Enjoy Life Unschooling

I've always wanted to attend an unschooling conference and this September we attended one that was local.

The conference was at a wonderful campground with hiking trails, rocks to climb, and cabins. We skipped the sleepover part, but went for each day.

Jess and I enjoyed the conference, but Henry didn't like it very much. Fortunately, Kelric was nearby and drove Henry home so Jess and I could stay late into the night roasting marshmallows and talking with new and old friends. We went for just a little the next day and Henry found a few kids that were interested in playing Super Mario on the DS.

For Jess and I, the highlight of the trip was being able to connect with several unschooling families in our local group. We realized that both the moms and kids had many shared interests and it was fun hanging out together.

It was also fun for me to meet some new faces and attend a few of the talks. I really liked hearing about people's perspectives and how they unschooled in their lives. Homeschooling and unschooling is so unique to all of us!

Jess led her own funshop called "No Sew Doll Clothes." She has been making all sorts of doll and Webkinz clothes for her dolls and shared this with mostly tween girls. Her funshop was really well received and she will likely do something like this again. We also brought glow sticks to share and Jess organized a rather large parade around the campground.

We learned all sorts of new information: how to Henna, species of flora and fauna, how to make the perfect Hula Hoop, how to roast a marshmallow over a very large fire, and how to just relax and enjoy life.

Ironically, I came away from this conference realizing that the math and language arts we do in a formal way were really good for *our* family. I also realized that while I was slowly trying some more concepts of Radical Unschooling, we were needing more structure in our lives. While I love the idea of natural learning and I do love to support my kids many interests, I have come to realize that for now, we are all happier with a more structured approach. Our first priority is still play and connection, but we are benefiting greatly from *me* being more clear about meeting all of our needs and goals in an organized way.

We all still love our unschooling friends and hope to do more of these fun types of outings in the future.