Center
5. Arizona Ghost Town: Pearce

Supplies:

• One 100% dark cotton t-shirt (red, blue, green, black, hot pink, etc. — NOT WHITE)
• One bleach pen — we used Clorox gel pens (one pen works for 2-3 shirts, front only)
• Scrap catalogs, cardboard, plastic bags, etc. (protective materials)
• Water and soap to clean your hands (and shirt)

How to do this:

1. Put some protective materials inside the t-shirt and under the shirt.  You don’t want to bleach your table or the underside of the shirt.
2. Plan your design.
3. Shake the pen and start drawing squeezing just slightly as you draw — a young child might want to practice on an old catalog or something first.  For handprints, one person traces while the other person stays still.  Be sure to have that person’s hands washed really well after — you don’t want them to get bleach in their mouth or eyes or on their clothing.
4. Allow the shirt to sit for a few minutes (up to an hour or so — don’t wait too long or the bleach could make a hole in the shirt), then rinse really well.  Ideally, you’ll throw the shirt straight into the washing machine without items you don’t want bleached.  The bleach spreads slightly the longer it sits and turns the undercolor a paler shade — keep this in mind if you accidentally put too much on the shirt.
5. Show off your cool shirt!  We were thrilled with all the results, but particularly liked the medium colored shirts.  The darkest ones didn’t produce as good of results and light colored shirts just get clean.  :)  We look forward to trying this on tie dyed items.

We noticed that the bleached part of the shirts were different depending on which company made the shirt.  Black was usually a red/orange, green was always yellow, medium blue was either white or red and sometimes bleached in a neat batik-style which I loved, dark blue was either white or reddish, etc.  Buy a shirt and have fun!  I can’t wait to try this on a tie dyed shirt.

I did this project with my Girl Scout troop.  All the girls easily did this by themselves.  Here are a few photographs of the shirts with the bleach gel still on them.  To see final results, see the photos above.

Related posts:

1. How to: Double Tie-Dye with Super Cool Results
2. Simple, Quick and Easy Paper Christmas Tree with Ornaments
3. How to: Make an Artistic Tiled Photo Present
4. How to: Throw an Excellent Webkinz Party
5. Blowing Ornamental Glass Balls

DoLifeRight: Tell me a bit about yourself and your family (name, children’s ages, where you live, etc.):

Lisa: I am Lisa Russell, we have six girls age 15, 12, 8, 6, 3 and 17mos and we live in WA State.

DoLifeRight: How long have you homeschooled your children? Do you consider your family an unschooling family? What does this mean for your family?

Lisa: The only official time any of them has spent in a classroom was when my 15 yr old went to public school for 6 mos in middle school for 2 periods a day.

We consider ourselves eclectic unschoolers because we share a lot of classic literature, and discuss it, like the Thomas Jefferson method. I spend a fortune on curriculum all the time because i like having it in the house. We always start them and the kids will zip through it if they like it, or never touch it again.

DoLifeRight: Did you plan to homeschool your children before you actually had children? What is your own educational background?

Lisa: I have some college- Before I had my oldest, I planned to send her to school for socialization and then homeschool her when she came home, so she’d learn something.

DoLifeRight: Why did you decide to not send your children to school? What research did you do to make this decision? Were there any books, magazines, or websites you would recommend new parents (or parents who are new to homeschooling) read?

Lisa: I read absolutely everything I could get my hands on. Growing without Schooling, John Holt, Joseph Chilton Pearce

DoLifeRight: Did you consider yourself an “Attachment Parent” when your children were infants? How did this (or didn’t this) affect your choice to unschool/homeschool your children?

Lisa: Yes, we’re AP and I think it gave me unschooling confidence in the early years

DoLifeRight: What specific benefits to your children (or family as a whole) have you actually seen since you became unschoolers/homeschoolers?

Lisa: My kids can think for themselves, they can spot a phony. My husband keeps odd hours, they get to see him. We’re all very close.

DoLifeRight: Do you have a regular schedule in your life? How does this work with outside commitments and responsibilities?

Lisa: Absolutely no schedule right now. We have a flow, though- a pattern. The little kids crash around 10pm, the middle kids crash around 11pm and my husband and I go to bed around midnight. The older girls, i don’t really know what time they go to sleep. We tend to all wake up in the same order each day. I make a big breakfast when I wake up and by the time it’s done cooking everyone is there to eat. I work from home & when I get hungry, I make a big lunch for everyone. Then I hangout with the kids, we talk talk talk, the middle kids really love workbooks, so they do workbooks and draw pictures while the littler ones bring me a thousand stories to read. The older ones are usually reading at this time. They write a lot, too. My husband makes dinner while I work, then we all eat together. The little ones take baths & put their jammies on, I read them stories & they go to sleep. My older girls then bombard me with talk talk talk talk about their day, what they read, what they drew, what they wrote, funny conversations, their plans, etc while I do dinner dishes. Then, I go back to work while my husband works or watches TV until I can’t stay awake anymore.

DoLifeRight: How important have support groups been for you? Do you have online ones, in person ones, or a mixture? Please list any you want to share.

Lisa: In the past few years I have become very introverted. My support group used to be important to me, now not so much. I don’t feel like I need support anymore, no one IRL understands me.

DoLifeRight: What resources do you use for your children’s “educations”? Feel free to comment on the word “education”.

Lisa: Real life mostly. The internet, the library, community events, museums, magazines, and a ton of curriculum that they’re not forced to do. Sometimes they use it, sometimes they don’t. Usually they use it for reference or read through the lessons.

DoLifeRight: How did your friends and families react when you told them your children wouldn’t be going to school? Have their opinions changed over the years?

Lisa: They thought I’d change my mind when i got annoyed with my kid as she reached kindergarten age, then I’d be glad to see her go.

DoLifeRight: What have been the benefits (unexpected and expected) to homeschooling?

Lisa: Too many to name. Life is good. They grow so fast.

DoLifeRight: How does your family make money? Do you have a job? Full-time or part-time or something in between? Can you tell us about your choices and how you made these decisions?

Lisa: We both work from home. I write and he’s a cinematographer.

DoLifeRight: How have *you* personally grown since you started unschooling/homeschooling your children? How has your relationship with your spouse/partner grown?

Lisa: Our marriage is very good- I am still growing a lot. So is he.

DoLifeRight: Are you able to find time to have your own hobbies, interests, and friends? Beyond your children (of course), what are your interests?

Lisa: oh yes- we both passionately pursue our own hobbies. We have to be good examples, right? I’m learning web design, plus i paint and knit and love thrift-shopping. My husband is trying to build hydrogen fuel cells and learn more about alternative energy through expensive science projects. He wants to build us a completely off-the-grid commune somewhere. I’m building a chicken coop, we like to travel, we’re artsy-gardeny, so many more things. I wouldn’t say my children were my interests or hobbies either. They live with me. We love each other. I drive them places, I buy them food and I listen to their endless diatribes about all things. I plan to start back to college this summer, to get a degree in business law for nonprofits.

DoLifeRight: How do you respond to other people’s questions about the following: completeness of education, socialization, college plans, etc.? Do you give different answers to different people? Why?

Lisa: I do give different people different answers. Whatever their concern is, unschooling/homeschooling is my solution. Like socialization for example; peer dependence is a very bad thing. And education, schools fail by even their own standards; our nation’s founding fathers were self-led learners.

DoLifeRight: If you have more than one child, how do you handle their different interests and desires? If you have one child, how do you handle his/her desires to be with other children? How do you reconcile these interests with your own?

Lisa: I can’t possibly drive my kids to all the things they want to do. My kids have learned to coordinate carpools and keep a wall calendar to make sure everyone can do what they want. They have VERY different interests; it’s a constant effort for all of us.

DoLifeRight: What are the biggest issues you are currently having, or have ever had in regards to parenting and/or homeschooling/unschooling?

Lisa: parenting- maybe this is just a phase- my 3 yr old is bullying my 6 yr old. they’re almost the same size. I don’t know, I’m sure it will pass.

DoLifeRight: Any regrets? We want to hear the good and the bad! This is the best way to make informed decisions.

Lisa: I regret that we dabbled in forced homeschooling for a few years. I regret that my husband and I were working full time for a few years and the kids were left to their own devices for 3-4 hours every day. I went through depression for a while and they raised themselves for a while, like wolves. It’s made us who we are today, grateful for each day together, but there are years that I just don’t remember; I was a different person.

DoLifeRight: Do you have any websites, yahoo lists, etc. that you run or maintain? Please list them here with descriptions.

Lisa: I write for a lot of websites, my blog is http://www.lisarussell.org I’m also the featured homeschooling writer for Suite101 at http://homeschooling.suite101.com

DoLifeRight: Any last thoughts or advice for DoLifeRight’s readers?

Lisa: Unschooling really is the perfect life. Some unschoolers tend to be “strict about the unschooling rules” maybe from a sense of urgency or from their own traumatic super-structured childhood, but don’t let that turn you away from the natural beauty of a harmonious life spent growing together.

I stopped identifying myself as an unschooler because the “women on those unschooling lists were so mean.” They weren’t trying to be mean, they were trying to have deep discussions and revelations. Some of us need to figure things out for ourselves. Enjoy the journey. There’s no wrong way to unschool, there’s only you and your way, which may change every day.

http://www.lisarussell.org because .com and .net were taken

Related posts:

1. 20 Unschooling Questions: Sara from WA, USA
2. 20 Unschooling Questions: Candy from Atlanta, GA, USA
3. 20 Unschooling Questions: Sylvia from NM, USA
4. 20 Unschooling Questions: Sandra Dodd from NM, USA
5. 20 Unschooling Questions: Kate from WA, USA

This week’s Webkinz giveaway is the virtual Queen costume that was available to Deluxe members at the Webkinz estore a week or two ago.  To win, be the 10th person to fill out the contact form and tell me what Webkinz pet you are hoping they’ll make next.

Related posts:

1. Webkinz Deluxe Membership
2. Contest: One Webkinz Minty Reindeer Code
3. How to: Make a Seriously Awesome Dragon Egg
4. Webkinz Virtual Blossom Fish
5. Webkinz Underwater Room with Astronaut

Teagan is now 8, so we’re getting busy doing all those “big kid” fun things now. 

Last night we enjoyed an astronomy talk, saw satellites soar through the sky, and looked through a dozen or so telescopes (Saturn and Titan looked particularly nice) — all with at least 50 or so kind and enthusiastic people.  Since this was only a 20 or so minute drive from our house, we thought it was great. We also enjoyed looking through the viewfinders (during day light) to try and find our home — we didn’t find our house, but we did find close streets.

Look for PART TWO in the next few weeks when we go on one of their day long tours of the actual observatory. Unlike all of the other observatories we’ve been to, the public isn’t allowed to drive close to Whipple.  Everyone gets in a bus and goes up the mountain together in the morning and comes down again in the afternoon.

Check out these links for more information:

• Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Amado, AZ
• More Whipple Observatory information
• VERITAS (gamma ray observatory located at the Visitor’s center)

Here are a few photographs I took (Zoë really liked the real petroglyphs):

Related posts:

1. Hiking at Gates Pass, Tucson, Arizona, USA
2. Picacho Peak and Ostrich Farm
3. How to: Make Watery Looking Paper for Our Tri-Wizard Tournament Task 2
4. How to: Make Nifty Book Boxes for Our Tri-Wizard Tournament Task 3
5. Exploring Dinosaurs in Utah PART TWO