Within the hotel, they've moved us

Rather than being up beyond the mezzanine, we are down below somewhere…. Larger space, but not as easy to find UNLESS YOU'RE LOCAL!

Locals have it easy. Enter on the east side across from Victoria's Italian Restaurant NOT ACROSS FROM, but on that side. Near. Next to. Under. I honestly don't know. Go down to the Heritage rooms. We're in #2 and #3, and we have the lobby area outside there.

NOTE, please: Our rooms are in the third (lower level) map. And they have east at the top. But once you find the direction and the floor…. you can find the place!

(Click for greater detail.)

Geographical Spread (who's coming to Rochester?)

21 families are represented by one to five people.

Here's where they're from:

Five Canadian, sixteen U.S.

Of the Canadians:

3 Ontario 3
2 Manitoba 2

Of the Americans:

8 Minnesota Of those, three are from Rochester and Alex gets her mail in Byron (VERY near)
2 Wisconsin
2 Iowa
1 Illinois
1 Kansas
1 Washington (state)
1 New Mexico

(There was a New York registration, but the plan fell through. Still it's a big spread.)

I painted this one

This is on a canvas bag I painted in 2011, and will auction subtly (silent auction at the book table) on Friday before the pizza party. The blue paint is shiny. It's pretty nice, and could be used for groceries, yarn, toys, lunch, books, dirty clothes (not all at the same time).



Here it is against my mailbox and van, for scale and to prove it was in New Mexico at my house. :-)

Head count

First pass at a head-count, including the speakers. The proportions are much like other Always Learning events, though there are fewer parents without children than sometimes, at this one. There are several family intros, and it's not too late to add more! E-mail me with anything you'd like to share.

Moms 20
Dads 11
Girls 19
Boys 17 (one is a young man, but not a dad)
Grandparents 2 (one of each, same family)

I'll come back with ages of non-parentals. They won't be on name badges, but for a general idea of who to expect to meet…

(*check back in a bit, if it's not here when you looked*)

Nineteen girls of these ages: 17 16 16 16 14 14 10 8 8 8 7 7 7 6 4 3 3 17 months 2 months

Sons of unschooling families, adult to toddler: 23 14 14 14 14 12 12 11 11 10 10 9 7 6 6 3 2

Stopa/Neary, Oshkosh

We are the Stopa/Neary family from Oshkosh Wisconsin. Our children, Pearl and Casimir, have always been unschooled.

For the past 16 years Larry has enjoyed a career in search engine marketing, an industry that did not exist 18 years ago. Because of this experience, Larry knows how important it is to learn on one’s own because schools cannot keep up with today’s rapidly changing needs. That is one reason why Larry is proud that Pearl and Casimir can explore where there curiosities lead them.

Jennie enjoys hanging out with her fun, funny teens (and with Larry too!) She enjoys theater, whether she is onstage, backstage, or in the audience. She loves traveling with her family. (The photo of us was taken at Yellowstone National Park in front Mammoth Hot Springs. What a great trip that was!) Jennie is grateful for the writing of Sandra and many others who introduced her to and helped her to understand unschooling. And she is grateful to her husband for financing this enterprise!

Pearl is 16. She enjoys many forms of art including but not limited to drawing, painting and beading. She also enjoys playing video games and practicing archery, as well as learning about geology and the Japanese language. She would love to connect with others at the conference who share her interests.

Cas is 14. He enjoys acting, playing the drums, and playing video games.


Here they are in context:

Teresa, Rose, and Fiona Hess, from Langley, WA

We are coming from Langley, Washington which is a small town on Whidbey Island, 25 miles north of Seattle. I (Teresa) grew up in Minneapolis and am so happy that a return trip to my home state can include attending an ALL Symposium!

I first discovered unschooling when my oldest daughter (now seven) was two. As more and more situations arose for us in which traditional parenting called for traditional discipline methods, I desired an alternative parenting approach. We were already doing attachment parenting, but even within that community, I wasn't finding what I was looking for. I didn't want to use punishments, rewards, anger, guilt, shame, or "gentle discipline." But then I was left wondering...what can I do? How can I handle these situations in a way that is best for my child and our relationship? After looking around online I found Joyce Fetteroll's website and it make so much sense to me: be your child's partner, see the world from your child's perspective, say "Yes!" more often. By the time my daughter was school age, we knew we wanted to unschool.

I am home with my kids full-time and am passionate about parenting, writing, performance, walking outdoors, meditation, and connecting with friends over a good meal.

Rose (7) loves gaming, mostly Minecraft and Roblox right now, and would love to meet other kids who would like to game/Skype together. She also enjoys playing with Barbies and Monster High dolls and making up elaborate fantasy stories that the dolls act out. She likes making up her own songs, doing free-style dance, swimming, acting, and playing on the beach.

Fiona (3) is often found running around outside our apartment in nothing but a tutu. She loves puzzles, painting, balancing on things, Barbie movies, playing games on the Nick Jr website, and riding her new scooter.

My husband Corey is unable to attend. He'll be back on Whidbey, where he is a SOMA Bodywork practitioner.

We are really looking forward to meeting more unschooling families, being involved in the talks/discussions, and meeting Sandra, Alex, and Pam whose writing and wisdom I have found so valuable on my parenting journey so far.

Jackie Heim

Jackie Heim attended last year, and is returning this year by herself. Le Sueur.

She's a stay-at-home mother of four children. She lives in Le Sueur, Minnesota and has an MA in English.