Wednesday 22 July 2009

Fun with Chicagweigians

Rachel and co. are spending a post RU Fun week with us... the first few days they got to clean the house but after that it has been a steady stream of beach visits - including a late night/ starlit/ naked (one of us) swim in the lake - as well as a downtown adventure day. Effie is determined to make every second count despite the fact that what she probably needs most right now is a day spent under the covers.

Cheap car wash labour...


Troll under the trail:


At the bug zoo with a strange lady giving Otto major laser-eyes-of-doom...


On the little boat:


Ice cream at Fisherman's wharf:


Ferg classing-up the Empress:


You gotta work hard to get to the good beaches around here...



The requisite easter egg hunt:

4 comments:

MMmommy said...

makes me kinda jealous that we left :)

Rachel said...

yeah, that woman at the bug zoo was completely freaked out by all the bugs and didn't want to touch ANYTHING. she probably couldn't believe such a sweet little thing like otto was the first to reach out for every opportunity to hold one of them.

Positively Orphaned said...

Just came across your blog through the unschooling conference link. Sort of "researching" it to see if it's right for us. Looks like tons of fun, that's for sure! I guess my only concern at this point is if our (someday) kids decide they want to go to M.I.T. (or whatever), that they will have the option to gain entrance. Are there any families that you know of with kids past the age of 18 who I can talk to about this? Or is there any compiled research data anywhere online? Thanks!

balloonatikmama said...

"Someday" kids entering college is a LONG way off. Even actual kids entering college is a LONG way off for many of us. You can take your time. No decision you make at the start needs to be forever. You can relax a little and let your (and your kids') life unfold.

The attitude towards homeschoolers at the admission offices of most colleges has changed enormously in the last 10 years and will change again in the next 10. Some now even actively recruit homeschoolers.

The teen unschoolers I know are poised and confident and when they want something, they make it happen. They are not limited to the "ordinary" route most folks take to get where they want to be, they are imaginative and creative and figure it out - should one of them want to go to MIT, I have no doubt they would study what they needed to study and find some way for admissions to accommodate them.

But an unschooler's life is not an ordinary life, and many choose different paths than the ones that were conventional when we were growing up. The world is their oyster and not much holds them back when they are ready to jump!

Get to know some families, go to a conference or regional gathering or park day - find your local unschoolers and get to know them. I think that will give you more information than any data could.

There are lists you can join to talk online with actual unschoolers:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlwaysLearning/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/

There are many opportunities for teen unschoolers (and no doubt more to come):
http://nbtsc.org/home.htm
http://theautodidactsymposium.com/start.htm
http://eligerzon.com/traveltours.php

Good luck with your research!