in this issue African-American Autodidacts Pearls of Wisdom from JacQuie Ward The Search is Over: Unschooled to Freedom! Family Profile To The Grand Canyon! Three To Watch Three to Read Networking & Pen Pals

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African-American Autodidacts

An autodidact is a self-taught person and throughout the history of Africans on these shores, the legacy of self-learning has been an integral part of African- American culture.

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	Pearls of Wisdom from JacQuie Ward
In my journey from being married to single parenting, from homeschooling to unschooling, I have discovered very little substantive difference in my experiences versus the experiences of other un/homeschooling mothers. I have no particular credentials to make my testimony or experiences any more or less valid than yours. My only desire is to share with you some of the things that I have learned in our twelve years of educating ourselves. Read on... »

	The Search is Over: Unschooled to Freedom!
Stage 1: The Preschool Fast Track Believe it or not, by the time my son had celebrated his first birthday, I had begun a frenzied search for the right "school." I started reading all of the local guides to the best private schools, as public school was never an option. By the time Zion was 2 years old, I had been to more than 30 open houses. Each school had wonderful qualities, but there was always something that wasn't quite right -- the curriculum was too eurocentric, the school was not diverse enough, or the tuition was completely out of our price range. Nevertheless, I wanted Zion on the fast track, so at age 2½, I enrolled him in a very flexible Sign Language pre-school program on the campus of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. (the only college in the country for the deaf and hearing-impaired). My sister is deaf and I was already teaching Zion Sign Language so I thought this was perfect. He hated every minute of it. He was kicking and screaming every time I dropped him off. After about three weeks of utter misery, I had to ask myself if what I was doing was of any real benefit. His last day was when I returned early to find my son screaming his eyes out, naked and unsupervised on a changing table. I thought to myself, "I'll just teach him Sign Language myself." Read the full story... »

	Family Profile
Meet the Dyson Family of Carrboro, North Carolina! Full Story »

	To The Grand Canyon!
African-American Unschoolers will host the 2004 African-American Homeschoolers Family & Friends Vacation at the Grand Canyon June 3-5. You are all invited to join us in experiencing this wonderful unschooling adventure! Read more... »

	Three To Watch
January DVD Promotion Two Months Free! Brought to you by the African-American Unschooling DVD Library Rent Homeschool DVDs online and receive them by mail! It's a new year and we've got a new low price. First, our DVD rentals are FREE to try for 30 days! You can rent an unlimited number of DVDs for a month without paying a dime. Learn More... »

	Three to Read
Check out the following titles -- something for all ages -- to celebrate Black History Month, all year long... Read more... »

	Networking & Pen Pals
Having difficulty locating other African-American Homeschoolers? Network with other Unschooling parents, find pen pals and professional services here! Read more... »

Quick Links...

Q & A with Erika Davis-Pitre Africentric Resources About FUNgasa

African American Homeschool Cruise General Homeschooling Resources