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.

The "People" tab, filled in

http://minnesotaallive2014.blogspot.com/p/people.html has a list of the bios already in, with links. If anyone else would like to share a photo or some information about your family, or both, send it to me at Sandra@SandraDodd.com

The Vigil family from Kansas City

We are the Vigils. Javier, Amber, Mateo (4), Mariana (1) and Denali (Siberian husky, who sadly won't be joining us)

We live in Mission, KS, in the Kansas City metro area.

Javier (Jav) is a high school English teacher by day and a handyman by night. He is always fixing/renovating something at our house or someone else's. He enjoys reading, watching YouTube repair videos and public television.

I (Amber) like reading. Especially the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon - I can't wait for the next one to come out! I'm interested in local food - for the sake of the grower and the consumer. I enjoy seeing the world through my children's eyes and exploring with them.

Mateo (Teo) loves puzzles, exploring how things work, helping daddy with anything tool related, running, riding his trike, blowing bubbles, watching Rescue Heroes, fishing and making scrambled eggs - which he refers to as his specialty.

Mariana likes to climb things and then launch herself from them, playing in the sandbox, wrestling and playing "chase" with Teo, and taking baths.

We have always aimed to be gentle and attached parents and unschooling seems to be a logical extension to that. Our children aren't "school-age" yet, but it already seems obvious to us that their love of learning is deeper and less structured than what school would allow. We hope this conference will help us grow as a family of joyful learners and perhaps steer us away from some newbie pitfalls ;)

Checklist, by Alex!

• Power strips for computers and electronics
  
• Headphones and Headsets for computers and tablets
  
• Games and activities that are not messy and you are OK sharing with others in the game room
  
• Quiet toys for little ones to play in the back of the main room( I will have some I am bringing too)
  
• Laptops and Tablets for you and the kids. We will have free wireless and kids love to play in the game room.
  
• bathing suits for the pool- note there are no lifeguards so a responsible adult needs to be with the kids at all times.
  
• Snacks and drinks to have in your room- NOTE there is a NO outside food policy in the Game room and Conference room.
  
• Art supplies that are not messy- I will have some paper, coloring pages, crayons and markers

Additions:

Money to buy books.

We will have Pam Laricchia's NEW BOOK, Joyce Fetteroll's Unschooling Toolbox ($10), Sandra's books.