The schedule is finished

The schedule page had a mysterious corruption, and the format wouldn't be still. Two days of messing around with it on Word and on my webpage to get the html to settle (without retyping the whole thing)... and changing the blog template... and here it is:

http://allunschoolingminnesota2013.blogspot.com/p/schedule_14.html

If you see any errors or formatting problems, please don't tell me until Wednesday, because I'm tired of looking at it.

Thanks!

Deanna & Alexander, joined by Kevin

Hello from Duluth! Living in northern MN, we feel lucky to be able to enjoy both city life and wilderness fun, as both are close by. Alexander (15) has never been to school, and we’ve been on the unschooling path for many years now.

Deanna’s former life included working as a speech/language therapist and a massage/bodywork therapist. Her current life includes exploring with Alexander & husband John, cooking, gardening, knitting, hiking, and a bit of yoga. An information junkie, books and her iPad are often close by.

Alexander has long enjoyed gaming and has met some truly awesome friends on the Unschooling Gamers group. He dove deep into computers & programming this past year, working a 6-week internship at a local computer shop, and amassing components for building his own computer. One of his biggest passions is the Melbourne Shuffle, a dance form that has brought him contacts from a wide variety of places and some cool background on the history & sub-genres of electronica music; he looks forward to meeting up with some other shufflers and dancin’ till dawn at the Anime Detour Con again this year. (Yep, manga and anime have been long-time passions, as well.)

We will be joined by Kevin, a gaming buddy from CA. His bio states: “I’m Scooty McGee, I mean Kevin. I did ballroom dance for two years. I’m also into gaming, and stand up/improv comedy.”

Food Review

Please review the information about food, here: http://allunschoolingminnesota2013.blogspot.com/p/food.html (If you're reading on the blog, it's one of the tabs above).

The lunch break will be nearly two hours long, so people will have time to go to a grocery store or restaurant. We can't have food in the conference center.

Please read again about the restaurant, and where the nearest stores are. I don't want anyone hungry, especially kids. I wish they would just have let us "monkey platter" it. And their conference catering is way too expensive. :-)

Be prepared, and bring some groceries for the room.

More families

Two more families have registered this week, from Montana and Nebraska.  I'll do a new head count soon.

Please send bios and photos, anyone who hasn't, if you're interested in doing so.  Send to Sandra@SandraDodd.com

Thanks!

New page in the tabs above

I've included a page on the focus of the event, following a kind and reasonable request for a description.

http://allunschoolingminnesota2013.blogspot.com/p/focus.html (or if you're reading at the blog, click the "focus" tab above)

My intention isn't to provide an introduction for people who don't know anything about unschooling. It will be easiest and most peaceful if there are no raw beginners, but it's a symposium for unschoolers, rather than an introductory event.

If someone is already registered, though, or really wants to attend, and unschooling IS new, the "help" link on the page above will help. The best current intro is Pam Laricchia's, and if you sign up now, you'll have time to receive most of it before the symposium! It's a timed series of introductory e-mails, elegantly designed. I really like it. http://www.livingjoyfully.ca
And there's more about Pam Laricchia in an interview I did for the California HomeSchool Network's magazine:http://sandradodd.com/hsc/interviews/paml

questions, and a photo

I've added a photo to the Fender Family introduction.

Between now and our gathering, please consider very brief answers to these questions. I'd like to do a couple of intro rounds on Friday, alternating with some introductory (fairly basic) unschooling ideas from the speakers. No participant will be required to speak. "Pass" is fine. :-) You can just gesture us away if someone asks you a question, but I will be inviting those who are willing to share something personal.

I will probably ask for people to name a person or two who helped them move toward being a better parent, or understanding unschooling better. Sometimes a friend who didn't even go on to become an unschooler can have said something that helped us substantially. For me, two La Leche League Leaders and a friend who didn't end up unschooling said things that were very short, but that caused me to think very differently. I will name them, there, in that round. We can fill the room with simple gratitude.

Another question I think would be helpful in a go-around-the-room way (and you can pass) is "What do you wish you had known sooner?" Think of something if you can, and of a way to word it succinctly so that others in the room then Have It. :-) We can fill the room with wisdom.

And on Friday I'll collect questions in writing for the Saturday sessions, and share them out with Jill and Alex. One or two of us can address each question any participant might have.

Reminder and *sorry*!

Remember to send a bio and photos if you want (more photos can be added, too): Send them to me at Sandra @ SandraDodd dot com

We're not allowed any snacks in the public areas of the hotel, so please remember to have snacks in your rooms or (if you're not staying in the hotel) in your car, in case kids get hungry. Food can help keep the peace. :-)

I've changed the settings for comments, because of some spam, so if you leave a comment please allow for a few hours (half a day at nighttime) for me or to see it and let it through. Sorry some of you got copies of the spam posts.

I'll thank her again, but I wanted to say how grateful I am to Alex Polikowsky for finding the water park for us, and helping to organize things, and to Jill Parmer for going with me to inspire you all and share stories of older unschoolers'experiences!