My Minnesota Photos, 2013

This is a link to all the photos I took while I was in Minnesota. All that I didn't delete for being too fuzzy or weird, anyway. 🙂

There are none of the symposium! I didn't know people well enough to be snapping photos of them, but next year I might feel differently! And we ARE planning a next year!

Some are self-explanatory, and for some no explanation will help, but if there's anything you really wonder about, leave a note below, or there, or e-mail me. 🙂 I will attempt to justify my pixelating actions.


Click Here to open photo gallery; click upper right, then to exit.


You'll see some of those on Just Add Light over the next few months. The one of the eagle in the water was used already.

Respect and acceptance are more important than test scores and "performance." Understanding is more important than recitation.

What doesn't show is that it was a rescue eagle in the river for an outing, and not a wild eagle I happened to catch. Still, it's an honest picture, lifted from an honest little video.

I always like to see what visitors to New Mexico photograph. I forget sometimes what's pretty until I see what other people got excited about. (No guarantee on my stuff to be representative of pretty, but do note the artful arrangement of the deer carcass, and how the cat's face and the preemie calf's face nearly matched! (And from that perspective, their size, too.)

A language link I think I said I would provide

I just had the vague thought this morning that I had agreed to bring this link to some group of people. I asked on facebook. Alex and Steve remembered, and Steve thinks it was the MN conference, so here it is just in case. :-)

It's a collection of links to Bible passages that are interesting in one way or another, but aren't religious, that might be of interest to people wanting some exposure to the language of those days.

This was created to help (and amuse) people who were writing pseudo-Renaissance scroll texts and ceremonies within the Society for Creative Anachronism. Renaissance-ish. but for people who weren't familiar with Shakespeare or with the King James Bible, it can be way-difficult-to-impossible.

Reading the Bible Without Fear of Religion

Ælflæd of Duckford is my SCA name. My medievalesque name. :-)

2014—again?

Alex is looking for a hotel in Rochester for another gathering next year. We will NOT conflict with the statewide conference in Wisconsin this time.

I'll be back, and it's very likely that Pam Laricchia will be there in person with her THREE books. There aren't three yet, but should be by next summer. :-)

We're looking at the middle of May, 2014, so please save the vague date, if you're interested.

About not rushing (for new unschoolers)

I wish I'd had this to read when someone talked about removing all limits at once! It's perfect. It was posted to the Always Learning list today:

We've been unschooling for nearly 3 years now and the one thing I really wish I had done differently was to ease into it. I had a tendency to be all-or-nothing, and that way of doing things really created some struggles that I think could have been avoided if, instead of dropping all rules, we had simply started to say yes more while I continued to read here and get a better understanding of how to apply the principles of unschooling.

Because of my all-or-nothing approach, we made too many big changes way too fast, and then had to come back toward the middle and find balance, which was very difficult for our whole family, but especially for my now 7 year old, who I think felt very confused and angry for quite some time, as she felt that her world was in turmoil.

If I could give you any advice it would be to hear what Sandra means when she says, "Read a little, try a little, wait a while, watch." Small changes seem to lend themselves to the ability to find balance and harmony in family and life, without causing unnecessary pain. Big changes can make everyone feel off-balance and frightened.

Amy Jackson

Anyone who's not a member of Always Learning might want to consider joining. It's a serious discussion, so don't jump in too quickly! Ease in gradually.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlwaysLearning/

I will ease out gradually, but will leave this blog as a souvenir for people who attended the symposium. :-)

"Sweet and patient" (and thank you)

It's Monday morning, and I'm doing my final packing. I enjoyed the weekend here, and the days before that at Alex's farm!

I have some praise to share with the rest of the group:

At breakfast I thanked the restaurant manager (I think she might be), whose name is also Sandra, for her help upstairs. She said it was her pleasure and that our group was great. I said I thought so, too. :-) I said "Weren't those teenaged boys sweet?" YES! She said, with big eyes. "We're not used to that," she added.

She said that the kids were all calm and polite, and that other employees commented on that too, and that the front desk was impressed. She said they're used to loud kids and parents who let their kids have the run of the hotel, and the kids go wild about the water park, but that the kids in our group were sweet and patient.

Thank you, all of you who had those sweet kids who made our group, and homeschooling in general, look good to a new group of people. :-)

New page about who inspired us

Summary and good quotes from Friday morning's sharing session:
http://sandradodd.com/inspiration

Photos on facebook

Rodney Sikes is taking photos to post in the facebook group someone made for this group, so in case you didn't know about it (and if you're on facebook), here it is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/130892373753543/ All Unschooling in Minnesota

They won't tag or identify anyone but their own son, but you're welcome to join the group and tag yourself and your kids if you want to!

Thursday night welcome, Friday morning notes

I know several families are at the hotel, the water park is reported to be large and fun, and the conference rooms have been set up.

On the second floor, when you get out of the elevator, the presentations and young children's rooms are to the right. To the left, past the open area (and then to the right), is a room for older kids to hang out in for video games, board games, or chatting. Between those two you'll see some tables and chairs we can also use.

Please try to plan to eat lunch in the hotel restaurant on Friday. After that, no obligation. (If you can't, don't worry. If you can, cool.)

Some of you know already, but I'm fairly face-blind. I might not recognize you if I've only met you a time or two. If we talk on Friday, and I see you again on Saturday, I might likely look at you blankly. I'm really sorry about that. It takes me a while, but I can learn faces slowly.