unschooling

Monday

We are home and back to our routine (if I can call our go-with-the-flow days routine) after a wonderful visit with family in Washington over Christmas filled with jokes, hugs, games of all varieties and lots of good food. I asked Lilah if she was happy to be home and she said, “Yes, because my green bean bag is at home and I LOVE it!” It was one of her solstice gifts from Chris and I and it is indeed well loved thus far.

This morning Lilah slept in after being a bit sick still and a long, long drive back from Washington Saturday- Sunday. Gavin and I started making pancakes and then when she woke up she helped too.

They played with their new lego set and their old lego sets. They acted out some scenes from Harry Potter and used various lego people parts to make a Dumbledore.

Lilah got out her window suncatcher set and we peeled off the butterfly she made before we left to put on our window.

It looks very bright with the snow coating everything gray and white outside.

While I went outside and shoveled snow from our steps and sidewalk, the kids played No Stress Chess together – a variation on chess where each player draws a card before playing each turn that tells her/him which piece to move (and also illustrates the way each piece moves). It makes the game more accessible and more random and they both seem to be really enjoying it.

After several games, the chess game evolved. Animals were added, with new powers. There was a borrower who borrowed things. There was a story-teller. I love watching them create together.

Gavin played with his Praxinoscope animation kit. It spins and the pictures go around and if you look through the opening on the side it looks like a moving animation of the individual images. In Gavin’s words: “It has a mirror that reflects the pictures from the flat part. The (view piece) is rectangular so it blocks out the other pictures and you only see one.”

We read some poems by Liliane Moore and Sudeep Sen.

The kids set up Lilah’s new Wildcraft game, a cooperative game about herbs, particularly healing herbs and started a game but didn’t get far before dinner time.

I read some more of a new book called Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles by Rupert Kingfisher. I thought it would be perfect for Lilah and got it for the trip to Washington and we’re in the middle of it, having started reading it up there. It is charming and empowering story of a girl who likes to cook.

unschooling

Wednesday

There was Animal Jam on the computer together. Then more lego Hero Factory play.

We visited Gilgal Gardens, a local historic outdoor sculpture garden depicting LDS founders.

It’s quite strange and marvelous. I captured some portals in Ingress while we explored.

Once we got home Gavin and I baked snickerdoodles which he’s been asking about for days while Lilah finally got started on knitting on her circular knitting loom which she’s been wanting to do for months and months.

She needed quite a bit of help to begin and support along the way while dealing with accidents and whatnot but she spent at least an hour straight working on it and has an inch or so of a lovely purple hat to show for it.

Gavin arranged the word and letter magnets on the fridge in a visual poem.

Gavin read a few pages of George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl to us while Lilah continued to knit.

I amused the three of us by putting Lilah’s sunglasses on our pug.

Then we adventured to the park to enjoy the last of the light and the kids played at the playground and hid behind trees.

Our Spiral Scouts holiday party was next. We had some great time with friends capped by a game of Settlers of Catan, which Gavin is always jumping out of his skin to play with our friend who is equally obsessed.

unschooling

Wednesday

Lilah rediscovered a Winnie the Pooh lamp that I had in my room when I was a kid and was looking at how it’s put together this morning.

After some lego play and pop bead story telling, the kids and I spent a lot of time playing Ingress.

It’s a brand new game to us, where you walk and capture portals which are located in specific places so you have to move to them in the real world. We did a mission which was walking along the trail to Ensign Peak. It was fun and good to be out, even though it was chilly, especially up on the very top of Ensign Peak!

We enjoyed seeing the city from way up high and reading about early settlers in the valley. Unfortunately you can’t see our house from the top because we’re right below a hill that juts above but we spotted the University and the temple and the Capitol building.

At home, we played Hedbanz, a game where you have to guess what you are without asking “What am I”? Instead you ask things like, “Am I an animal”? “What letter do I start with”? We laughed quite a bit. The kids got better at their question strategies. Gavin’s first card to figure out was purse and Lilah’s was key.

We read some more of Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. Gavin is enjoying that and Lilah is getting bits and pieces here and there. They are both intrigued by the idea of communicating with animals, as I am. They have been talking about that idea together more since we’ve been reading this, though they both have always loved animals.

We did some more rhyming with Hickory Dickory Dock.

After we’d spent much of our energy walking around, we watched a documentary called CaveDigger by Jeffrey Karoff about Ra Paulette’s life digging and carving caves solo in New Mexico.

It was fascinating, though some of the interpersonal dynamics included weren’t as interesting as the story of how and why he digs. The website for the film is: http://cavediggerdocumentary.com/index.html.

Later on we adventured up to the Capitol grounds with Dad for a bit more Ingress.

unschooling

Monday

The kids set up a lego restaurant with dishes, tables, customers and a menu.

We watched a crew clean our street and then cover the cracks with tar. I asked the kids why they thought they cleaned the street first. Lilah said, “To get rid of the dirt”. Gavin added, “Because it wouldn’t stick with the dirt on it”. Then we talked about what happens if water from snow gets in cracks in the road and then freezes (and expands).

We worked on some Makit plate designs for holiday gifts. They will make plates with the designs the kids draw and color. The ones from years past are some of our favorite plates to use around here! Gavin drew an owl with wind, tornado, crown and jewels. Lilah drew several cats. They both have a particular interest in those animals right now, which is fun.

Gavin and I solved a sudoku puzzle with his Chocolate Fixx set while Lilah was still working on her drawings.

When she finished we played a game of Magic The Gathering. It’s a very complicated game and not really something Lilah can grasp fully, or even Gavin for that matter, but they enjoy playing it at the stage they are at now and it has so much to think about: math, strategy, order of phases in your turn, lots of new vocabulary, art on the cards.

Lilah and I drove over to her gymnastics class

while Gavin stayed home and built a lego spaceship and watched an episode of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

unschooling

Monday

Gavin watched Pokemon and played on coolmathgames.com this morning. When Lilah got up she played a game on cool math games and Gavin helped her.

We went to the library to return some books and find new ones to borrow. They each picked a few and I picked a few and they sat down to read while I finished. Then we stopped to pick up a few things at the grocery store before coming home.

I read some more of Matilda to the kids while Lilah cuddled with me and Gavin built with legos.

Lilah and I played several games of Rat-A-Tat-Cat and she won every time including one time when she managed to get only zeros (the best possible card)! Gavin read some magazines while she and I played.

After that Gavin and I played Chess together.

We worked on a puzzle with barns, carriages and hot air balloons.

Lilah made a few things out of our tangram blocks.

Gavin rested (he’s not feeling so great today) while Lilah and I did some Bollywood dancing (dance moves inspired by Bollywood films of India) before dinner was ready.

unschooling

Thursday

There was more perler bead making, this time they began making pieces to be made into a garland later.

I printed out a few math worksheets for both kids and left them on the table, telling them they could work on them if they wanted to, if it sounded fun. They both did some during lunch time and then Gavin helped Lilah with hers a bit later on as well. She would be in first grade this year but is more at a second grade level in math and it makes me happy to be able to meet her where she is with material and interests.

We went roller skating at the other place with the slippery floor and ramps!

When we got home it was time to pick Gavin’s friend up for play time. They played Connect 4, Chess, The Hobbit lego game, and they built a marble maze.

Gavin was thrilled to see his friend who was over today as it’s been a while since they last played and they have been friends since they were five. It’s always great to get the two together as they have a long history of fun.

unschooling

Friday

They began with playing coolmathgames.com.

Then they moved on to Lego play, interspersed with a game they made up with one of them as puppeteer and controls the other one’s movements.

We made some mini donuts for breakfast.

We played a few games of Chess an Lilah did some gymnastics.

After that we headed off to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Here they are watching themselves appear on a screen in front of them.

They climbed and slid. They put on puppet shows and made stop motion animation movies. They explored the Magic Shop. They spun and zip-lined.

On the drive to and from we listened to a recording of Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones, one of our favorite movies as well as an excellent book.

When we got home, there was just enough time for a game of Mermaid’s Island for the kids while dinner was finished up.

unschooling

Wednesday

There was Katamino playing and building. In Katamino you race against your opponent to fill your box completely without leaving spaces. You each get a certain set of blocks. It’s a bit like Tetris but with real blocks. Plus, you can build animals out of the blocks after your game. Lilah made a pony with mane and tail. And then there was Mermaid Island playing, a cooperative game.

They played in their world populated today by Lego creatures and landscapes. They spend quite a bit of time deciding what kinds of pieces to use for what. Here I think they are looking for parts for a dog they are going to make.

Gavin and I played Chess. We finished two games and then Lilah wanted to play with me. In the game with Lilah there was lots of knocking pieces over on purpose along with explaining how different pieces move. Gavin’s gotten a whole lot better than last year at anticipating moves and seeing possibilities, but our games are still very lopsided. I will often point out to him that he’s moving into a dangerous position to help us both enjoy it more and give him a better chance. I have many fond memories of playing Chess when I was younger and often feeling quite frustrated by my own abilities not being what I wanted them to be.

Gavin requested again that we get No Stress Chess which is a set of cards that levels the playing field by telling you which piece to move every turn. I definitely think it would be fun to do that with the kids when they are just beginning to get the idea of the game.

Then it was time to go roller skating. Today the kids both skated on their own for about a half hour before wanting the balance supports the rink offers. They are doing great but I think they get tired and then prefer the supports because it’s more fun to worry less about falling. Pretty soon they’ll be zooming around me out on the rink. They’re getting close! We like to give high fives as we skate past each other.

After skating we came home and had dinner together and then read another chapter of Searching For Dragons before bed.

unschooling

Tuesday

Gavin played Lego Chima on the computer. Then they watched Pokemon and Leapfrog: Amazing Alphabet.

There was Magformers and pony play. Then breakfast and more pony play.

“Let’s play Real Ninjago but in the real world.” “Okay!” They play Real Ninjago almost every day together. It’s a pretend game based loosely on Lego Ninjago, but populated with whatever characters/environments/challenges strike their fancy that day: dragons, Pippi Longstocking, poisonous plants, slavery. Sometimes they use toys as characters, sometimes it’s just oral. They negotiate together and tell a story that weaves their many interests together. It’s a beautiful thing to watch. I’m not ever invited to play and I’m glad that it’s their world, just for the two of them.

Then we began a big project: cleaning out and organizing the kids’ closet. It’s mostly toys, supplies in there rather than clothes though there are some of those too. We took everything out. The kids loved this part as they found long-lost favorite toys.

We sorted things into groups. We have a big pile of things to keep, another big pile of things to give away to bring someone else joy, and a few things that the kids aren’t excited about using but we will keep for other friends or perhaps Gavin and Lilah’s kids someday. The kids did most of the work of pulling everything out, making decisions, putting things back in their places with my assistance. I got to take several armfulls out to the recycling and garbage bins, but other than that they did most of it. Now the closet is organized and cleaner and the kids should be able to find what they’re interested in pulling out and able to put it back when they’re done. Woohoo!

Lilah and I picked tomatillos, serranos, carrots and cherry tomatoes.

After lunch, we pulled out a bunch of games from the closet to the game shelf in our living room and put some in the closet. It’s fun to switch what’s out. We played with our stacking tops and then Lilah and Gavin decided to play Connect 4 and spent several hours trying different approaches and techniques.

I left for a hike on my own for an hour or so. It’s been more a struggle than I had expected to have bits of time on my own. I find that I feel guilty, more than I used to when we were not unschooling, if I am not with the kids, even when I know it’s not a problem. However, it’s important for me to just be alone here and there, just explore my own thoughts without interruption. It helps me feel happier and healthier and be more present with the kids when I am with them. I enjoyed spotting butterflies and enjoying the sights and smells and sounds of fall. The clouds in the sky swirled like the top of a latte when I was walking back down the road. When I got home the kids were playing together and had the chess set out.

Then it was time for Lilah and I to drive to her gymnastics class and Gavin and Dad to play Civilization and make Palaak Tofu for dinner. That’s an Indian dish with spinach that usually uses Paneer, an Indian cheese, but we use tofu instead. Yum!

unschooling

Friday

There was computer play followed by tumbling and nest making. They brought blankets and pillows out and made their own cozy space.

They wrestled.

The Goldie Blox sets were opened and stories were read and blocks built with.

We did some Spanish together – more animal and food words. Soy un vegetariana.

We watched an episode of Cosmos: a Spacetime Odyssey.

Next we headed to the rink to roller skate. This was the kids second time roller skating and they were still working hard to get it, but enjoyed it nonetheless. They began without the balance supports and did a few laps and then when they got tired and frustrated with that we rented the supports and they had a ball twirling around in the middle of the rink. I skated too and realized I need to learn how to stop better. We skated for a good hour and a half before heading for home and dinner and family time and bedtime.

Yes is a World

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