First Slingshot Lesson – 10 and 12 year olds
We would come home hungry if we were hunters! Is 10 too young for a slingshot? I know as soon as I got mine as a 12yo, I wanted to break windows. Holy eff did I break a lot of windows – I could do it from far away! You can’t really blame me for […]
Mortal Kombat, Green Screen, Scootering, & Swimming : A Week of Unschool : Episode 4
How fun is unschooling? How beneficial is screen time? How comical is ‘video game violence = violent kids’?
Another great week of education and excitement!
The five year old beat Mortal Kombat Armageddon on the Wii. Leading up to this, and since this happened, there have been several dad-son ‘real life’ battles. They mostly end with me getting to his tickle spot (ribcage) but one, in particular, ended much differently. An accidental headbutt and a bloody lip on dad. He officially Finished me! His little sister is also getting on board. She threw a frisbee at me outside. She said it wasn’t a frisbee, but Kung Lao’s hat! (I haven’t caught on video the super cute way she mimics Scorpion’s ‘GET OVER HERE!’)
Welcome to Parks But No Bathrooms Season
Here in Ontario, parks (at least their bathrooms) are closed in the winter. And into the Spring. No matter if it’s hot for several weeks before the opening date, like it always is.
Remember how convenient that was anyways during diaper years?
You can’t beat this time of year for the park-things to kids ratio, but having some bathrooms around, well, that’s just handy!
Sweetwater : Our Trip to the Sugarbush
What a great time we had here, sorry if it’s too Canadian, eh?
I first thought, ‘well this will be neat for the kids’. I didn’t realize how interesting and fun it would be for them! A short informative tour showcasing modern-day sap collection with hoses and taps compared to the old fashioned way you may be more familiar with…buckets on a tree (I know that’s what I was picturing!)
Meeting a Sloth & Mommy Touching a Snake
We had a great time at the Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo Meet a Sloth event! The biggest downside was it was on March break and there was an ocean of school kids there. Man, they make for a crowded event 🙂
It doesn’t take long after getting in to see how much the staff loves doing what they are doing and are so good with the kids; whether it’s answering their questions ‘at their level’ or artfully avoiding questions in order to maintain the flow of the presentations.
Homeschool : Where You Can Hit Your Students With Bats
I came here to smash you with a bat and feed some geese and I’m all out of birdseed…Strange Math Was Afoot –
Usually when by the river in London, two geese plus birdseed…
Our New Pigeon Family in the Making!
We’re so lucky a season of new unschooling classes just flew in! It’s quite interesting to watch what they are doing in their ‘unwatched and alone’ action…especially in watching how the nest gets built and pressed into shape while they go.
Dam Fun. Dad & Son.
Our second T-shirt day of the season – our first was a month or so ago. (Let’s get with Spring, ammiright?) The great part this time was the high winds. Strangely enough, he seemed to benefit from the wind BOTH ways! When does THAT happen? Sure we have adventures that are enjoyable for both kids, […]
Getting Around : We Now Convoy :D
Razor E90 Electric Scooter : Unicycle Stroller Speed Getting Around : We Now Convoy 😀 i can put heavier stuff up on the roof rack and still push it with one hand while filming with the other now that one of the kids pushes their own weight 🙂 walkie-talkie installed to handlebar so i can […]
Teachers Don’t Need Training. They Can Even Be Five.
“What I like the most about playing dino doctor is teaching her the dino names like you taught me ” – Aidan, 5
I wondered, very briefly, when we had our second kid, isn’t it going to be a lot harder trying to manage two kids learning at different ‘grade levels’? That was quickly replaced with, ‘well, I guess she’ll have two teachers, and he’ll be a teacher of things he learns.’
Obstacles. Three Year Olds are Free. This One Should Be Paying!
What a great place for kids of all ages, even for the adults who bring them! Disclaimer: Most adults come prepared to sit and wait, and the cousins we brought came prepared to hate it, so did 🙂 )
The catchphrase I’ve been hearing lately is ‘soft play’. Let the kids go do whatever they want in the safety of their injury-free environment. I suggest hard play for every child.
A Broken Keyboard
We had to replace the keyboard. What to do with the old one? Take it apart!
Lots of screws to unscrew, and lots mysteries to unravel.
Unicycling : Getting Closer and Closer!
We had a ‘big’ dose of unicycle lessons recently. By big dose, I mean about 20 minutes of practice over a few days. It was a push to see if he could get it before he turned six. He’s not there yet, but it will only be a few more tries…he’ll get it next month for sure…if he wants to…I don’t actually care if he does or not…as long as he keeps practicing whenever…there’s so many other ways they are both being active, it’s low on everyone’s list.
Five Year Old’s Unicycle Progress Report : Leany. Having Fun.
When cardio is leaning on a wall for a few minutes
A Day of Pool Firsts
Swimming lessons?? Unschoolers call it ‘swimming’.
Before heading over to gramma’s for another swim (and snack from gramma’s snack drawer) I reminded the new goggler how little time he spent under the water on his trips under the surface. I figured it was because he was fighting buoyancy and had not learned how to keep himself down.
I then realized he probably had no idea how long he could hold his breath for…
A Week of Unschool : Episode 2
We had another fun week. It was winter jackets and snow at the beginning and no coat scootering at the end of it. We went to the library and were excited to see they added two ipads to the computer section. The three year old went with me to get the cars and trains for the car and train table and wanted to return them before setting them up after I said ‘huh, oh look, they have ipads like at gramma’s library!’
I’m So Glad We Found Out About Skateparks! (for non-skateboarding kids)
We’ve been to three different skate parks in our city so far. (London, Ontario) There looks to be siz or seven that we will be sure to check out. (they call Victoria Park one, but meh…it’s mostly just some concrete blocks and broken glass)
The kids just get there and play. Scooters, little bikes, and just running…we’ll be back often. Whatever risks the kids are comfortable with (or are almost comfortable with) are right there. Have you heard about Parkour? (Where people jump from building to building and do crazy flips and things off of structures). Skateparks offer a great introduction to
Unschool Obstacles
Do you know if your city has an indoor obstacle course or climbing-type place? I just happened to see a post in a facebook group…I would never have known about this little gem!
CTC Obstacles is in London, Ontario. An old warehouse turned climbing/swinging/playing facility!
Same Place, Different Discoveries
Our plan was to climb ‘Big Hilly Climby’ and go for a scooter ride through the forest – well, at least if I was making a lesson plan for the day, it would have only had those two bullet points.
Can you stay back, dad? I’m going to do this.
A perfect example of unschooling? I think so!
The five year old was watching youtube. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t about some lady opening toys! He asked if we could do a science experiment…but we needed a syringe and we didn’t have that.
I let him know Walmart probably had them, and I knew of the general area where they might be.
“We need to ask someone if we don’t know where something is,” he reminded me.
