Is anyone in control here? Who is teaching these children? How long can a blog about the children and their education sit in silence before someone starts wanting to call social services?

We are having lots of fallow days right now. Our girl seems earnestly committed to memorising every-single-word of Ella Enchanted. Her father has refused to reread Wise Child for the 10,000th time and so she has shifted her obsession to Ella. At least both of these modern fairy tales feature strong brave resourceful heroines. She sits and listens and sews or plays with Playmobile figures.

Our son reads and reads and reads. For his next assignment he will be required to read the "instructions" that were sent with our Canon Powershot and demonstrate his comprehension by then teaching me how to use the damn thing. Hey, that is a brilliant premise for a class: Decoding Technical Writing 101 with a special emphasis on emerging gadgetry. For the final exam you would have to set your camera to the secret CIA protected operational mode that allows the shutter to snap the same actual moment you press the button.

I am so passionate about their unschooling yet I spend most of my time arguing with myself about topics I could be forcing on the children. All in good time, I soothe myself. The fact that time will inexorably, completely, and excellently fill them with exactly what they need is half the point for now. But that doesn't stop my plans:

Jimmy Cliff once said, "The Harder They Come The Harder They Fall". Compare and contrast this statement to the principle of Aikido which is "the way of harmonised energy".