Thursday, February 26, 2009

Radical Unschooler Weekend #1

At the recent Unschoolers Winter Waterpark Gathering in Ohio, I got some sage advice from Live and Learn Conference Goddess Kelly Lovejoy. She said the best way to get together with other unschoolers is to give them a reason to get together. She mentioned that she has tons of unschooling families regularly visiting their home. When I asked how she made that happen, she smiled and said "I just invite them!" She advised me to do the same. So here I am - inviting all you radical unschoolers to my house for the weekend...

When? March 21/22, 2009 and a few days before or after as you wish

Where? The Conner/Roscello house in LaPlata, Maryland - south of Washington DC, a rural setting (1.5 acres) on a quiet neighborhood road



Who? Unschoolers of all ages - bring the whole family since this gathering is over a weekend

About your hosts We have been participating and encouraging our children's individual learning since they were born. We stopped trying to get them to learn what someone else thought they should learn about 2 years ago. We embraced the radical version of unschooling over a year ago. We went to our first unschooling conference - Live and Learn - in September 2008. We were hooked and happily attended the UWWG at the beginning of February 2009.

Our family consists of Zoa (the mom), Walter (the dad), Evan (10 year old boy) and Maia (5 year old girl). Zoa is into green living, cooking local & organic food, and is currently watching the entire season of West Wing. Walter is a cyclist, a physicist, a reader, and loves his quiet space. Evan loves kicking butt with nerf guns and games like Halo and Call of Duty, watching videos of all sorts, and physical stuff like ice skating, gymnastics, etc. Maia is a writer, a gymnast, and a lover of all things green.

Where can we stay? We want this to be a low cost gathering for everyone. We have several rooms for guest families and several beds. You are welcome to bring sleeping bags; we have plenty of room in the house. You can camp outside (we have 1.5 acres). We can direct you towards the local hotels (2 are less than 10 minutes away). There are three campgrounds with electric hookups within about 20 minutes of our house. If you are local enough to drive home for sleeping, please do join us during when you are awake!

What will we do? The options are almost endless ... come hang out, chat, eat, play board and video games, fight in a Nerf war, play outside, jump on a trampoline, knit, expose us to your musical tastes, take a walk in the woods or on the local rail trail, play soccer, create some art, take a bike ride, and anything else you'd like to do with some new and old friends.

What's the schedule?
You choose what to do and how long you can spend with us.
  • Friday 3/20
    noon-2 pm -- possible ice skating ($7 each including rentals)
    6 pm -- pot luck dinner
    8-10 pm -- possible Rock N Skate (ice skating - $12 including rentals, games, prizes, etc.)
  • Saturday 3/21
    late morning Artist Trading Cards party
    afternoon Potomac River beach visit or indoor swimming ($3 or $4 each)
    pizza dinner (everyone pitch in towards cost)
  • Sunday 3/22
    morning Bike Ride (weather permitting)
    afternoon Nerf War
    dinner plans TBD
  • Monday 3/23
    possible Smithsonian Museum visit (Natural History?)

If there is interest, we can arrange a group tour of the Dr. Samuel Mudd House (the doctor who patched up John Wilkes Booth on his escape from assassinating President Lincoln).

What do you need to bring?
  • A pot luck dish for Friday evening dinner

  • Pizza money

  • Food contributions (your choice) towards breakfasts and snacks that will be available

  • Lunch will be planned each morning based on people's desires. I will try and have more space than usual in the refrigerator (no 2nd fridge).

  • We have an xbox (not 360) with 4 working controllers, a Wii with 3 controllers, and a TV for each (one with DVD player). Feel free to bring more systems or your favorite games.

  • Empty boot boxes or beanie babies for a service project to benefit the Humane Society of Charles County


Who will be there? I am sure you will want to know who will be coming. I will let you know as I hear from people including the dates they expect to join us...

RSVP Requested Looking forward to seeing you all in March. Don't forget to email me to RSVP or ask questions

Radically Yours,
Zoa

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