ElementalMom

Yes, you.

Look, all the great families of the Middle Ages and Renaissance were patrons of the arts. They recognized that life without art was nothing, and so they sponsored some of the greatest talents and finest minds of their time, with the end result that we’re still looking back on the heights that art attained during that supported period of time.

Today, not so much. I don’t know a single artist who isn’t having to be their own marketing department too, who isn’t taking time away from creation to hustle for the groceries. And frankly, that diminishes us all; every moment that great artists are holding down a desk or flipping a burger is a moment they aren’t spending creating works that inspire, that motivate, that energize and delight.

To that end, if you’re not familiar with it, I’d like to tell you about Kickstarter. In their own words, Kickstarter is:

… a new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors.

We believe that…

• A good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide.
• A large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement.

Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands.

My brilliant, talented, gorgeous pal Angela has a Kickstarter project going that fully deserves to be funded and then some. Please go check it out, and become a patron of the arts. Especially now, when times are hard and the world is wooly, sometimes art is the best expression of what we’re capable of as a culture. If we want history to remember us for something other than Wall Street, we have to leave behind art that will speak for us. So step up to the plate, please, and consider patronage.

I am pleased as punch to announce the Launch Party for my friend Tammy Takahashi’s new book, “Deschooling Gently”. From the Hunt Press site,

On Sunday, October 12th, from 2pm-5pm, homeschoolers in the greater Los Angeles region are invited to come celebrate their recognized freedom and the beginning of their school year, at the launch party for the newly published book Deschooling Gently: A Step by Step Guide to Fearless Homeschooling, by Tammy Takahashi.

Diverse homeschoolers with children as young as preschool age, all the way up to high school age, from a varied religious (or not) and cultural backgrounds will join Tammy Takahashi and Hunt Press in a festival of games, food, and camaraderie.

At 3:00-3:30, Tammy Takahashi will speak on the topic of “The Real Cons of Homeschooling: Socialization and Socializing.” This provocative and inspiring talk will change the way you think about how homeschoolers make friends and understand culture.

This event is free. Everyone is welcome.

October 12th
2pm-5pm
Center for Spiritual Living, 4845 Dunsmore Avenue, La Crescenta, CA 91214

More about Deschooling Gently: Deshooling Gently is a much-needed and refreshingly drama-free view on how to make the transition from School with a capital S, to homeschool, including directions and information on how to get educated on the laws governing homeschooling in your state. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Praise for Deschooling Gently by Diane Flynn Keith, Author of Carschooling, Editor of Homefires.com, Founder of UnviersalPreschool.com, and Publisher of ClickSchooling:

“If you are new to homeschooling, thinking about homeschooling, and especially if you are unhappily homeschooling—read this book. It will save you hours of time, tons of frustration, and a backpack full of money. Deschooling Gently is an intelligent, practical, frank, and fearless guide on how to take the “school” out of homeschooling in order to raise children who are happily educated, life-long learners. Tammy Takahashi gently shows you how to redefine curriculum and other schoolish concerns as a set of goals and tools with limitless possibilities that will help your children be the best they can be. Buy several copies and sprinkle them around the house as constant touchstones to maintain balance, flexibility, fun, heart, and meaningful purpose in your family’s homeschool life. Deschooling Gently is one of the best homeschool books I’ve read and destined to become a classic for homeschoolers in the 21st century!”

Deschooling Gently is available through Amazon and other online booksellers, for $19.94. It is also available through special order at any bookstore.

Tammy Takahashi lives and learns with her three children and her supportive husband in sunny Southern California. She is the editor of the California HomeSchooler magazine (http://www.hsc.org), and writes an alternative education blog (http://justenough.wordpress.com). An acknowledged and leading expert on homeschooling and unschooling, she’s also been interviewed on CNN, Fox News and NPR.

She has written many articles for Home Education Magazine, Natural Learning (formerly Life Learning) Magazine, and CHNews. She has presented at the Homeschool Association of California conference for the past four years. She was a workshop presenter at the California Homeschool Network Expo for the last three years, and was the featured speaker in 2007. Tammy Takahashi is available for workshops and speaking engagements.

For more information, please contact Angela Hunt at ahunt@huntpress.com or 310-890-8617.