stigskog

In the UK it is pretty much fine to homeschool. Parents are responsible for their kids education "at school or otherwise" , so depending on the local officials, it can be hassle free. See http://www.educationotherwise.net/ - they have tons of homeschool group links.. not sure if when they meet up they suddenly become classified as a school though. Here in Sweden its illegal , but some manage to do it, by officially having one parent living overseas (Norway, Denmark or UK), but they have to live a covert life.. which is a shame. We've had some people hiding out with us while they wait for their Norwegian papers to come through, they didnt feel safe at home anymore. It is awful - really . I have heard that Denmark is very free.. we are going to a homeschool meeting there next month to find out more. this is interesting - http://roslynshouse.com/ - i like her youtubes We went to visit this home school coop in Massachusettes, it seemed like a good way fo organising things... the amount of expertise available from the 200 parents was staggering. http://www.voyagersinc.org/wiki/bin/view/Public/AboutVoyagers I think it would be nice to have a group of companies and give the kids experience and genuine responsibility/risk in all of them, from a young age. One more point, many of the homeschoolers and unschoolers that we have met spend plenty of time going to visit and stay with other families . They are not tied down by having to be at school everyday, and many of the parents organise their lives so they are not tied down to a job everyday. Many do this internationally.

Hi Wdiaz03... i wondered if you go out and exercise regularly, i mean if he sees you doing something regularly and enthusiastically he will most likely want to do the same.

st434u - Thanks for your response.. "The Montessori method of schooling is like limited government on the political side of things. It keeps aggressive force to a minimum, but it's still there." - Great observation.. the staff are like that.. they are lovely gentle people.. but part of their job is to hold on to kids who dont want to be there as their parents walk away. This clearly desensitizes them to what is going on. "Have you looked into unschooling? " We went to Life Rocks Unschooling Confernece in New Hampshire in the spring.. very interesting . There were a couple of negative things that I couldn't embrace. There was a sort of competitiveness about whos kid started reading the latest... and many kids had gone through serious computer game addictions. We taught my eldest to read using Glenn Domans methods .. this taught us a lot about respecting childrens abilities and led me towards unschooling (ironically i suppose!) "On not using force... While there are plenty of articles and books out there, just pose the following question to the people who disagree: Imagine you are him. Would you want to be held down crying and screaming while your father walks away?" This is great and seems clear to me... but I have tried it and the standard answer to this is something along the lines of "but he is only 3 , do you expect him to have the judgement of an adult?" "There is a reason why he feels this way, and pretending that the feeling is wrong and must be crushed is not only not a solution, but will scar him for life and he will lose trust in you." yes, i agree, there is always a reason and you can get to it if you ask the right questions in the right way. The other week he pushed another kid off a slide at a playgroup (where parents go too). It turned out after a long chat, that he felt like he had waited long enough for the kid in front of him to go, and he wanted too have a go (and therefore pushing was ok)... which unsurprisingly is how his mum gets with him sometimes. RAYNE - thanks for the book tip - here is a discussion of the book in case anyone finds it helpful .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH3attYm9OQ Marriage counselling is an attempt by my wife to get someone in authority to agree with her in order to get me to stop blocking her use of force. The marriage guidance person is trained in working with children. It is a useful way to have a moderated discussion, so it is definitely worth going. We plan to go regularly and once we get past this issue, we can work on others. " the preschool teachers should be fine with you staying as long as you like." not really, i've seen plenty of eye rolling. They have not come across parents who stay for more than a minute or two before. To generalise massively, it isn't really done like that in Sweden He doesn't cry. He says very clearly.. "I want you to stay".. he says he feels nervous.. i wont go until he agrees, so crying doesnt come up, but he isn't enthusiastic, although he has run from the gate to the door of the building the last few days... The staff say that he feels my uncertainty.. and that why he is uncertain. On the other hand my almost 2 year old would get upset before when we went to collect him because he wanted to stay there, so we signed him up and he is super enthusiastic to go, if he isnt then we wont force him of course.. we think he is too young.. but he clearly loves is, so we decided to give it a chance. "smooth and quick transition."... isn't that just an efficient way of breaking a child !? By the way, congratulations on observing your child so well and re-arranging your life - quitting your job etc, to improve his. ccuthbert That article is interesting, so is the Zinmeister one (the link on your article didnt work, but this one does http://www.thelizlibrary.org/liz/daycare.pdf ) - I appreciate your encouragement. I have noticed that if we listen to him... and i mean listen and take action relevant to what he says.. then he talks to us clearly. If we just listen but ignore then he doesn't.. why bother?

Thanks for your comment Hannibal. I think there is a difference between using force to stop someone who is in immediate danger (running in the road), and using force as a way of persuading someone to do something that is in there best interest in the medium or long term. 1) Do you want to force your kid to do things he doesn't want to do? No, at 3.5years he is open to reason. On the other hand, I force him not to do things that he wants to do... like the running in the road example.. also things such as handling a knife in a dangerous way, or damaging the property of others. If there are things that I want him to do and he doesn't, I find out why and adjust that aspect of the activity. If there is no solution, then that is the end of it. Ruling out force, means always having to a) prepare, b) look for a solution, c) be prepared to give way and d) explain. 2) Do you have a choice? - with daycare, yes. We work from home for ourselves, so the worst case is we work the super early shift or the late shift to get the work done. Today was 'forest trek' day at daycare. Last Friday, he refused to go. This Friday he didn't hesitate. I do think it is damaging to use force. It is stressful, it breaks trust, it destroys opportunities for working together to find solutions i.e. brain excercise. I don't want him to think that people should interact by using force to control each other. I am sure. I am just not good enough at convincing others and need help from authoritative sources.

I have just been to marriage counselling with my wife. The main point of contention was whether or not it is ok to force my 3.5 year old to go to daycare if he doesnt want to. We have agreed with the daycare that he should go 4 days a week for 4 hours each day. My wife and I both agree that it is a stimulating and useful Montessori environment for him and we want him to go. We also need to work at least some hours per day to have an income. Currently, he will go to daycare if I agree to come in with him and stay for some time, yesterday I stayed for 1 hour, and then he was perfectly happy for me to go and for him to stay for the remaining 3 hours. The staff there do not like it that come in with him. I agree that it would be better to say goodbye at the door, but my son is not comfortable with that yet. However, and this is where the disagreement arises, if when it comes drop him off, he will not stay without me, both my wife and the staff and happy for him to be restrained while I walk away. We have not done this so far, as I refuse to do this. The marriage guidance person also thinks this is fine. I have to note that my wife, the daycare staff, and the marriage guidance person will not say directly - yes, we will hold him back kicking and screaming while you walk away . What they say is things like "you have to tell him that this is how it has to be and then walk away" ... they omit the physical force part. I have lots of people against me on this and I need to find some evidence - articles, research etc, that not using force is best for my son. All the stuff I can find, is against spanking and violence.

I have just been to marriage counselling with my wife. The main point of contention was whether or not it is ok to force my 3.5 year old to go to daycare if he doesnt want to. We have agreed with the daycare that he should go 4 days a week for 4 hours each day. My wife and I both agree that it is a stimulating and useful Montessori environment for him and we want him to go. We also need to work at least some hours per day to have an income. Currently, he will go to daycare if I agree to come in with him and stay for some time, yesterday I stayed for 1 hour, and then he was perfectly happy for me to go and for him to stay for the remaining 3 hours. The staff there do not like it that come in with him. I agree that it would be better to say goodbye at the door, but my son is not comfortable with that yet. However, and this is where the disagreement arises, if when it comes drop him off, he will not stay without me, both my wife and the staff and happy for him to be restrained while I walk away. We have not done this so far, as I refuse to do this. The marriage guidance person also thinks this is fine. I have to note that my wife, the daycare staff, and the marriage guidance person will not say directly - yes, we will hold him back kicking and screaming while you walk away . What they say is things like "you have to tell him that this is how it has to be and then walk away" ... they omit the physical force part. I have lots of people against me on this and I need to find some evidence - articles, research etc, that not using force is best for my son.

Thanks, this is useful. It would be nice to get daily ideas and inspiration for creative parenting.

i think you should look at the whole experience from his point of view.

"The reason you haven't found a way to get around this is because you have force on the table. It's the same as with spanking. Take the force off the table, then you can negotiate." I completely agree. Once you remove the possibility of force things change. You might get situations where its really inconvenient for the parent, but it absolutely forces you to look at the reason why your child doesn't want to do something, and fix that issue. Also, once force is completely off the table, you get the chance (in fact you have no other choice) to discuss what is the cause of the conflict. My eldest is 3.5 now, so is very capable of having a discussion. Another thing I have noticed is that when force is off the table, you have to listen to your child, and they understand that and start talking to you. After all what is the point in talking if whatever you say is going to be overruled anyway. My youngest is 20months. He can't talk much. He understands though. In my opinion (and I would love to hear of others experiences for a kid of around that age), he is just crossing in to being able to reason with, and its no longer ok to pick him up against his will.. or rather if I pick him up and he is not happy about it for moore than about 2 seconds, then i rewind.

My favorite bit was "Almost every argument I have with my girlfriend is about money" I would have thought that his girlfriend would provide him with the basics to release him from structural violence and he would be happy with that. So, unless he is not getting enough food and shelter, what is there to argue about.

http://mises.org/etexts/taxrob.asp

nice, this video gives off huge happy vibes

Wow , Nathan, you reminded me what exciting times there are to come in the next few years with my kids.STer - I don't know if it is moral. It is lying, but sometimes lying is moral.. for example if a psychopath with a chainsaw asks where your sister is because he wants to chop her up, it would be ok to lie . So (and i am assuming a perfect outcome to the scenario), is it equivalent ? or is it only moral if honesty was already tried but failed ... however you wouldnt be honet with the chainsaw guy.

Shit, this is funny - bearing in mind if you don't want to go school you will be taken their with a gun to your parents neck, for 9 years the central government decides what you have to learn (118 hours of home and consumer science etc! and funnily enough ZERO economics) , what tests you take and how many days and hours you are in the building. 1. Fundamental values and tasks of the school Fundamental values Democracy forms the basis of the national school system. The Education Act (1985: 1100) stipulates that all school activity should be carried out in accordance with fundamental democratic values and that each and everyone working in the school should encourage respect for the intrinsic value of each person as well as for the environment we all share (Chapter l, §2). The school has the important task of imparting, instilling and forming in pupils those fundamental values on which our society is based. The inviolability of human life, individual freedom and integrity, the equal value of all people, equality between women and men and solidarity with the weak and vulnerable are all values that the school should represent and impart. In accordance with the ethics borne by Christian tradition and Western humanism, this is achieved by fostering in the individual a sense of justice, generosity of spirit, tolerance and responsibility.Education in the school shall be non-denominational. The task of the school is to encourage all pupils to discover their own uniqueness as individuals and thereby actively participate in social life by giving of their best in responsible freedom. Understanding and compassion for others The school should promote an understanding for others and the ability to empathise. Activities should be characterised by care of the individual’s well-being and development. No-one should be subjective to discrimination at school based on gender, ethnic belonging, religion or other belief, sexual orientation or disability, or subjected to other degrading treatment. Tendencies toward harassment or other degrading treatment should be actively combated. Xenophobia and intolerance must be met with knowledge, open discussion and active measures. The internationalisation of Swedish society and increasing cross-border mobility place great demands on people’s ability to live together and appreciate the values that are to be found in cultural diversity. Awareness of one’s own cultural origins and sharing a common cultural heritage provides a secure identity which it is important to develop, together with the ability to empathise with the values and conditions of others. The school is a social and cultural meeting place with both the opportunity and the responsibility to foster this ability among all who work there. Objectivity and open approaches As well as being open to different ideas and encouraging their expression,the school should also emphasise the importance of forming personal standpoints and provide pupils with opportunities for doing this. Education should be objective and encompass a range of different approaches so that all parents will feel able to send their children to school confi dent that they will not be prejudiced in favour of a particular view. All who work in the school should uphold the fundamental values that are stated in the Education Act and in this curriculum, and should very clearly disassociate themselves from anything that conflicts with these values.

Hej Stefan ! I'm not sure if you have heard of Dr. Gordon Neufeld, but I think you would find him very interesting to talk to, and I think your listeners would enjoy hearing that as well. He did some talks at GHEC2012, which can be found here http://www.ghec2012.org/cms/content/why-home-education-works-explanations-developmental-science Here is the presentation that goes with the talk http://www.ghec2012.org/cms/sites/default/files/Neufeld_Preconference%20EN.pdf Here is a quote from his speech. "The child needs to rest from the pursuit of proximity. Who's responsibility is that ? It is our responsibility ? Our Responsibility is to do the work of attachement so that a child can rest. We now know in developmental science that all growth eminates from a place of rest, not work. Physical growth happens when a child is sleeping. All emotional growth happens from the resting state. So children need to be at rest, but they will only rest from the pursuit of contact and closeness from love and belonging from significance if we provide more than is pursued." This is his website - http://neufeldinstitute.com/ and you tube channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/neufeldmedia

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpl76c_soviet-sweden-parents-villainized-over-home-schooled_news#.UXF1g7WW84k Video summary of the Dominic Johannson case in Sweden. Its relevant now because the family have to beg the court to hear the case again and they need all the support they can get. http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Sweden/201304160.asp Here are mor ways to help this family http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Sweden/DJohanssonResources.asp I spoke to someone yesterday who was homeschooling but was threatened by the Swedish Social Services and because she was so scared by this case, she had to comply. My personal opinion is that the Swedish State wrecked the Johansson family precisely before they changed the law on homeschooling with the specific reason of making families too frightened to defy them.

Wouldn't they be too old to have them by the time they can work out how to act them. It would look odd having a 9 year old having a tantrum. A 3 year old cant act.It is a great observation, that such people must not have seen enough evidence to convince them that threats and violence isnt the way. Trouble is they probably need a ton of evidence, like they need to see the whole process, because they must think that those with the peaceful kids in supermarkets must be really brutal when no-one is looking. The sarcastic way the commenters on the newspaper thread say things like "oooh my kids are so perfect, they dont have tantrums, they never do anything wrong" makes me laugh because my almost 3 year old is very briliant and doesnt have tantrums and listens to reason and my 1 year old is unbeliveably happy ..... But thats just probably cos i havent been threatening them since they were born.... I just cant imagine how hitting them or being aggressive at them would mess up their minds.

If I see a story online about hitting kids, i always put a comment in, at least so it doesn't look like everyone agrees that hitting kids is just basic common sense ... heres my comment.. look at the reaction to it ... illogical , irrational, angry, defensive. 8 hours ago Loads of parents raise amazing children and never ever hit, smack, tap them or whatever you want to call it. There is a ton of evidence that it is not necessary at all to smack a child to raise them well. So if it is not necessary why do it ? Smacking teaches a child that it is ok to use violence in order to control a situation.... this is part of the reason why we still have to live in a statist society, and that most people can't even see it for what it is. Smacking is used by failed lazy parents who have failed to reason, explain, negotiate and meet the needs of their child. The point of smacking a child is to scare or shock them in to changing their behaviour. You can also do this by shouting at them, it has the same negative effect. It prevents them from learning to regulate their own behavior. Fear and stress events inhibit the growth of the part of the brain that deals with self-regulation. There are tons of studies about this. Obviously the amount of damage done depends on the frequency and severity, but if it is not necessary why do it at all ? Recommended by 3 people Reply Edit Report sircomespect 1 hour ago SNORT! ROFL! Ha ha ha ha! Another one!!! 'Loads of parents raise amazing children and never ever hit, smack, tap them or whatever you want to call it. ' And their children are always quiet, respectful of others and never run around restaurants or scream in supermarkets....really it is a total mystery why anyone should have to reprimand a child for anything!? Children are so wonderful and perfect and precious and fantastic and oh just so many things. Never a hindrance never a chore!" And yet............... Whatever parallel universe you muppets step into when you are around children it is nothing like the one I witness every day!! School kids throwing cats into the road, kicking over bins and pushing each other in front of traffic. Smoking on the way to school and yelling instead of talking, swearing, gobbing and challenging every adult they meet. I have seen the elderly being abused, the infirmed ridiculed, teased and pushed over and adults given the same respect you might reserve for a pile of dogs droppings by your precious and amazing children! 5 different Schools (all good, allegedly) I drive past and every one inhabited by the spawn of satan dropped off by vacuous women and men in highly polished 4X4's with Kangaroo bars right in the middle of the road and stay parked blocking traffic until little Clamydia gets through the gates! I have seen the results of your precious and amazing children. Quite frankly a smack is never going to be enough. IT is amazing how blind parents are to the aberrant behaviour of their own progeny. Recommended by 16 people Recommend Reply Report rphudson 1 hour ago @dalmatina: Do you model all your behaviour on dogs and monkeys, or is that restricted to violence against children? Recommend Reply Report oakwoodbank 1 hour ago It is no good comparing human behaviour to animal behaviour or vice versa. Animals do not have a sense of self or theory of mind so their responses are almost always instinctive when it comes to mother animal and offspring relationships. Recommend Reply Report rogerdodger 6 hours ago your comparing animal behaviour and suggesting this is on par with an intelligent person having no other recourse. I'm no Guardian reading liberal, a traumatic event is still with me today over forty years later. Recommend Reply Report sircomespect 1 hour ago ROFL 'my perfect children' !!!! They're so good and never do anything wrong and all I ever did was love them and cuddle them and explain the rules of life and respect and they were perfect in all things and wonderful and loving and giving and amazing. Flowers came into bloom as they walked past and they always helped the elderly and fed the homeless. They always sat up straight they never farted or burped and were never a pain to others!!! What a doughnut!! Recommended by 8 people Recommend Reply Report dalmatina 8 minutes ago To those asking me if I would model my behaviour on animals, I would respond - IF YOUR CHILDREN BEHAVE LIKE ANIMALS, YOU SHOULD TREAT THEM LIKE ONE. Pussy-footing around, whether wringing your hands or simply ignoring quite appalling behaviour, while your brats cause misery to all around them is hardly a civilised thing to do.

ha ha ha ha! At the moment there is none... but there will be transparency on donations over $2750 in 2014.

Hi Yes, i totally agree , so far I have discovered that the kommuns do not operate under any rules as to how they coerce families in to school, they just have a law above them saying they must coerce families in to school (which i imagine they love.. because it means they can do what they like on the day.. and it depends how fawning/nice we are to them) If I can also understand their reasons for supporting this maybe I can show them that our family is a) not abusing our kids , b) educating them at least better than the average in schools and c) that socialization is better out of school than in school .... but i think by "socialization" they actually mean "becoming statist".. so that might be tricky Thanks for reminding me of my main purpose here, thanks to xelent too.

Thanks for the support. All done now. 12 more to go. Maybe I will do better next time, Now I feel a bit degraded by the experience. Trying to argue with a politician is a bit like begging. I love the way Marc Stevens corners the judges with his questions .. which might not be wise in a court situation ... but in my situation dealing with these people it might be more effective by using their own ego against them. Any ideas for lines of questions ?

I am meeting a Swedish politician today and need to persuade her that 6665hours of compulsory school is not neccessary for my kids. She has 4 kids and works in "child care central" .. which is like the local doctors (state run) for kids here in sweden .. so i guess she has loads of barriers aginst being open to reason and evidence. The trouble is there are 13 a-holes who get to decide how much to steel from my family every week that I dont force my kids to go to one of their schools, so i have to persuade them or leave the country. She is the first one i have to persuade. By the way we have started a facebook group for Swedish unschoolers ... https://www.facebook.com/groups/236574749814115/ people are actually cagey about revealing their identity.. probaby partly due to the Dominic Johansson case.. Anyone is welcome to join except government types who are not.

copied this from a blog of a parent who i follow. http://raisingethan.wordpress.com/ I love this article written on zenhabits.net and wanted to save it on my blog so that I can refer back on it as needed. A note on how to teach these things: These subjects should not be taught by lectures or textbooks. They can only be taught by setting examples, by conversation, by showing, and by allowing the child (or teenager) to do these things on their own (with supervision at first). Once you’ve talked about the skill, showed your child how to do it, and let them do it under supervision a few times, give your child the trust to do it on his own, and to learn from his own mistakes. Check back every now and then to talk about what he’s learned. Financial Saving. Spend less than you earn. It’s such a simple maxim, and yet very few young adults understand it or know how to follow it. Teach your child from a young age to put part of money he receives or earns in the bank. Teach him how to set a savings goal, and save for it, and then purchase whatever it is he was saving for. Budgeting. Many of us dread this task as adults, and suffer because of it, because we lack the understanding and skills necessary to make budgeting a breeze. Teach them simple budgeting skills, and what’s involved, and they won’t have problems as an adult. You could wait until teenage years to do something like this — but it’s a good thing because this shows them why basic math is necessary. Paying bills. Give them bills to pay and have them pay it on time, online or in the real world. Learn how to write a check, paper and online, and how to make sure that you’re never late with bills again — either pay them immediately or automatically. Investing. What is investing and why is it necessary? How do you do it and what are different ways of doing it? How do you research an investment? How does it compound over time? This is a good conversation to have with your teen. Frugality. This is something to teach them from an early age. How to shop around to get a good deal, to compare between products of different prices and quality, to make things last and not waste, to cook at home instead of eating out too much, to control impulse buying. When we go out and do a shopping spree, including before Christmas, we are teaching them just the opposite. Credit. This is a major problem for many adults. Teach them the responsible use for credit, and how to avoid it when it’s not necessary, and how to avoid getting into too much debt, and how to use a credit card responsibly. Retirement. Is it better to work hard and retire or to take mini-retirements throughout life? That’s a personal question, but your child should be aware of the options and the pros and cons of each, and how to do each. Why it’s important to start investing in retirement when you’re young, and how much of a difference that can make through compound interest. How to do it automatically. Charity. Why this is an important use of your money, and how to make it a regular habit. This should be not only a financial issue, but a social one. Show them how to volunteer their time and effort as well. Thinking Critical thinking. One of the most important skills not taught in school. These days, we are taught to be robots, to listen to the teacher and not to question, to accept what we are told and not to think, to be good employees and to shut up. If you’re an employer, you might want your employees to be like this, and if you’re a politician, you might want your citizens to be like this. But is that how you want your child to be? An unquestioning, naive, ignorant citizen/employee/student? If so, carry on. If not, just start introducing the habit of questioning why? And the skill of find out the answer. And how to question authority — there is no one right answer. Conversation is a good way to accomplish this skill. Reading. Sure, we’re taught to read. But schools most often make this boring. Show your child the wonderful imaginative worlds there are out there. And show them how to find out about stuff in the world through the Internet, and how to evaluate what they read for credibility, logic, factualness. Success Positive thinking. While critical thinking is an important skill, it’s also important to have a positive outlook on life. Sure, things may be screwed up, but they can be changed for the better. Find solutions instead of complaints. And most of all, learn to believe in yourself, and to block out negative self-thinking. Motivation. Learn that discipline isn’t the key to achieving a goal, but motivation. How to motivate yourself, different strategies, and how great it feels to achieve a goal. Start them with small, easily achievable goals, and let them develop this skill. Procrastination. It’s a problem we all deal with as adults (and even as kids). Now, I believe that there should be a time for goofing off, being lazy, and having fun. But when there’s something to do that we really need to do, how do we get ourselves to do it? Learn the reasons behind procrastination, and how to address them. How to beat procrastination. Passion. One of the most important ways to be successful is to find something you’re passionate about, and do that for a living. Your child won’t know the answer at a young age, but you should show her how to find her passion and how to pursue it, and why that’s important. Social Anti-competition. As kids, we’re taught how to be competitive. In the adult world, that’s how we behave. And that results in back-stabbing, undercutting, feelings of resentment, and other life-affirming things like that. Instead, teach your child how there is room for many people to be successful, and how you’re more likely to be successful if you help others to be successful, and how they’ll help you in return. Learn that making friends and allies is better than making enemies, and how to do that. Learn cooperation and teamwork before competition. Compassion. Not taught in the schools at all. In fact, instead of teaching children how to empathize with others and try to ease their suffering, our schools often teach children to increase the suffering of others. Learn to put yourself in the shoes of others, to try to understand them, and to help them end their suffering. Love. Compassion’s twin brother, love differs only in that instead of wanting to ease the suffering of others, you want their happiness. Both are crucial. Listening. Are our children taught how to listen in school? Or how to talk at someone. Perhaps that’s why many adults don’t have this critical skill. Learn how to truly listen to someone, to understand what they’re saying, to empathize. Conversation. Goes hand-in-hand with listening, but the art of conversation is something that isn’t taught in school. In fact, kids are taught that conversation is bad in most cases. But in most cases, a conversation is what is needed, not a lecture. This is an extremely important social skill that should start in the home. Learn to converse with your child instead of talk at him. Practical Auto. Why cars are needed (no, not to look cool), how to buy a practical car, how to take care of it. How the engine works, what might break down, and how it’s fixed. Should be taught to both boys and girls (that should be obvious, but I had to say it). Household. How to fix things around the house and keep things maintained. Plumbing, electricity, heating and cooling, painting, roofing, lawn, all that good stuff. The tools and skills necessary to do just the basic maintenance and repairs. And how to know when to call a professional. Cleaning. Too many adults grow up without knowing how to do laundry, to clean a house properly, to keep the house clean and uncluttered, to have a weekly and monthly cleaning routine. Teach your child all these things instead of just telling her what to do. Organization. How to keep paperwork organized, how to keep things in their place, to to keep a to-do list, how to set routines, how to focus on the important tasks. Happiness Be present. For some reason, this extremely important skill is never taught to us when we’re kids. In truth, the younger we are, the more natural this skill is. As we get older, we start thinking about the future and the past, and the present seems to slip away from us. Some skills for living in the present would go a long way. Enjoy life. Kids don’t have much of a problem with this, but some awareness of its importance and how to do it, even as an adult, would be helpful. Set a good example of this, and your kids will follow. Find purpose. Whether this is a higher religious purpose, or the purpose of making your family happy, or the purpose of finding your calling, having a purpose in life is extremely important. Teach your children the importance of this and show how to do it yourself. Develop intimate relationships. The best way to teach this is to develop an intimate relationship with your child, and model it with your spouse or other significant other (within appropriateness). Teach them the skills for developing these types of relationships, talk about the importance of it, and how to get through the bumpy parts as well. There are bad times in every relationship, but with the right skills of communication, empathy and compromise, they can get through them.

I searched te boards to see if this was already on here, but didn't find anything. Swedish authorities forcibly removed Domenic from his parents in June 2009 from a plane they had boarded to move to Annie’s home country of India. The officials did not have a warrant nor did they charge the Johanssons with any crime. The officials seized the child because he was home-schooled, even though home schooling was legal in Sweden at the time he was taken into custody. This was 3 years ago. The Swedish state has just declared that his parents are no longer his parents. I bet you are thinking, there must be more to it.... as far I can make out the only other thing is that Domenic had 2 cavities in his teeth. Here is a recent article with lots of links at the bottom - the HSLDA links have good detail on the case. http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/blog/homeschooling/domenic-johansson-when-homeschooling-means-losing-your-child/#sthash.953onYg5.oZ0qF36h.dpbs This is the families facebook page http://www.facebook.com/groups/returndomenic/

Definitely, and it is quite hard to find time to read, and it is hard to actually read with little kids running around, but you can see how quickly they get inspired to do the same. I wonder if you spend your spare time doing some maths in front of the kids with a big smile on your face, they will get inspired to do that too!