Category Archives: Parenting

Hair

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Amy

[In case you missed the announcement, I have a new blog at Unschooling NYC in which I'll be posting about all things learning and education related, and which you can find here. The Green Mangoes Blog will now be my … Continue reading →

Posted in Life Learning, Parenting, Unschooling | Tagged bright green, hair, hair dye, life learning, Maya | 1 Comment

Standing up to testing? I applaud you

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Amy

Last night I took part in a “Comments” discussion on Lisa Nielsen’s Innovative Educator blog. The post in question was titled “Tell Bully Principal How You Feel” . In it, Lisa called for her readers to send emails to … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Homeschooling, Learning, Life Learning, Parenting, School, Unschooling | Tagged Ben, bully principal, child protective services, education, federally mandated regulations, homeschooling, Innovative educator, John Gatto, John Holt, learning, life learning, Lisa Nielsen, Maya, real world learning, school, self-directed learning, standardized testing, the bartleby project, unschooling | Comments Off

Why bullying and unschooling don’t mix

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Amy

Yesterday I referenced a Washington Post article in which unschoolers are referred to as “dirty hippies”. The title of the article is “Save a Life, drop out; ‘Bully’ and the case for homeschooling”, and the dirty hippie quote in … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Homeschooling, Learning, Life Learning, Parenting, Unschooling | Tagged adult bullies, ashley judd, bullies, bullying, dirty hippies, education, eli gerzon, homeschooling, how to stop bullying, learning, life learning, noah berlatsky, parenting, school, school & bullying, school is not normal, school is unhealthy, societal bullies, unschooling | Comments Off

On listening

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Amy

The following quote was posted on Facebook this morning by Laurie Couture, and I’ve been thinking about it all day: Often I succeed at this, but I know there are many times I that I don’t. It is so … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning, Life Learning, Parenting, Unschooling | Tagged Ben, catherine wallace, facebook, Laurie Couture, learning, life learning, listening, parenting, unschooling | Comments Off

The right kind of learning

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Amy

It’s a bit of a surprise to me, when I think about it, that neither of my kids is interested in sports. Not in playing and not in watching, either. I grew up watching the Cincinnati Reds baseball … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Homeschooling, Learning, Life Learning, Parenting, Unschooling | Tagged Ben, carl hiassen, classic literature, curriculum, dystopian literature, education, learning, life learning, market research, massive failure, Maya, right kind of learning, scat, squishies, strewing, swiss family robinson, trading friends, Treasure Island, unschooling, youtube shop | 1 Comment

Discipline vs. respect

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Amy

We live across the street from two NYC high schools; Martin Luther King Jr. High School and the LaGuardia Performing Arts High School (or the “Fame” high school). Every day at around 3 and 3:15, the schools let out, … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning, Life Learning, Parenting, Unschooling | Tagged discipline in school, education, high schools, Laguardia Performing Arts High School, learning, life learning, Martin Luther King Jr. High School, parenting teenagers, parents & discipline, pent up energy, rebellious teens, respect, unschooling | Comments Off

The lazy myth

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Amy

Anyone who is unschooling and has spoken about it with someone whose kids are in school has heard this one: “Oh, that would never work in our house. [Name of child] would never do anything but play video games and … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Homeschooling, Learning, Life Learning, Parenting, Unschooling | Tagged Ben, boredom, cleaning the office, education, excel spreadsheets, goals, lazy, learning, life learning, Maya, motivation, should, the lazy myth, unschooling | Comments Off

Focus, self-control and a few other distractions

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Amy

While my kids were in their Spanish class today, I caught up with my NYTimes for the week, as well as a couple of magazines (Time & NY Magazine) that have been languishing on my table. It was a busy … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Learning, Life Learning, Parenting, School, Unschooling | Tagged chemicals, education, focus, homeschooling, kindergarten admissions, learning, life learning, microwave popcorn, NYTimes, PA cyber charter schools, play, public schools, Rick Santorum, self-control, Time Magazine, unschooling, westminster dog show | Comments Off

Blood, adrenaline & a quick recovery

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Amy

The day was going so well. The kids had Spanish, we ate a leisurely lunch, and I was enjoying chatting with my friend Kristin while our kids played. Then, from the other room, the sound every parent dreads. A loud … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Education, Learning, Life Learning, Parenting, Unschooling | Tagged Ben, bleeding profusely, blood, cut to the head, dr. charles gordon, end of the world, head wound, helicopter parent, life learning, mariokart, Maya, parenting, primeval, unschooling | Comments Off

Unschooling parents

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Amy

As a kind of follow up to yesterday’s post, I want to talk a little about parenting in an unschooling family. First of all let me say there is no one model that all unschoolers follow. Since unschooling … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Homeschooling, Learning, Life Learning, Parenting, Unschooling | Tagged do unto others, Golden Rule, homeschooling, learning, life learning, parenting, privacy vs secret, unschooling, unschooling parents | Comments Off