Do you have an Early Learning Buddy?

[TeachingMyToddlers]

Recently, I was casually chatting with another local BK mom that I had the privilege of meeting over the past few months and we have had coffee several times ( I can't believe I have met THREE BK moms locally in the last year or so, I am VERY lucky in that respect!) Anyway, she mentioned that she had an early learning friend who lives all the way across the country on the opposite coast, yet they chat together several times a week by phone and she even went to visit her a month or so ago. They met at the Doman institutes Better Baby course a few years ago and have kept in touch ever since. I thought that was so awesome, and it reminds me of a dear friend I met through this forum. We chat by phone frequently through the week and hope to "meet" this summer. It has been such an encouragement to share the ups and downs of parenting, it's hard to believe we have been friends for something like 2 or 3 years now! Time flies. I won't embarrass her by naming names, but I am so glad to have a supportive EL mom to touch base with all the time.  We have watched each other's kids grow up over the distance.

In the Piano Wizard/Soft Mozart thread I read today, Tamsyn talked about her "early learning best friend" Ashley. Then I figured there must be lots more of the these friendships as a result of this board, because it's easier to find that common ground here versus IRL. What about you, do you have a dear friend in EL that supports you, keeps you accountable, who you can "brag" to without guilt?    Did you meet online or IRL? I actually find that I talk with my EL Buddy often more frequently than some of my local non-EL friends because 1) EL is such a big part of my parenting philosophy and dominates much of our family (in a good way!) so we share that common ground. It's hard to have those conversations on a regular basis with non-EL parents. And 2) Because we lead busy lives raising our families, getting together for coffee with a local friend is so much more of a commitment than making a quick call/having a quick chat online.

Do you have one? Want one? Raise your hand if you need an EL friend and maybe you will find one in this thread to "pair off" with.

[BTBVEN]

Hi


There's a BK mom I have met through this forum with whom I exchange messages every so often and that's been great as she's also in the same city as me. I have been able to openly discuss with her about my daughter's progress and likewise she's told me about her son. That has indeed helped, although we haven't had a chance to meet as yet.

Locally, there's a mum with whom I have become good friends and through that friendship, I was able to introduce her (and thereby her son) to early learning which in turn helped with splitting costs towards the Tweedlewink DVD set...so we do chat about our children's progress. However, I am not sure I am comfortable yet with openly talking about (or brag even) about my daughter's achievements/progress and not feel guilty or be told that I am bonkers!!!

I recently posted on the Early Learning Group page (on facebook) to share my immense joy with the progress my daughter has made since being born (she just turned 1 earlier this month) and it felt great that I could talk (write) about her with a group of parents who felt the same way in terms of raising their children. That was a small way, I could get some of my excitement off my chest and share with others.

I would love to meet more parents or speak over the phone/video-chat as there's so much to talk about, exchange ideas, get tips/feedback etc. and not just on early-learning but about kids in general.

[Tamsyn]

Ashly and I met because she found my blog and sent me a personal message that resulted in a phone call. The rest is history! She's the only one on the forum I have met in person- but we're a couple states apart so that doesn't happen as often as we would like. I can't wait for her family reunion next month!  There are a few BK members that live close and we just haven't coordinated a meetup yet.  I have a few family members and local friends who are interested in EL but I wouldn't call them EL buddies. 

The yahoo group is where I met my first EL friends, and I miss the activity there sometimes.  I really appreciate the connections I made there.     I can't say I miss the people that much because most of them migrated to this forum with me.
Since we started the facebook group, I have become facebook friends with many on this group and it has really helped make our friendships more personal.  I'm always happy to "friend" EL people once I know that's who you are. I also think it helps spread the EL message when you make an EL post and you have people to like it and back you up, and it's fun to give that support too. I invite anyone interested to join us on facebook too. 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/354875557944414/

[Korrale4kq]

There are a few moms I talk (write rather) to personally. 1 because she is from my home state, even though her kids are older.
The other one because her daughter and my son are 2 days apart.
Of course I also talk to them because I like them personally. It is not just about the kids.

Since using the Facebook site I talk more to others from this forum via Facebook. I feel more of a connect over there. And I love seeing the progress of their little ones, but also enjoy getting to know the moms/dad too.

[Korrale4kq]

I have a friend locally who is not entirely EL. But she does do some stuff with her son. I share resources with her. Letting her borrow books and stuff.

[Mandabplus3]

I talk too much both here on the forum and off 
I LOVE that I can drop you all an email, chat on Skype or send PMs through he forum. Oh and Facebook is wonderful as the best way to share a quick photo of achievements or video, it brings out the real personalities of people so clearly.
I often get emails from new forum members asking questions and I am happy to help. These are often the start of a new friendship I also get sent links to articles people know I will enjoy reading and discussing. Love those, they make me think. Hard. 
. I have some very special friends from the forum who I would quickly count on the wedding list despite never having met them personally! I am at home among my EL friends never find myself holding back and never made to feel like I am bragging when my kids do well. ( or myself for that matter!)
Only very recently did I get the opportunity to actually meet a forum member face to face and meet her beautiful husband and children. I am so far away from everyone else that it is a long way to travel to meet anyone. I was just lucky enough to find a mum who happened to live 30 minutes away!
I must say even though most of my chats are written ( I don't have the same time zones so if I ring its usually 3:00am and I an not popular!  ) I highly value by BK friendships. Every single one of them. I would LOVE to meet with you all over the years. I am working on it. 
I highly recommend depending the relationships with a few people on the forum. It will benefit you as much as your children.

[lzp11]

I love having this forum - and I hugely value everyone within it.  It is like a safe haven to discuss EL in complete freedom, which is such a huge part of my life and yet remains an almost taboo subject in other parts of my life, as most of my local friends would think I was crazy or pushy or hot-housing....  So many negative stereotypes for people who want to support their kids to do well and reach their own amazing potential.  It makes me really sad sometimes that I can't talk about this more.

I haven't had much success in finding a local EL buddy, which is why this forum remains so important.  I'm not homeschooling - I will be afterschooling alongside working part-time myself and it is great to connect with others in a similar situation.  I have a friend who seemed really enthusiastic when her baby was born, so I tried to support her and even gave her our used YBCR DVD set, but she didn't even play them once and has since become quite negative about EL. She's really sensitive and I think she might feel guilty deep down about not doing EL, so I find it best to keep very quiet about it these days, as she's a lovely person but just has different priorities when it comes to learning.

I did join the Facebook page and I love that too - unfortunately I found it difficult with it being an open group, to stop my posts coming up in my personal news feed and this lead to a couple of comments that made me feel quite uncomfortable.  One was from a mother of one of my daughter's little friends at nursery who will also be starting school with her in September. I don't want my DD having any negative experiences because others are jealous or anti-EL so I always follow it with great interest but have felt it necessary to limit the detail that I post there. 

So overall, Yay for Brillkids! And thanks to everyone collectively for making it a great place for those of us who find it difficult to connect in other ways 

[BTBVEN]

Hi lzp11

I agree with you about the Facebook Group page as it's an 'open' group. I did think once or twice about whether I should ask if this group could be made 'closed' as then this stops any posts that members make from appearing on newsfeed but then wasn't sure how that would be perceived. I don't post pictures or videos of my daughter on the group page for this same reason - privacy & possibly being judged (by those outside of the group). If this was a closed group, then I'd definitely reconsider my stance in this matter.

I don't really talk about EL with many people as well...I tried to introduce BK to a couple of other friends (both personal and work friends) and didn't get a positive reaction or interest in a way that I had hoped. Of course every parent has to make their own choices on how to raise their child and I totally respect that but the reactions I also experienced were along the lines of me being absolutely mad. On a positive side, due to some of my posts appearing on people's newsfeeds, there have been those on my facebook friends list (that I haven't talked with in a long time) who have messaged me and said thanks for introducing them to EL because they have started utilising resources with their children. That I guess is positive karma in which I attribute towards my daughter..I'd never be here if it were not for her (and feel so empowered that I can influence her in so many positive ways and be her first and foremost teacher).

[Tamsyn]

I'm sorry the openness of the group has been a limiting factor for you two- and probably more.      Well, there's no reason that we can't have a closed group also.  Done!  You are all invited.  I don't want to make the first one a closed group because I feel that the open group is serving a purpose as well.  There may end up being some overlapping of content, but that's okay.  I can see there is a need and we want to help everyone meet it.

Closed Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/386335411472271/

Open Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/354875557944414/

[Scruff]

So nice to see there is a FB group. Looking forward to joining. I do spend a lot of time on there :-)

[mario]

Well,

I am new to EL and I think I'm still find my place here. But I had the chance to PM, email and chat on Skype with several great people from here.
I can raise my hand for a "buddy"! Although I know a lot of people, I think since February was not enough time to develop a great friendship to share experiences and ask for help at anytime.

But I love exchanging experiences. Those who know me better know I am an entrepreneur and I have three personal projects in which I made more friends. They are not about EL but is somehow related.

www.diariodospapais.com.br is my personal blog and from there I made some friends in Brazil who got in contact with me
www.linguagemdesinaisparabebes.com.br is a website with videos in Portuguese, made by my wife, where we teach baby signs. From time to time someone contacts us
www.nnsparents.com is a place for non-native speaking parents to share experiences, as there are a lot of myths against it. This is very new but I met great people there.

Also, once I was traveling to the extreme south in Brazil and for a great coincidence I met a woman who is an EL mother and also speaks to her son in a foreign language. This is the only one that I met personally.

There is also Facebook, that is great and even more now that Tamsyn made a Closed group.

[Mae_Jakob_Ka]

 When I started doing EL with my son 3 years ago, I was very lonely. I've lived in Canada which is not my home country. I couldn't find any Thai moms who lived close to me. So, I created an online community for Thai parents who are interested in teaching their young children. It's been 2 years and I have had many friends who share the same goals and interests.   

[Krista G]

Kizudo and I have gotten to be great friends.  I think we always will be and I am so blessed to have her.  Then there are others like Tamsyn and Vivian that I met on the Yahoo group that I feel bonded to.  I love having this community.

[early learning17]

I too have found some "long-distance but very cherished email friends" through this forum. Although I am happy about this and would wish it for every member I think there is a big risk that at one point you only share things between your friends in private emails rather than openly on the forum where it could be picked up by equally interested people you just don´t know yet - don´t you think?

[civicmom15]

Hey there! I would much enjoy an ELB. We've had our little one taking advantage of the LR program since 3 months, but I only recently started participating in the forum. I hope if I continue to respond and post that I might make a friend or two. I've been a part of other mom community sites, but I think this is the place for me. A bit about me, I am a SAHM, 28 years old, married, resident of Kansas, and I enjoy reading, educating my baby girl, cleaning, exercising, and gardening.

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