Giveaway winner for October was Errol, congrats Errol. So everyone check out Errol's page and leave her a note to say hello.

November Giveaway:

How Children Learn by John Holt

"Children do not need to be made to learn," Holt maintains, because each is born with what Einstein called "the holy curiosity of inquiry." For them, learning is as natural as breathing. First published in 1967, How Children Learn has become a classic for parents and teachers, providing an "effective, gentle voice of reason" (Life).

If you are interested in this book, please go to the forum and leave you name under the November giveaway discussion in the Giveaway forum.

Being A Mom During Challenging Times
By Tracy Liebmann
We have all had them, times when we were sick, sad, grieving, angry, anxious, stressed, in pain or truly depressed. How do we handle it all, let’s be real, let’s talk about it! Well, I think those two things I mentioned are crucial to surviving those really challenging times in our lives. Mothers are real people, they have real challenges, they are not super heroes and nor should they be! Accepting ourselves and all that we are including everything, the good, the bad and even the ugly is the key to emotional wellness. Actually I’m not a believer in “the ugly”, I have worked really hard at trying not to label my emotions as “good and Bad” I think all the emotions are wonderful. This is a very helpful tool when working through a challenging time in our lives. Accepting the emotions as they come up and not labeling them. This is a perfect example of how working with ourselves and our emotions will in turn help in every area of our lives. We will be able to accept our children’s emotional ups and downs better, if we accept and understand our own! I am a true believer in an emotionally healthy mom is the best mom she can be and that seems to be what I hear the most…mom’s want to be at their best for their kids!

As I said earlier, talking about it is also an important tool during difficult times. I know it is not always easy to talk about the most challenging stuff in our lives and for some personalities it is even harder…but everyone has at least one person they can be totally honest with. Call that trusted person, meet them for lunch or at the park, get together and share your true self. Honestly I’ve been there, done that and survived. Often people worry if they take the cork off the bottle and let it all out, they will fall apart, they won’t be able to pull it back together. I have never seen this to be true. It always helps to let the steam out of that simmering pot, share, be validated and move forward!

During Challenging Times…

1. Go within and locate what is truly bothering you
2. Accept what ever emotion or thought that comes forward
3. Confide in that trusted person or group of people
4. See or talk to a trusted professional
5. Be honest with yourself and your family about what is going on with you
6. Yes, this includes our children. Being honest with our children models acceptance of self, models that no one is “perfect”, models that emotions are healthy and good, models good self care…what great “lessons”
7. Take it easy, don’t force yourself to “pull yourself up by your boot straps”
8. LOVE YOURSELF, YOU ARE LOVABLE!

If you or anyone you know is going through a challenging time right now and would like some extra support, remember that I offer one FREE coaching session at http://www.transformingfamily.com/content/session.asp
Please forward this to anyone you think may benefit!

Unschooling In The Carolinas is a group for unschoolers, with the goal of support, discussions, and get-togethers. We like to have fun with our kids and each other!

This is a social group for families who are currently unschooling, or homeschooling in a relaxed way and moving toward unschooling. Discussions about the joys and challenges of unschooling are welcome, as is information about interesting events. We would like this list to be free from curriculum discussion. We'd love for it to be a place to share our passions and interesting things we have enjoyed along the way.

It is understood that each family is at a different point in their journey. What we hope to share, is an active desire to move toward unschooling--to eliminate required subjects, assignments, and tests, and replace those with a stimulating, enriched environment, and a lot of parental support for kids in pursuing their interests and passions.

We welcome all ideas as we grow and define the group. We are currently thinking about Mom's Night Out (MNO), attending local functions as a group, outings and events, etc. But we would love more ideas about how to grow this community and support its members. Please refrain from political or religious postings, as these are intensely private beliefs.

Introduce your family, tell us about your journey, and experience an unschooling community first hand. Together, we can explore unschooling and all that the Carolinas have to offer, while being surrounded by families who trust that our children will learn everything they need to know through living their lives and following their passions.

We know there are unschoolers out there and we can't wait to connect!

Please feel welcome to invite your friends and family to join us! There is an "Invite" menu option at the top of the page.

Also, everyone is welcome to post events to the "Events" calendar (menu option at the top of the page). Indicate location of the event!

And folks can create "Groups" for discussions within specific locals. There is already a "Charlotte" group forming. Additionally, folks can post links, start discussions, or make inquiries about different unschooling issues in the "Forum".

Feel free to make "Blog" posts (left side-bar menu) about topics of interest, also.