Assumptions

We had a peaceful morning. Evie gets up with me but then usually sleeps a few more hours on the couch. I think she just likes the activity around her. I started watching another Miyazaki movie while I exercise Castle In the Sky. I am starting to see the archetypal figures and the general themes Miyazaki explores - that will be a whole blog unto itself!

Evie and I finished The Doll People. It was riveting and wonderful. I set up a treasure hunt for Evie and she found a new Cirque du Soleil DVD I got her. Of course we watched it right away. After that Evie tried new tricks upstairs, we ate lunch and she and Scott played an imagination game called "Ice Mountain" that involves climbing a mattress stood up on end.

We visited with other homeschoolers this afternoon. Evie had a good time. I had a good time. I also realized that I make assumptions about the way people parent just because they homeschool. One mom talked about "grounding" her son, another spoke of "time-outs." I am much more upset about this than I thought I would be. I find both those practices barbaric and the idea so detrimental to parent-kid relationships. Why do parents assume their way is a) the only way and b) the best way? Why can't kids have the right to say "no" to a request? I think kids are sometimes mean to each other and exclusionary because they want to have power over something. Tattling ensues and then power struggles. I think Evie sometimes goes along with excluding because she wants to be liked and it seems the thing to do. I think the idea puzzles her though. Once she and a friend were playing (friend has older siblings and some authoritarian parenting) and I overheard the friend say "Let's tell your mom she is not allowed in our game." "Why?" Evie wanted to know (mind you I wasn't even in the room or asking to play). "So we can tell someone what to do!" was the friend's answer. Oh this parenting thing is hard!

We came home to exercise for Evie (interestingly she also chose a Miyazaki movie to watch while she bounced on her trampoline). Then dinner and relaxing.

A thought-provoking and somewhat disturbing day well-lived