4 thoughts on “Hanging On to Our Creativity”

  1. An over-scheduled society does not foster creativity. I, too, am glad we home schooled for two years (“skipping” middle school). We speak up whenever we hear someone promote the over-scheduled life as the ideal (which so many parents seem to think is a good training ground for life). If a child is not encouraged to find a healthy balance in her life (i.e. is trained to be a stressed out human), it takes years (or sadly never) to heal from the damage. My daughter recently wrote on our website http://www.twointhemiddle: Clare Vanderpool, author of the 2011 Newbery Award winner Moon Over Manifest (see my October 14th blog, “Some of Natalie’s Favorite Books”) says that the keys to good writing are to read, write, IMAGINE, PLAY, observe, and to find your own voice (www.clarevanderpool.com). It is always exciting to discover authors whose work is clearly inspired by these pursuits. My current reading delight is the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King (www.laurierking.com).

    • Pamela, thank you for the thoughtful comment and the reading suggestions. I, too, worry about today’s over-scheduled children. It takes real courage for a family to live life differently, at a human pace, in the face of pressure to do otherwise, but the rewards are immeasurable.

      • I hope you received my “thank you” missive a few days ago. You played an important role in giving us the final burst of courage to make the leap and “skip middle school.” I would love to post your second sentence above on my website. Would that be okay? Also, I just re-read “The Homeschooling Option” to see how I reacted AFTER our home school adventure. The same sections made me smile with the reassurance and encouragement I felt the first time. Thank you!

  2. Pamela, I just saw your email (sometimes the contact form messages get filtered away from my inbox, so thanks for the reminder). Thank you for such kind words! I would be honored if want to use anything of mine on your website and look forward to reading your blog.

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