changes afoot

So things they are a-changin' round these parts.  And I figured all the new stuff in my life deserved a new blog.  I still have my old one, which admittedly I hardly ever posted to, but I'm keeping that one food centered and will hopefully revive it with new and interesting recipes and musings as the Autumn rolls onward.  But this one, this blog, will be for my random writings about stuff.  About all those nouns and verbs I'm experiencing right now.  I'll try to punch it up with some exciting adjectives, the  occasional adverb and a few well chosen pronouns.  Of course, I'm still me, so get used to the dreaded comma splice.

To start this adventure, I'll tell you that today I am taking my darling daughter to a four hour tribal bellydance workshop.  She will spend the afternoon learning about the history of ATS, costuming, music, and vocabulary of movements.  Plus she'll get to meet a bunch of fun girls in her age group and (hopefully) make some new friends.  This past year has been kind of tough for her, but she's trouper and has rolled with the punches pretty darn well.

Our journey into home-schooling is quite exciting, and today's dance workshop is actually part of Lani's learning plan.   We are taking an open child centered learning approach, and since she has such a great interest in performing arts she has chosen to "attend school" on a Saturday for 4 hours.  How many 10 year olds do that?

I have so far gotten quite a bit of static from various fronts, concerning my decision to home-school.  The general worry seems to be that Lani won't get an adequate educational experience if she isn't sitting in a classroom 8 hours a day.   What I've seen in the past month though seems to point in the opposite direction.  We aren't confined by bells and schedules and dates.  Generally we accomplish much more in a shorter period of time than any normal class could ever hope to.  And our learning isn't limited to "school hours".   I'm sure we'll have moments of struggle with our new endeavor, but so far it's been smooth sailing and we're enjoying it immensely.