May and ARGH

In May, many MUGS attendees will be attending ARGH in Eastern TN, so there is no separate Gathering planned. I am trying to plan something near Ocean City for June, but nothing firm yet. Have a good month!

Review of Charlottesville Gathering

Oh, we had fun, yes we did! Folks did what they choose on Sunday (Mitchie's Tavern, Downtown Charlottesville, setting up at the campground, etc.) afternoon, and those of us from out of town met up at the campground mid afternoon. After everyone was set up, we enjoyed a pot luck dinner, cooking over the fire, playing, henna application (Thanks!), and making new friends. The next day, everyone helped each other get ready to go and facilitate play so we could head over the the Frontier Culture Museum. We started off in an Igbo village where learned about their culture, the kids prepared mud balls with their bare feet and hands, and threw them onto the wall of the second wife's house that we helped build. After getting shod again, we headed over the the English settlement where there was a fair amount of musket firing and information sharing. Pairs of kids got to work together to saw pieces off large logs, just as if they were thinking of getting married (do you work well together?). After that, we freely wandered the rest of the cultures, enjoyed a picnic in the shade, and headed home. Thanks to everyone for coming and we will see many of you next month at ARGH at Roan Mountain, TN!

Charlottesville - Where should we eat lunch?

On Monday, we will be heading to the Frontier Culture Museum from 10-12 noon. After that, where should we eat lunch together? Staunton has a lot of really cool sounding farm-to-table restaurants, but most of them (e.g. Staunton Grocery, Zynadoa, Mockingbird) are not open mondays. So here are the choices for monday lunch that I found are:

The Depot Grille
Cranberry's Grocery and Eatery (we have actually eaten here but their web site seems to be down)
The Dining Room

There is of course a wide variety of chain restaurants and various fast food types of places, mostly by US 81.

Slight change of plans! - Charlottesville

Ack! It was gently pointed out to me that the Dogwood Festival Carnival does not start until monday! I know it was different when I planned the Charlottesville MUGS event, but things do change :-) So now, let's try this:

Sunday afternoon: Let's meet up at the Charlottesville Downtown Mall. This is an outdoor, historic, pedestrian mall with lots of cool things to see and do. If you have young children, there is a children's museum: Virginia Discovery Museum and Sunday April 11 is their Pay-What-You-Can day. Live music at The Southern Cafe and Music Hall by the Honey DewDrops (tickets $10) begins at 1:30 pm. There is a movie theater and here are the show times for Sunday. And there is a plethora of shops and places to eat.

We can also check in at the campground starting at 1 pm, so at any old time we can go to the campground, play, and get ready for dinner!

Charlottesville, VA Gathering

Updated: 3/12/10 @ 8:35 am

We are heading to Charlottesville, Virginia for our next unschooler gathering. We will be playing, camping, and learning together for two whole days! Here's the plan:

Sunday April 11, 2010: attend the Charlottesville Dogwood Festival's Carnival from 1-6 pm [tickets are $1/each or armband for $20]. We will meet at the carnival (bring the cell # list!) around 1 pm.

Sunday evening: potluck dinner and open fire cookout; we encourage you to bring games or other activities to share; we have the use of a large indoor gathering room at no additional charge; game room and basketball court also available

Sunday Night Lodging: Cabin or tent camp at the Misty Mountain Camp Resort in Charlottesville; tent sites are ~$33/nt; cabins require 2 night stay; available cabins are #5 (sleeps 8, $119/nt), #9 (sleeps 8, $119/nt) and maybe more

** When you make your reservation - be sure to ask for a space near site #49 and cabin 6.

Monday: Campground checkout time is noon. We will visit the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, VA then eat somewhere TBD before heading home. At the FCM, we have the following plan:

Arrival @ 9:30 am
Early To Rise Program from 10 am - noon
First Hour: Frontier Settlement where there will be hands on activities and tools to experience.
Second Hour: West Africa including the unique opportunity to participate in Puddling, a method of home construction. Students will need to wear clothing that they don't mind getting dirty/staining. Shorts are suggested clothing. With their bare feet students will mix mud. Once mixed to the right consistency, students will roll the mud into balls, form a human chain, and pass it along so it can be thrown into the wall. Once done there will be water to wash off residual mud but only a bath/shower really helps.


Care to join us! Email me

Lasertag!

Join unschoolers for an afternoon of great fun. On Tuesday March 2, 2010 from 12-3 pm we will play lasertag at Shadowland Adventures in Chantilly, VA. After that, for those who don't want to beat the traffic home, we can head over to the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for some airplanes, space shuttles, airplane watching, and maybe an IMAX movie. I am sure that at some point there will be eating involved as well. Feel free to RSVP so we know who to expect. A core group of families with kids 6-13 will surely be there, and maybe teens as well!

Enjoy Life Unschooling Conference!

Have you heard of the Enjoy Life Unschooling Conference yet? This September for a cool 2 days, come and Enjoy Life with unschoolers of all ages in the mountains near Frederick, Maryland. We will have fabulous speakers, chat sessions, and funshops to fill your days. In the evening, there will be a campfire with music, s'mores, and storytelling while inside our coffeehouse will feature an open mic, a service project to help animals enjoy their lives, henna to decorate your body, crafts, and games. Registration is quite inexpensive for a conference, so come on and join us!