Like-minded
As most of the people who read my blog know we are kind of an odd family–we are geeky, Christian, health conscious (in the eat organic and food allergies way), unschoolers, who work at home, and church at home. It is hard to find people who “get” us in one of those areas, let alone in a few, and nearly impossible to find them who get all (and we notice that usually those who don’t “get” us are rather uncomfortable with our lifestyle and tend to want to “fix” us. This wouldn’t be a problem except that we are called, as Christians, to fellowship with one another and to not neglect meeting together. I have tried joining secular unschool groups and hanging out on regular Christian home school group–neither has worked out very well.
Finally, all in one day, just as my husband and I were discussing the need to find some sort of fellowship and my oldest asked if we were the ONLY Christians who unschooled I ran into THREE Christian unschoolers online AND found a Christian unschool forum and 2 Christian unschooling e-zines. Woohoo!
First the e-zines and forums:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chr-U (Christian unschooling forum)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChristianUnschooling (e-zine)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Seedling (e-zine)
Now for the blogs!
One of these wonderful ladies,Jena, who has older children who are older than mine but the same distance apart has begun putting together a list of Christian unschoolers.
Here are some other like-minded ladies:
Updated to add two more:
I know there are more out there though I haven’t found them yet. It is so good to know we are NOT the only ones!
That’s awesome, Heather! I didn’t know about the e-zines.
For what it’s worth… I’ve found that seeking out people IRL who haven’t yet decided what to do with their kids (as far as schooling) is great way to *create* like-minded friends. (As long as they don’t know you’re intending to convert them to your strange ways… BWAAA HAHAHA!!!!)
Me too, me too!! (jumping up and down) On my blog, called Learning Life Through Unschooling, you’ll see where I’m ecstatic about my new laptop (geek) and that Hubby recently started working from home this year and that we have our own organic garden and are Christians and…and… Wow. I think I found a new best friend. LOL The only thing we don’t do is church at home. What does that look like? I’m intrigued. We’ve had a hard time finding a church we feel we really fit in with. Of course, as you mentioned in this post – it’s hard to “fit in” with anyone with these choices. LOL I’m glad to “fit in” with you…and have added you to my blog reading list. Now, if you can only move to Missouri (there’s a house two doors down for sale) and help my kids explore their inner artists, that’d really be awesome. 🙂
Hi Heather,
I just followed your link from the CHR-U yahoo group and wanted to reassure you that there are more of us out here. My family is kind of in the neverland between the two two worlds on most of the fronts you mention: we’re not radical unschoolers, and do use some curriculum now that we’ve entered the High School Zone, but we’re more un- than school lol; we’re home churchers, but my dh seems to have developed a crisis of faith recently, so we’re not ‘doing church’ at home at the moment; my dh works from home 2-3 days a week, and drives into the office the other 2-3; we’ve made great strides in eating more naturally and organically, but are still in process there. Like you, all these things make us a poor fit for both the Christian-based groups (usually very schoolish) and the secular groups (where we’re not un-anything enough). Praise the Lord, He’s sent a couple of friends who match us in some areas and tolerate us in the others 😉
Nice to meet you!
I don’t know why but it’s always amazing to me how God provides just what we need just when we need it.:)
I want to throw another site at you- I found while back, is huge and VERY eclectic group. It is so great- I wish I would have found it years ago. But they were not around then!
Its — http://thehomeschoollounge.ning.com/
How great to find like minds! I always cherish those encounters. Just yesterday my husband was saying, “I wish we could meet a family like us!” YOU just need to move next door and we’d be all set, I think. 🙂 I do pray, in all seriousness, for a family with kids about the age of ours, who homeschool and homechurch like us, to do things together with. We know that God is wise and his timing and ways are perfect, so we just continue pressing on.
Oh no, you’re certainly not alone out there. We aren’t un-schoolers, but we’re very relaxed schoolers. And we’ve found a few families similar to us, which is such a comfort–to know there are others who aren’t using a textbook curriculum. And as for the housechurch thing, we’ve run into many folks who hold church at home recently. Now, I don’t get the computer geek thing, but I love blogging. Lol. I’m a writer at heart, and by training. It’s close enough, I suppose.
Well, now, I just noticed you linked to me. There I go skimming again! Too bad you don’t live closer, because I know we’d have a grand time together, our families.
It was great visiting these wonderful individuals and adding them to my google reader!! Thanks for adding me to the mix 😉
BTW…that LifePac…I think it is Language Arts…what grade is it?? I may be interested in it.
Thank you so much for including me on your list, it is an honor!
I just wanted to clarify that we aren’t a religious family but we are a family who intends to home(un)school. I’m so sorry if there was any miscommunication! 🙂
Wow! There are lots of blogs to look up and get to know! We work at home too, and we’re home-churchers at heart, but don’t have one around here.
Thanks for all those amazing links and for including me. I kept getting comments that people found me through “Heather’s blog.” 🙂
Thanks, Heather. I have never considered myself an unschooler even though the past couple months have felt like it, but I have become more relaxed lately. I only wish I had done that sooner.
I’m glad that God knows what he is doing because there are many days I haven’t a clue. His grace is sufficient though. May it cover my children and make up for my lack.
And I am a wanna-be computer geek. 😉
Hi, I’m in the CHR-unschooling yahoo group, too, but I’ve not ever posted anything… at least not in a LOOOOOOOOOONG time.
It *is* good to find other like-minded homeschoolers.
Have you heard of The Homeschool Lounge?
We aren’t technically “unschoolers”, but we are very relaxed, only using a math curriculum. We “church” here at home, I am a computer geek – although I still have a ton to learn… So, that pretty much sums it up 🙂
My son has been unschooled and my daughter has schooled herself, so I guess you could say she’s unschooled as well, even though she’s used Sonlight for years.
I don’t often admit this out in public, as there is so much pressure from my well trained minded friends. There are 4 secret unschooled families in our church (ours being one of them). Just wanted to say hi!