Finding Community

Am so happy to finally be on several NYC homeschooling email groups. Have been on two for months, but one of those seemed to be filled with Radical Unschoolers who talk about the Truth with a capital "T" and rant about how school "poisons childrens' minds", and the other seemed to be primarily about how to navigate New York's stringent homeschooling requirements. That one I do read with some interest, since I think I will come out of anonymity in the Fall to register our kids as homeschoolers. NY is one of the tougher states in terms of record keeping. Kids have to be tested more frequently and there is also a requirement to file paperwork at least quarterly and keep attendance, something that we never had to do in Oregon.
Anyways, one of the new lists has a 13-page newsletter for the month of April discussing homeschool-produced Shakespeare plays (and they are organized enough to have a real theater and a music director), a kid trying to start a "Guinea Pig Club" (so his G.P. could meet other G.P. friends) and lots of organized homeschool outings, field trips and classes. The other lists are discussing how to ban the spraying of Roundup in Central Park and how to keep the Chelsea Piers open to soccer in the middle of the week. I love the homeschooling mindset--in my experience homeschool families tend to think outside the box. They are quirky and fun and interesting, and generally very well-researched and well-read. I am grateful to be in their company again, even if they don't know me yet. :)
Aside from my anonymous cyber-connections, we also met lots of families on Saturday at Belen's birthday party. Her parents are on a running team, and most of the family's friends are also. Looking down I couldn't help but discover that my calves were surrounded with many that detailed much finer chiseling that I would ever be capable of sporting. They run marathons and have running trophies in the windowsill, and their record collection is among the biggest I have ever seen. They also were a friendly, diverse and interesting bunch. Several parents were speaking to their children in other languages. The woman speaking French was actually American, but had a French husband who designs subways for a living. I think he actually has a PhD in subways, or something like that. Belen was adopted from Ecuador when she was 2--it was her 5th birthday, and happened to be on Cinco De Mayo. There was a parade outside on the street that the kids all watched out the windows, so that was kind of fun. After the party, several of us met in the park right outside the building, and it was so fun to see the kids getting together while the Mamas chatted. It all went great until Jonah fell and got a big bloody scrape on top of the one he had gotten yesterday. He says he is never riding his scooter or walking on concrete again. Will let you know how long that lasts.
Today was a successful IKEA run. We made it in time for their ridiculously cheap breakfast and bought LOTS of storage items. Woo hoo. Can't wait to get everything put together and get the piles off the floor. Then, dear readers, I might actually take some photos of this apartment for you to see. Can't face having official documentation of what it looks like right now, so you will just have to wait.