Ahhh! It's working! As my favorite A-Team member says, "I love it when a plan comes together." Tom has been thinking a lot about what direction his life will take. When he turned eleven this past October he began writing a journal on the computer. He said he had to start writing things down because "things were starting to happen to him" and he wanted to remember them.
Last week, he talked to me about being a Blacksmith. He's done a little work with a couple of Historical Reenactments and really loved it, besides he could make swords in his spare time. After a few days of thinking and talking to Dad, I realized that this could work. I could find those people at the Historical Museum in Big Bear and see where they learned, maybe they would need an apprentice. I talked to Tom about it and he said he would love it, but not the kind that Nat Bowditch got signed up for. He didn't want to be indentured!
Yesterday, I poked around the Internet and found the California Blacksmiths Association. I looked through their classes and found one right here in Yucca Valley! I emailed the guy about Tom. He called me back. And now Tom's signed up to go to the Novice class on Saturday afternoon! How awesome is that?! The guy was really nice. Their family homeschools too. He told me to bring him on Saturday and fill out the forms to be a member of CBA and $20 for the class and he can try it out and keep coming every month if he likes it. Dad is going to go with him so that he can learn a bit too.
I don't know who is more excited, me or Tom. The only bummer is that we have family coming over on Saturday, but my brother is staying all weekend so Tom won't miss him and he can fill everyone in on his adventure when he gets back.
So, what's "working"? My own education and research in homeschooling led me to the unschooling idea of leaving them alone to be kids. We read together a lot. We talk about life a lot. We go to museums, parks, and other local (and not so local) stuff. We've never sat down for "lessons". They play games most of the day. But they are voracious readers, excellent mathematicians, and well versed in history. And now, at eleven years old, Tom is looking into what he wants to do with himself. He is feeling puberty coming on. He is self-aware and knows that he is growing up. He is taking a class to learn something because it interests him, not in a classroom with a textbook, but with a real mentor working in the field. As he actually works, he will feel his purpose in the world. He won't be waiting until he is 18 to start his real life. He has been living it the whole time. I'm excited for him. If blacksmithing proves to not to be his life dream, so what? He will have some skills to use. Not just blacksmithing skills, but pride, communication, and confidence that he can use in his next endeavor.
Last week, he talked to me about being a Blacksmith. He's done a little work with a couple of Historical Reenactments and really loved it, besides he could make swords in his spare time. After a few days of thinking and talking to Dad, I realized that this could work. I could find those people at the Historical Museum in Big Bear and see where they learned, maybe they would need an apprentice. I talked to Tom about it and he said he would love it, but not the kind that Nat Bowditch got signed up for. He didn't want to be indentured! 
Yesterday, I poked around the Internet and found the California Blacksmiths Association. I looked through their classes and found one right here in Yucca Valley! I emailed the guy about Tom. He called me back. And now Tom's signed up to go to the Novice class on Saturday afternoon! How awesome is that?! The guy was really nice. Their family homeschools too. He told me to bring him on Saturday and fill out the forms to be a member of CBA and $20 for the class and he can try it out and keep coming every month if he likes it. Dad is going to go with him so that he can learn a bit too.
I don't know who is more excited, me or Tom. The only bummer is that we have family coming over on Saturday, but my brother is staying all weekend so Tom won't miss him and he can fill everyone in on his adventure when he gets back.So, what's "working"? My own education and research in homeschooling led me to the unschooling idea of leaving them alone to be kids. We read together a lot. We talk about life a lot. We go to museums, parks, and other local (and not so local) stuff. We've never sat down for "lessons". They play games most of the day. But they are voracious readers, excellent mathematicians, and well versed in history. And now, at eleven years old, Tom is looking into what he wants to do with himself. He is feeling puberty coming on. He is self-aware and knows that he is growing up. He is taking a class to learn something because it interests him, not in a classroom with a textbook, but with a real mentor working in the field. As he actually works, he will feel his purpose in the world. He won't be waiting until he is 18 to start his real life. He has been living it the whole time. I'm excited for him. If blacksmithing proves to not to be his life dream, so what? He will have some skills to use. Not just blacksmithing skills, but pride, communication, and confidence that he can use in his next endeavor.
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