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My step-mother must have been a good teacher, because when I left home I was able to cook meals for large numbers of people. In fact, my husband and I ate a lot of leftovers until I learned to cook for two (after cooking for eight for so long). She would have been sorely disappointed in me that I did not pass along to my children the cooking skills I learned from her, but the truth is, I did not. A homeschooling failure, right? Probably so, but maybe, just maybe, an unschooling success, at least for one of my children.

The Right Incentive?

After our daughter and granddaughter moved back in with us a couple of months ago, I asked our son David to help out a little bit more around the house, maybe cooking some meals or helping with Miss Munchkin’s care during the daytime. I had half thought that might prove to be the incentive needed for him to go get that part-time job, but instead, it seems to have been the incentive to get him cooking. Not quite what I had in mind, but I am not complaining. Well, not much. He still needs to get that job. But I am certainly enjoying the welcome break from meal planning and preparation. In the last two months, I have cooked maybe five suppertime meals! It is wonderful!

I am not completely off the hook, since David had had so little previous cooking experience. I have to be on hand while recipes are consulted, grocery lists are planned, and most especially during the actual cooking process. But I try to stay out of the process as much as possible, just nearby enough so that he can quickly ask a question or I can throw out a suggestion if I see an impending disaster. And amazingly enough, we have had some very good meals. David has been quite adventurous, choosing for one of his very first meals a Japanese fried rice recipe off the Internet, a dish that I have never attempted. After several meals of that, his sister decided he needed to branch out and she has been finding him recipes from other continents. Tuesday night we had Yabbie or Crayfish Fettuccine, an Australian dish. Only it was more shrimp fettuccine and while the shrimp and the fettuccine was great, the sweet potato based sauce was not a hit. Tonight we are doing Africa with some sort of baked meat pie and green bean salad.

What is truly remarkable, though, is how much easier, calmer, less stress-inducing the cooking experiences are now, versus what they were years ago. At that time my children really did not want to learn to cook, but I felt that it was something they ought to know how to do. The end result was a dread on my part and an avoidance of all things cooking on their parts. This time around, I rarely have to ask David what he’s making or if he is going to get started. He has truly taken it upon himself to have a meal served up at around the same time every evening (except for an evening here or there where we eat leftovers or order out pizza). Every now and again it is nice to have an unschooling success smack me upside the head and remind me just why I love unschooling so much!

From youngest to oldest, our unschooling weekend activities:

Charles has taken a great interest in the current presidential campaign, possibly because he will be able to vote this year. So he watched the Presidential Debates held in New Hampshire on Saturday, occasionally emerging from his room to make comments about the different candidates. And he is obviously going through a Celtic music fest, as he wanted all of my Celtic CDs, disappearing with them to his room. I believe that they are all being loaded on to his computer.

David was preparing for the beginning of the Spring semester at Tallahassee Community College by sleeping late, doing laundry, and spending as much time online as possible. At least, that is what it looked like to me! As long as he does as well this coming semester as he did this last semester, I will have no complaints.

Me, I had three projects going over the weekend, well, actually four. First, I am crocheting a doily, trying out a new pattern. So while watching football games, I crocheted like a crazy woman. Second, I have been concerned about our electric bill, so I spent quite a bit of time comparing our current December bill with our December bill from last year at our old place. I found some great online resources that help you figure out your usage and the cost of individual appliances, etc. Look later in the week for a blog post about all that I learned, including the online links I used. Third, I have been studying ways to improve my website, both traffic and income. So I spent quite a bit of time reading and making a plan of attack for the New Year. And fourth, I have been requiring (yes, unschoolers sometimes do have requirements!) that the boys assist me more in preparing meals, so Saturday evening David helped me prepare a new recipe I found at Divine Domesticity, Pizza Pasta Casserole. Three out of four taste testers gave it a thumbs up, so I guess it’s a keeper!

And last, but not least (we WERE going from youngest to oldest), Bill spent the weekend studying for another certification test. He has just one more update certification test to take and then hopefully he can back off from the intense studying and enjoy his weeknights and weekends. Bill has many certifications, which are needed for his career choice, and all of them he has acquired through self-study. I wrote about how he has accomplished this in my article “Unschooling Adult-Style.”

So, how did your unschooling weekend go?

Since I use my crockpots all the time, I am always on the lookout for new slow-cooker recipes. Here is a new favorite, which is in my crockpot right now:

• • 5 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup apple cider
  • 1 dash salt and pepper, to taste

Crockpot Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices; place in crockpot. Whisk remaining ingredients together and pour over potatoes. Cover and cook on low 7 to 9 hours. Stir a few times, if possible, to keep them coated. Serves 4.

It’s very sweet, so I am lowering the amount of sugars used this time around. Next time I might try just one of the sugars, rather than both.

I do not remember exactly where the above recipe came from. Most likely from Chet Day’s Crockpot Recipes, one of the blogs on my Google Reader. There is a Lentil Soup recipe from just a few days ago that I am going to try next, maybe Monday. The weather is a bit cooler here now, so soup might be worth a try.

Two weeks ago I broke one of my crocks and that day went out to replace it. No way was I going to be without two crockpots. In fact, I am thinking of finding a replacement crock, since I still have the outside unit and the lid. I am sure I can order just the inner crock at the Rival website. Three crockpots would be handier than two, wouldn’t they?

Young drivers are placed through this half day, four hour program at no cost, making the program accessible to young drivers from all economic backgrounds. With professional driving instructors at their side, the students … participate in customized behind the wheel driving exercises developed to address the most common driving situations that can lead to collision.

I’ll post next week to let you know how it went and whether David found it to be worthwhile.

So what have I been up to this week? Mostly playing with Miss Munchkin. I drove up to Albany Wednesday morning and brought Kat and Miss Munchkin here for a few days. They were getting housebound. Not sure yet when I’ll take them home: possibly either tomorrow (Saturday) or Monday. I could do it Sunday, but Sunday is race day and the four-hour round trip would cut into my race watching!

It appears like David is ready for Orientation on Tuesday at Tallahassee Community College He’s spent quite a bit of time online and on the phone and visiting the college, trying to get all the needed paperwork submitted. He plans to take an English Composition class this summer and then begin full-time classes in the fall. We are hoping that this works out better than Evansville did last year.

Oh, and I found a great natural foods place yesterday. New Leaf Market.It has a deli, organic and local produce, and best of all, it’s a co-op! I’ll be joining after we get next month’s paycheck!

There are also three different farmer’s markets in the area, on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The one on Monday is less than a mile from me! I hope to get there next week. Last Saturday we visited the one downtown and bought loads of fresh produce and some cut zinnias. It’s so nice to have fresh flowers!

Yesterday Charles met with Dr. Debra Gilliam from Alternative Medicine Associates. She seemed pretty sure she would be able to help Charles and I sure hope so! It was an expensive visit and none of it covered by our medical insurance. He now has several supplements and homeopathic remedies to take over the next 12 weeks, along with some dietary changes to make. And then on October 16 he return to see if all this has helped any. She also suggested that Charles keep a food diary, but I don’t see that happening! The most difficult dietary change is no gluten, no wheat. I bought some oat flour and some spelt flour, both of which the naturopath suggested would be better for Charles than wheat.

David has his college physical tomorrow. Which reminds me, I still need to double check with the college that a letter from his doctor will be all that is needed for a medical waiver on the tetanus shot. My mom wrote me last week to tell me that she had suffered from an allergic reaction to a tetanus shot about fifteen years ago and her doctor told her then not to ever have another tetanus shot or it might be fatal. She thought she had told me that before, but mentioned it again after reading my blog entry about Charles’ latest “episode.” I sure don’t’ remember hearing about that before, but I’m glad to know it now. Perhaps it will provide added incentive for the doctor tomorrow to provide that medical waiver.

The kittens are getting cuter every day! Today the one’s here in my office finally got brave enough to escape from their box, or at least I discovered one of them out this morning when I came in to check my e-mail. I think it’s just about time to move them outside, as I do not want to have a litter box in here. The other kittens in the living room just have their eyes open, but I may have to find another spot for them. The mama kitty seems to be disrupting the wires back there that are hooked to the TV and receiver and our TV reception has been disappearing. Somewhere there’s a cord loose!

Well, time to wake up some boys and begin working on the website updates. People are e-mailing me asking me when I’m going to make the changes that they sent me weeks ago!