Well, it’s all over now; we’re all packed up and ready to leave. The conference ended last night with a party at Dayna Martin’s cabin, after the closing speeches and thank-yous.
We had such an awesome time, it was wonderful to be so immersed in so much unschooling energy, and for Littletree to have a safe space full of over 100 unschooled kids.
Littletree got involved in working in the snack shop/ sausage sizzle – she loved being able to help in a real way, and she was pretty good at adding up people’s orders and counting out change. Not to mention turning sausages! I love that this was a place where children were automatically respected to take on these roles.
One night there was a talent show, which was fantastic! I enjoyed it so much, seeing all the amazingly talented kids and parents. The beautiful part was that all the kids who participated did so of their own free will. When the kids felt shy or decided to back out, they were respected; no parents were sitting in the wings urging them to keep going after the child decided to step down :)
Littletree got up, but was a bit too shy, so our friends played a little guitar and drum so she could dance without being alone. Thus her confidence built, she actually got up on the stage and sang one of her ‘stream of consciousness’ songs about magic. It was fantastic! I’ll be uploading videos to YouTube when I get home to good internet.
We still spent loads of time by the pool
And the kids’ space hosted so many awesome activities – the kids all made “prayer flags” to hang up
We even had a “mum’s night out” and all the mamas walked over to the local club for dinner and a few drinks. I got to sit with Dayna, which was awesome :D
But I did manage to catch a few of the conference sessions between long chats about unschooling and playing with kids and hanging out with cool people
There’s so much more to share, and of course I took a bunch of photos. There’s a flickr group created for the conference, so everyone can upload their photos there and talk about unschooling, you can see it HERE
We’re sad it’s over now, but glad to be going home. Can’t wait till the conference next year!!!
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Gosh it looks like everyone had a great time! Not good timing for us this year but making it a priority for next.
ReplyDeleteLooks like such fun. Littletree is growing up fast :) Great clay sculpture, it's amazing that youngies made it, what a great opportunity.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun time was had by all. I enjoy your blog and reading about your unschooling experiences.
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Diane
I've been reading your blog for some time now, but realized I don't have you on my dashboard. Thought I'd let you know before adding you!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, sounds like you had a great time! :)
I really loved meeting you and talking to you at the retreat. You're definitely empowering your Littletree to grow into a strong adult!
ReplyDeleteHere's my version of the event: http://www.sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=1067