My family has been unschooling for 10 years now, since our oldest was 6. We live our lives without school, we don’t separate life into subjects. Everything is connected, one thing leads to another, and connections are constantly being made in our brains.

We are learning beings, it is inherent in us to keep on learning.

Our kids wake up each day and decide what they want to do, I’m not sure if it’s really a decision or just following a natural flow of things. We have lots of choices since our lives are not tightly scheduled.

Some advantages of unschooling are:

-Freedom to learn what, how and when you want.
-Freedom to eat when hungry, sleep when tired, use the bathroom as needed without permission.
-Freedom from being graded and tested.
-Freedom to be who you are, to figure out who you are, your likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, interests, style, hobbies etc. without being forced to conform.
-Having control over your own mind and body.
-Real, natural learning.
-Learning in your own way and time.
-Not having to conform to school standards.
-Closer family.
-Freedom from school schedules and constraints.
-Living and learning in the real world, real life, not an artificial environment such as school.

One of the important things to remember is that each child has their own unique timetable and their own way of learning. I believe that unschooling fosters and encourages the individual and does away with averages and milestones and timeframes that someone else has set as a standard of achievement. I am their mother, I nurture them, I love them, I listen to them, I observe them, I talk to them, I spend time with them, I play with them, I respect them, I give them time, space and freedom. I also facilitate and by that I mean answer questions, look things up, provide resources, take them places, offer suggestions, ideas and pretty much just help them figure out their world. I love being with my kids and sharing their lives with them. We learn so much from each other.

They are interesting, curious, inquisitive people. We talk about everything under the sun. We all have different personalities and bring something unique to the table and generally have a good time with each other. We take each new day as it comes, learning is happening all of the time, and it’s inevitable.

The unschooling life is a wonderful way to live with your children. We are our children’s partners in life. We have been building the foundation of trust and respect for 16 years. We learn about the world by living in it. We follow our interests wherever they may lead. We are happy, whole people just living our lives as if school didn’t exist.

“There is no difference between living and learning… it is impossible and misleading and harmful to think of them as being separate.” ~ John Holt

Written in joy by Stephanie Waldron

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If that sounds like you and your family, an unschooling conference might be just what you need and this is the season for it. There are several in the upcoming months. Some are big gatherings with a full schedule of speakers, panels, funshops, and more; others are smaller, casual and more free-flowing. Sometimes, there’s a talent show, and maybe a dance or concert. Reading at conference websites can help you to learn a bit about the personality of each one and how it might fit your family’s interests and style. Often, too, there are yahoo groups or facebooks pages for a conference, which can give you an opportunity to ask questions of people who have attended that conference.

We had a lot of fun at the two conferences we’ve attended. There was a funshop where the boys built rainmakers (cardboard tubes with beans inside to make a sound like falling rain) which I still find around the house every so often. I attended a funshop where we learned to paint with henna. I shopped handmade crafts from kids at the entrepreneurial tables. I listened to several talks from unschooling Moms, heard from a panel of Dads sharing their take on unschooling, participated in a round-table discussion about peaceful parenting, and heard a panel of teenagers answer questions about what unschooling means to them. In addition to the scheduled activities there were spontaneous conversations, happy reunions, hugs, laughter, and happy children everywhere it seemed. The talent shows are always fun; everything from simple jokes told by kids to some amazing singing or dancing performances.

We have plans to attend a conference later this year. Now that our boys are older (10 & 15 by then) they’re anticipating spending their days either in the gaming room or swimming, and are looking forward to making new friends they can keep up with online, as well as seeing old friends who live in other parts of the country. I’m looking forward to catching up with friends I talk to online regularly but haven’t seen in person in some time.

Here’s a quick listing of some unschooling conferences. With each, I’ve included the opening paragraph from the conference website, and an online address for more info.

Unschoolers’ Waterpark Gathering:
Our UWG gatherings are for unschooling families around the country to simply have fun, relax and share time with other unschoolers – ie. families homeschooling in a non-traditional, child-led, interest based, life learning approach. Those new or looking into unschooling are welcomed to come with the understanding they have researched unschooling, come with an open mind and are respectful to those at various stages of unschooling. More info at http://ugoevent.com

LIFE is Good Unschooling Conference:
The LIFE is Good Conference invites you to join us and experience an unschooling community first hand. You’ll have an opportunity to make new friends, deepen existing friendships, form connections and find the piece that just may be missing from your unschooling journey– a strong, supportive and vibrant group of families to share it with. More info at http://lifeisgoodconference.com

Northeast Unschooling Conference:
It’s hard to explain what the Northeast Unschooling Conference is like. There’s joy and there’s chaos, laughter and tears, lots of silliness, hugs all over the place, play, learning, fun, and struggle. There are wise speakers and explorers all over the place. There are fun things to do. There are unschooled teens and young adults who will take your breath away. More info at http://www.northeastunschoolingconference.com

Rethinking Everything, :
- your freedom to set the course for your own life
- supporting you in creating a freedom-based life for your children & teens
- gentle & profoundly respectful parenting
- unschooling & self design
- eliminating psychological roadblocks to self-empowerment
- real history & experiential learning
- entrepreneuring
- strategies for vibrant, alive wellness
- spiritual oneness & the law of attraction
- enlightened aging & empowered dying
More info at http://www.rethinkingeverything.net

Good Vibrations Unschooling Conference:
For four full days, we’ll inspire, discuss, play and spread lots of bubbly energy as only unschoolers can. As an inclusive conference children will be embraced and welcomed at every event. Friendships will be created or deepened. Questions will be answered In Real Life. Families will be strengthened. You will feel renewed. This is an opportunity to enrich your unschooling journey: get new ideas, stretch your mind, enjoy your family and friends. Leave invigorated and whole and maybe a little sandy! More info at http://goodvibrationsconference.com

Toronto Unschooling Conference:
At the Toronto Unschooling Conference I strive to create a rich and stimulating environment where you can learn about unschooling in depth. Since it’s inception in 2006, TUC has brought together wonderful unschooling families to enjoy a fantastic weekend each year. All the speakers are unschoolers. The talks are followed by group discussions, where everyone is free to share and question. The combination of talk followed by discussion creates a terrific learning environment for the participants. The talks engage and challenge them with unschooling ideas, churning up thoughts and questions which are then addressed and expanded upon in the open discussion. Whether your family is considering a move to unschooling, has begun this amazing journey and is discovering just how all-encompassing it can be, or has years of experience, you will learn something new, understand an idea more deeply, and come away more inspired to live the unschooling lifestyle with your family each day. More info at http://www.livingjoyfully.ca/conference

ARGH
Secular in nature, ARGH (Autodidactic Radical Gathering of Homeschoolers) is a gathering by and for unschoolers of all ages which takes place in beautiful Roan Mountain, TN. This organic event relies on the participants to create the activities, making every event completely unique. Connecting with others interested in unschooling and the whole-wide-world helps build community, enrich our learning experiences, develops new friendships and encourages a lot of FUN! More info at https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=219190288092562

Life Rocks Unschooling Conference
We are on the cusp of change. Children are finally being recognized as the whole, perfect people that they are. Tides are turning, and a new chapter in humanity is beginning.
This is a very exciting time to be alive! Join us and be part of the Revolution!
More info at http://www.liferocksconference.com/#1

Always Learning Live Unschoolers Symposium
Sandra Dodd is hosting this gathering. Time to wind down slowly, and clarify, to laugh and to smile is missing from big conferences. Here, those things are scheduled. After many years of attending and presenting at conferences, I’ve heard many times that someone came just to hear me, or just to hear the unschooling speakers. At least half the time, too, the room I’m assigned is busy until just before time, and we have to get out quickly, or parents have to leave to get their children. We will have two three adjoining rooms—one for toys and play, one for gaming tables and games, and one for the presentations and meetings. Down the hall is one more smaller room that can be used for noisier games, perhaps. More info at http://alwayslearninglive.blogspot.com/

Australian Unschooling Conference
Who is this retreat for?
Attachment parents who are interested in extending this philosophy into the older years
Families with children in school who are looking at other options of education
Homeschooling and Steiner/Waldorf families who would like to explore natural learning/unschooling/ whole life unschooling
Unschoolers wishing to extend this philosophy to other areas of their life
Any style of homeschoolers/families considering homeschooling who wish to network and hang out with other like-minded families
Everyone who attended the 2010 Unschooling Conference
More info at http://www.unschoolingretreat.com/

Unschool Adventures
Unschool Adventures designs and leads multi-week international adventures and domestic leadership programs for teenage unschoolers. Our international adventures are lightly structured and exploratory, while our leadership programs are more structured and build specific skill sets. All of our trips share the mission of fostering independence and self-knowledge in self-directed teens.
More info at http://www.unschooladventures.com/

Unschoolers’ Camps
In addition to unschoolers’ conferences there are also summer camps for unschoolers. Not Back To School Camp has two sessions each in Oregon and in Vermont. East Tennessee Unschooled Summer Camp will be held this Aug 14-21 in Buffalo Mountain, Tenn. If your child is interested in a camp experience, you might want to explore these opportunities.

Not Back to School Camp:
The NBTSC aspires to create a sanctuary that affirms, inspires, and mentors unschoolers…where campers and staff transform spiritually, emotionally, physically, creatively, intellectually…where profound friendships begin and grow…and where adventure, mystery, music, wild spontaneous fun, and magic prevail. More info at http://www.nbtsc.org/home.htm

East Tennessee Unschooled Summer Camp:
ETUSC is a 7 night summer camp for approximately 80 unschoolers ages 13-18. There will be many activities, camper run workshops, jam sessions, bonfires, swimming, kayaking, zipline and climbing tower, mentoring, dancing, and much more. More info at http://www.etusc.com

2011 Schedule
Unschoolers’ Waterpark Gathering. May 16-20, 2011. Sandusky, Ohio.
LIFE is Good Unschooling Conference. May 26-29, 2011. Vancouver, Washington.
Northeast Unschooling Conference. August 25-28, 2011. Wakefield, Massachusetts.
Rethinking Everything. September 2-5, 2011. Dallas, Texas
Good Vibrations Unschooling Conference. September 8-11, 2011. San Diego, California
Toronto Unschooling Conference, Friday, September 9-11, 2011, Ecology Retreat Centre, Ontario
East Tennessee Unschooled Summer Camp. Aug 14-21, 2011. Buffalo Mountain, Tenn.
ARGH, Oct 30 – Nov 2, Roan Mt, TN This gathering is held twice a year, with another date in April 2012.
NBTSC. August 12-19 Camp Latgawa, Eagle Point, Oregon – August 23-September 6
Camp Myrtlewood, Bridge, Oregon – September 19-26 or September 30-October 7
Farm and Wilderness Tamarack Farm Camp, Plymouth, Vermont
Always Learning Live Unschoolers Symposium. Dec 28-Jan 1 – Albuquerque, NM
Australian Unschooling Conference 2011, Friday, Oct 28th – Tuesday, Nov 1st 2011 in Queensland, Australia

Written by Sylvia Toyama

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I could probably take up pages on how the public schools affected my life negatively and mentally on a day to day basis and how I am now completely free of the unnecessary stress and control… but that’s a whole other article. Today, I’m here to explain to you my transition from being a full time Unschooler to starting College. Your probably thinking, wait. An Unschooler starting college? Thats crazy talk! Or, how did she manage to do that? Well hopefully all of your unanswered questions (and doubts) will be answered as you continue reading this article.

My first day of technical school was a little scary. I wasn’t sure what to expect or what to encounter. For all I knew, there could be evil teachers with rulers.. or students queued up in silent, straight lines. There wasn’t. Basically when I walk in everyday, there’s a big cafeteria with teens and adults chatting away. As I make my way to the elevators they have a security guard that asks to see your school badge. Then I finally take the elevator down to the basement were the 3D Animation room awaits me. My sanctuary!! Haha. I enjoy my class very much and am glad I decided to take it. I no longer have the fear that when I think of “learning”, in a place other than home, you are at school becoming a programmed robot. In reality, your learning everyday wether it’s the mistakes you make, or a simple trip to the library. Your minds constantly working and getting smarter as you grow older and wiser. Instinctively we want to learn. It’s how we are designed naturally.

Don’t get me wrong, I did have some road blocks along the way. One of the toughest things I had to accomplish before I could even start the class, was the TABE Level D. I was really anxious because I hadn’t taken a real “test” since 6th grade. I immediately raced over to Barnes and Noble the week before the test and picked up a copy of a book called TABE: Level D. I basically learned everything I needed to know for the test in a few days. Soon enough the day came. I was so nervous my hands were shaking. On top of that, I had to pay a $27.50 testing fee.. So I new I had to get this right the first time. I sat at the testing station for a good hour and a half. At the time I thought for sure I’d fail. Turns out, I was wrong on that…..I got all high scores. I was so proud, and felt as if a HUGE brick was lifted off my shoulders. It was wonderful!! I also had to have an interview with the instructor of the class. Not a problem either.

Starting college and being an Unschooler may be a little scary at first. Through your journey your confidence will grow and so will your knowledge. Both of mine increased tremendously. I enjoy what I’m doing and am looking forward to continuing a life full of doing what I love. I always like to say: “ Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” These words of Confucious are ones everyone should follow. Now please, go for your dreams and go with all your heart.

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Imagine waking up on a Monday and driving up to Berkeley to check out a new art gallery opening. That night you play some video games and crack open a book before hitting the hay. Think this sounds like a day off for a college student? It’s actually the school day of a 9-year-old. No, it’s not a fantasy Ferris Bueller-style: It’s a daily reality for thousands of young learners who call themselves “unschoolers.”

Unschooling. Some call it a counter-culture, but others just call it natural learning. It’s an offshoot of homeschooling coined by educational philosopher John Holt, but it varies from traditional homeschooling in the sense that there is no curriculum. None. No math, no English, no science, no history. You just live.

It’s the freedom to express yourself in any way at any time,” said Kevin Greene, a 15-year-old unschooler. “If you’re an artist you can paint, you can let your mind wander.” It may sound difficult to wrap one’s head around — to just live and fill a life with knowledge? This is shocking to most Americans who have attended school their entire lives. But for those who practice unschooling, it’s not that crazy. The idea is that people have a natural curiosity and can learn from living, and this is what will fill up children’s days. “It doesn’t really seem necessary to have people be in an institution to learn,” said Pam Tellew, mother of two unschoolers. “I think libraries are about a zillion times more important than schools.” The Internet is a tool that is especially supportive to unschoolers, Tellew added.

So what does one do all day if there’s no school? The question may be flawed. “You sound like you’re talking about learning about one specific thing… That’s not really what we do,” said Jesse Boss, an 11-year-old radical unschooler. Radical unschoolers like Boss often have no limits on what they study, how much dessert they get and no bedtimes. “There is no typical day,” said Annie Twist Lubke, a mother of two unschooled boys, Cortland and Caedan. “[One day] we’re traveling up to the city, San Francisco and Berkeley, to get together with other unschoolers. Another day we’re over chopping wood at [the boys’] grandparents house so we have fire. Our days really go wherever the interest is and whatever’s on our schedule.”

Another idea behind unschooling is that all information is interconnected. It’s not that the children aren’t learning, parents say; it’s just that information is not divided up into a curriculum. “The thing is that we don’t create it as this big subject,” Lubke said. “It’s not this big scary thing — it’s just part of our day.”

She explained that her sons, for example, learned multiplication figuring out the square footage of a shed. Unschoolers and parents insist that this sort of learning will make education pleasurable, as opposed to creating fears of inadequacy. “It’s been really interesting because it just confirms what I’ve felt all along — anything is an avenue to learning, anything that engages you teaches you something,” Tellew said. This can be anything from soccer to the video games which one of her sons plays avidly. And for television fans everywhere, 11-year-old Boss had this to say: “I’m pretty sure my little brother learned math watching television.”

The theme of interconnectedness does not stop at pedagogy. Unschooling expands to breed an idea of jointness throughout life, information and social systems. It’s simply about knowing how to live. “So much of the focus on schooling is academic information. I’ve come to understand that, yes, all that’s good, but the critical thing is that you know how to learn, how to think, how to communicate,” said Mike Boss, Jesse’s father. Boss considers unschooling more of a form of parenting than just an educational philosophy.

Parents play multiple roles in unschooling. They are not just teachers, but facilitators in a system foreign to most of them, since almost all attended school. At a large gathering of unschoolers in Boulder Creek, only one parent had been unschooled. The revival of this movement is just now seeing its oldest off to college. For parents, it’s a struggle at times to maintain an open mind. “Every once in awhile I get a bug in my head saying, ‘Gosh, I don’t think I know that this is out there in the world,’” Tellew said. “I started telling them about math and they didn’t really care.

Pushing that kind of stuff is what gives people that resistance.” She would rather her children follow something that excites them. In this case, parents act as the school themselves — many families often register with the state of California as a private school in order for their children to receive credit for their education. Others work with the local school board or with the HomeSchool Association of California (HSC) in order to get their requirements squared away with the state. Studies have shown that this type of learning as a family dynamic has proven effective. Dr. Doris Ash is an assistant professor in UC Santa Cruz’s education department and has researched science learning in informal settings like aquariums and zoos.

“The family for me is a stand-in of a social unit that can collaborate together,” said Ash, who watches families as they interact and learn from their environment. “Some kind of exquisite mix happens between what people already know and the activity they’re learning. What kind of knowledge does [the family] build collaboratively? It’s always the case that they know more together than alone.”

Unschooling and home schooling have been growing in popularity during the last few decades. An average conference of unschoolers can pull in as many as 700 to 800 individuals. Other alternative educational systems have gained popularity as well — notably Montessori Schools, which emphasize self-directed child activity, and Waldorf Schools, which stress interdisciplinary learning. These schools, and unschooling, are an antidote to what some see as the rigid standards surrounding education and evaluation. Dr. Ron Glass is a philosopher and an associate professor in UCSC’s education department. Much of his research focuses on the moral and political philosophy of education and the ideology of education.

“The notion that learning should somehow follow human nature has been around since the time of Rousseau,” Glass said. But the schooling we’re all now familiar with, he explained, is relatively new. “The school system that we have now was invented in the late 19th century and had very explicit models: factories, railroads and the army,” Glass said. “So they took features from each of those areas and created a school system. The school was designed to basically rank and sort people into the economic, social, ideological order.” But the 21st century is a very different time than the Industrial Revolution, with few remaining factories. “Before there was all this standardized curriculum and testing — all that began in the late 19th century — there was no such thing as school failure,” Glass said. “People just went to school or they didn’t.” Now that the curriculum has become more rigid, it has begun to create problems. Glass said, “It’s the system that produces winners, losers, those who pass, those who fail, those who count as somebody and those who count as nobody.

”Many are beginning to react against the current schooling system. The change, however, is slow. “I think schools have become so tightly connected to economic, political and social opportunities, and because of that people aren’t willing to abandon the standard model,” Glass said. Still, he continued, people are beginning to push back. Unschooling and the revival of home schooling are two examples of such a change. “[People are] trying to find a way to have schools be of good quality and give people real opportunities, but without hurting people along the way,” he said.While these new options are helpful, Glass pointed out that for the time being they are mostly available to families of solid socio-economic ranking. Children with two working parents must attend school.

While questions about lower education are soothed, many still worry about college. How will children transition into the real world? How will they go about applying to college? The reality is that it’s not so difficult. Many unschoolers begin to attend community colleges around the age of 15 or 16, and others have specialized in areas of interest, something looked upon favorably by many private schools. Much also depends on personal goals. “If [the kids] decide that they want to go to college, they’ll get themselves ready for it,” Tellew said. “What I’ve also seen is people growing up this way and saying, ‘You know, this isn’t what I want.’ It’s more about finding something that’s meaningful to them and meaningful to the world. They don’t care as much about the trappings of [societal definitions of] success.”

But the unschoolers themselves aren’t worried. In fact, they see things a little bit differently. A group of unschoolers met last week for a campout in Boulder Creek sponsored by the Homeschool Association of California (HSC) for all homeschoolers in California, where they found good luck with weather — they camped out under the first week of sun in almost a month. When asked about the perks of unschooling the kids counted friendliness, ease in communication and vivacious curiosity among the benefits.

“Not getting caught up with everything,” said 16-year-old Teamo (pronounced “te amo”) Gregori. “You can just learn and figure things out your own way.” “Another advantage is getting up a little later,” Jason Ramos said. What time did he wake up that day? 2 p.m.Ramos stood among a group of boys aged 8 through 16, all of whom were enthusiastic, well-spoken and appeared to be having a great time. Inside, children and adults were walking around together, playing outside or sitting engrossed in card games. A man playing cards wore a blue shirt proclaiming the famous Mark Twain quotation “I never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

It’s clear that something has begun, and the kids know it too.

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“We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that child is someone today.”

- Stacia Tauscher

**originally posted in 2006 **

We were hanging out with our homeschooling friends one afternoon and my daughter Jacqueline was sitting on one of the picnic tables, finishing a story (Princess Barbie) she had started a few days before.

I was having a conversation with another homeschooling mom and she asked what Jacqueline was doing. When I told her she said
something to the effect of “Maybe she’ll be a writer when she grows up”. To which I replied, “She already is a writer”. She paused (and you could see the light bulb going off) as she thought about that, and said “Yes! She is a writer”.

That little shift in thinking has been very helpful to me in unschooling my kids. What she’s doing now is valid and important, not because it may help her when she becomes an adult, not because she may choose that as her career, but because it brings her joy and makes her happy now, right now. She is not an “adult in the making”. She’s exactly where she should be.

So without further ado, here is Jacqueline’s story. She is already working on her second one, which I’ll post when she’d done.

Princess Barbie
by Jacqueline Anne (a 7 year old unschooler)
2006

I love being a princess.” Said Barbie.

Barbie’s tutor came in and said “Princess the queen sent for you”. “Where is she?” said Barbie. “In the throne room” said Ken. Barbie went to the Throne room.
There the queen sat. “Come my dear” said the queen. Barbie hugged the queen. Barbie was surprise to see royal page.

Soon Barbie was heading back to her room when she heard a cry. It was the royal page yelling invader!
“Invader?” asked the princess.
“Yes” said the royal page. “We must hide” said royal page.
So they hid. The invaders lost. They were safe.
The Royal page was nice.

The End.

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My nine year old daughter wants to be an astronaut and she’s passionate about astronomy and space. I’ve learned more about the solar system from her than I ever did in in all my years in school.

A few months ago, she and my husband (I call them the two space cadets  -lol) were watching Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks and there’s a scene where they were using math concepts to figure out how to bring the capsule back to Earth. Jacqueline asked Billy to pause the movie at a scene that showed the paper they were writing on so she could get a good look at it. She wanted to know what they were doing and what type of math that was.

This started an ongoing discussion about algebra and calculus and since then she’s been asking Billy to explain it to her. He told her that he would look around for a book because he needed to brush up on it himself before he could explain it to her.

That was a couple of months ago and because of other issues going on in our life, he hadn’t gotten around to buying the book yet.

Taking matters into her own hands, (my mother always said – when there’s a will, there’s a way) Jacqueline spotted an algebra text book in a used book store and bought it with her own money.

The other night she asked Billy to read her a bedtime story and when he walked into her room, there she was…all cozy in bed with Sally, the bear she created at Build-A-Bear. She handed Billy the book she had selected…yup, the algebra textbook. She also had a notebook so she could jot down notes.

I couldn’t resist a picture.

Have I mentioned how much I love unschooling recently?

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N is for NOTEBOOKS…both the electronic and the paper kind. They’re both staples in our lives. Shopping lists, notes to each other, writing stories, drawing cartoons, daddy’s ever growing to-do list, phone numbers and much, much more.

S is for spyro, star wars, saddle club books, saturday morning cartoons, star trek, storytelling, space, spy kids and stellaluna.

C is for CHOICES. “You’ve got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you’re not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice”. -Steven D. Woodhull

H is for HOME…our haven…our headquarters.

O is for OUTSIDE! We spend as much time as we want with friends at the park, swimming in our pool, watching the clouds, riding bikes and looking at bugs.

O is for OUTER SPACE – Jacqueline’s passion for space has taken her in many directions like our trip to the Kennedy Space Center where she got to meet an real astronaut, the Orlando Science Center where she viewed Jupiter through a telescope and building a replica of the Apollo rocket with her daddy.

L is for LATE morning sleeping.

** originally posted in 2007**

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I re-read a bit more of Guerrilla Learning by Grace Llewellyn this morning. (You can pick up a copy in our amazon store). She writes about what she considers to be the five “keys” of Guerilla Learning. The first one is opportunity and this is what she has to say.

“Read. Write. Talk. Play music. See dance and theater and paintings. Read poetry, write poetry, get poetry refrigerator magnets. Spend time in nature. Build things. Go to museums-and not as a “class trip”, but for the love of things you find there. If you’re not already doing these things, it’s only because you’ve arranged your life so you don’t have time and you’ve begun to believe that learning is something that happens not in life, but in school.”

I create lots of opportunities for my youngest daughter to explore her interest in space and astronomy. She borrows videos and books from the library. I find interesting web sites for her to browse. I buy space books (I buy good quality and up to date ones and older ones at thrift stores) that she reads over and over again. She and Billy made a planet mobile for her room. We’re planning a day trip to the Kennedy Space Center. She watches astronomy shows on TV.

I think that the other side of this is creating opportunities even when a specific interest is not there. I like to buy computer software and books on a very wide variety of topics and put them on the shelves or in a basket and let the kids know it’s there. One that I bought was software on the Civil War….which they were really interested in.

Later on in that chapter, Grace Llewellyn goes on to say;

“We want our kids to learn not what to think, but how to think. One way to increase your children’s chances of developing this skill is to give them real projects, (not academic exercises) where an outcome in the real world is intended and where the result, (not the assessment of an authority) is the ultimate judge of the projects success.”

And then towards the end of the chapter;

“At the heart of Opportunity is Engagement. Stay passionate, involved and interested in life and in learning. Your enthusiasm will transfer to your kids.”

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Jacqueline likes to take notes when we visit places like this.

These next few pictures were from inside the Butterfly Rainforest. When my mother passed away, we had some of her ashes placed inside a smaller replica of her urn so we could take it with us when we go places she would have enjoyed. We call it travel size mom. I decided to take a picture of her urn and a butterfly landed right next to it.

We left some of her ashes there also. This is a picture of Billy sprinkling some in the garden.

A butterfly landed on Billy’s shoulder.

This butterfly stayed on Shawna’s finger for about 15 minutes while she walked around.

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