W had a school trip to the farm today. I got a phone call from the recruiter that I needed to come in again to get my picture ID taken. She said it's no prob to bring the kids. So J and I got ready, picked up W as soon as the schoolbus dropped him off from the trip, and zipped out to the office building. It went well - fast and the kids were great.

Later on, we all hung out at the dance studio while J had class. W played with the other boys who were there. They played wrestling, manhunt, and Spiderman (it's weird how boys just like "boy stuff"). I got them pizza and I got to chat a bit with the other moms. One mom was talking about paying bills and said the only bills she wants to have are the ones with zeros on the end of it. And W looked at her and said, "Like hundreds?". I was LMAO.

I sat there listening to all the moms lamenting over the tons of research papers their kids have to do that are due this and next week. They complained about not having enough time, the subjects being too hard or boring, the stuff they have to buy, and all the work they'll have to do to help the kids. I suppressed the urge to say, ha ha. But I am so damn glad that crap is behind me. J researches now because she really wants to know about something. She creates elaborate projects because they're fun. The only fantastic things I remember doing as a child were the ones having nothing to do with school. I wrote lots of stories and poetry on my only-capital-letters typewriter, created my own silly newspapers, worked on math and word puzzles, made up plays and commercials that I would record, imagined my room was a jungle (or another planet, or the bottom of the ocean, or a fancy restaurant), etc. I loved free time. And there's no better time in life to have tons of free time than when you're a child. You have no worries, no major responsibilities, and the whole world is so freakin' fascinating.

I got People magazine today just to read the article on Unschooling. It's short, but good. It basically says that unschooling is cool and it works unless you're a disadvantaged kid in an unstable family with no community support to help you master the basics. From my own experience, though, I notice that most people who label themselves "unschoolers" are intelligent, creative, and dynamic forces in their childrens' (and others!) lives. They have so much passion, patience, and confidence that it's hard to picture their kids ever failing at anything. It's the way of life I dream of and strive for.