Firestarting : Unschooling At Night
Excitement from the time he helped me move the wheelbarrow till he put it out like Marshall with a hose #pawPatrol
She was asleep on the couch. He was almost asleep beside her. He got up and got outside as fast as possible.
Advantage Unschool : Skate Parks During School Hours
We didn’t even come here to run, we came to scooter. I had to ask them if they were ready to put their gear on and ride yet..before they tired themselves out!
During school hours, no one is there. Kids as young as brand new crawlers can have a blast here with so many slopes and angles and risk levels.
First Time Randomly Bumping Into Unschoolers – Six Hours Away
Turns out the hens that came in through the treeline also lived with some unschoolers! We showed them about slacklines, they showed us turkeys!
Interesting fact about city kids: They’ll pick up an axe if they see one and you’ve never said ‘don’t pick up an axe’!
Bugs: No Need For Compassion
They hadn’t gotten to interact with so many of them before, they were quite impressed; hopping things have always seemed to hop away before we could investigate. They know exactly what a frog jumping into the swamp right before we get there looks and sounds like
Unschooling? Why You Should Pull Over
It would have been great for the kids to go in and get a tour of what they do there…but also there was a sideroad that we could pull over on and let the kids out. They were pretty impressed!!
LLamas, goats, alpacas, donkeys, reindeer, sheep, pigs, horses… There’s also GIANT DANDELIONS on that side road!
Instant Exercise with a Side of Science : Slacklining
Slacklining allows a person to quickly and consistently experience and work against a range of stresses and forces that our bodies are fighting against all the time…without the advantage of the ground’s stability! One of the reasons you don’t really pay attention to all these forces throughout your day is because the ground you are walking on or the chair you are sitting in is stable. The ground is pushing up on the chair with the same force you are pushing down on it…but on a slackline, what you are pushing down against is flexible. And wobbly.
Anything + Fitness
Hey, go run to that tree and back!
Wow, great job!
Hey, go run to that tree and back!
What is your favourite way to incorporate exercise into your day?
This is an example from just a 10 minute break
Unsocializing? Unicycling, For Example
Among the many unschooling and life benefits that come from unicycling is the socializing. (one of the other ones is that if you can physically walk and have access to a unicycle, you have all you need to be able to do it)
What’s the first thing people think about when trying to get your kids more socializing? Sports. Sign them up for soccer or baseball, right? Not necessarily!
Unschooling : Where Unicycling Lessons Turn Into Ballet Experience
I don’t want to make their unicycle lessons feel like ‘lessons’. So we bring them out with us to places here and there and get a minute or two more of practice.
You may or may not be a unicyclist if you are reading this. If you are, you would notice how naturally he’s picking his unicycle off the ground and placing it under him. Learning to unicycle is often compared to dropping your unicycle 1000 times then you can ride it…that’s not entirely accurate, but it’s close!)
Don’t Run Too Fast Down a Hill, Like I’ve Been Saying For Years
I figured he understood not going too fast down a hill, I’ve told him several times throughout the years (at hills) and always made sure to keep him going slow. (just in case)
Well, today just in case happened. He outran his own legs in a couple of strides and was out of control.
Why There Is No Recess At Unschool
Why separate learning from play?
Here was a neat little impromptu climbing adventure on the way home from our adventure. The trees along our river are quite large and old. Seems one of them had gotten struck by lightning recently and had been started to be taken away. Clearly only a several-day job; we had to experience it now, if we ever..haha..wood.
Multitasking: Taking Toys & Things Outside
Little kids love (well, whatever you teach them to love, in this case, toys and instruments) toys and instruments. They also love the playing down by the river. (The nitrate-heavy, city-gross, unswimmable river) Dad loves to unicycle. Sounds like a plan!
Low Water & High Grass at the Swamp
Ooooh, look at this! I taped a strainer to a pole. Let’s go see what the bottom of the swamp looks like!
It was almost summer time and there were big differences at the swamp. The water was clearly lower, and the grass and other vegetation had massive growth. The last time we came here was less than a month ago, fast changes!
There Are More Advantages to Pop Research than Pop Quizzes.
Here’s a nice little gem we found on our way to mom’s work, a lake surrounded by trees and a walking path, nestled near the industrial area of town.
A little section of nature that I had passed by countless times over the years. It wasn’t open to cycling, why would I ever pop in?
Because now I have kids!
Freemount Attempt: Toddler’s Continuing Unicycle Journey
Here is the first time she wanted to try it outside…She wanted to bring her unicycle and bubbles. (He brought a unicycle and a ball)
Initially, with him, I thought it would be great to see how young I could get him riding one. I quickly lost interest in that for a variety of reasons.
When Things Don’t Go According To Plan
There were several great examples of unschooling here. We went to our local dam to check it out. What would they be interested I wondered; water levels? water pressure? lake/river transition? Height? Cement and steel? I figured I’d show it to them from the road up top, and then drive them down the road to see it from the bottom.
Night Time Adventures
Kids tossing and turning? Just can’t get them to go to sleep? Go out and learn!
The world is a different place at night. I found a $20-$30 LED worklight, and brought it outside once when I couldn’t find one of their flashlights. It has a stand on it, and it has sparked many ‘can we do a night time adventure?’ long before they are tossing and turning!
30 Seconds of Unicycling, 20 Minutes of Unschooling
So I ask the the five and almost three year old, ‘Anyone want to make a giant unicycle shadow video out in the dark?’
I told them it would not be dark enough for 20 minutes. I thought it was going to take me 10 minutes to get ready, but it took 20, with two live shadows on me the whole time…they were excited.
Thin Strip of Forest and a Lake in a City After the Rain
We had a great little adventure in a neat place we found on our way to pick up mom from work…so we go a little early and get some ‘great outdoors’. I didn’t think about bringing the bug spray as it has usually been pretty ‘annoying bug-free’ the times we went.
A Walking Stick For Climbing in the Forest?
The toddler must have seen walking sticks on youtube or something. During one of her hill climbs, she picked it up and started using it like it would help her 🙂
It’s funny, she knows not to throw sticks, to play with sticks, and to run with sticks.
