late summer goodness

August 16 - 31: glimpses into our unschooling lives

in the garden

pickling beets and green beans

at the park

at work (Echo Valley Farm)

ready for the oven

ready for market

Echo Valley Farm tour

greeting us at the gate, waiting for corn

inside the straw/clay built house

inside the yurt

medicinal herb garden nestled in the hills

It smells so wonderful inside the drying shed full of herbs and teas.

Camille's humorous card for her friend's 13th birthday

girl and goose gathering green beans

waiting for the parade to begin

Camille playing sax in the band

strolling the bike path with Ayla 
while her sisters make boffer swords at the library

elderberries

in the garden

playdate for Ayla

nail art by one of Camille's friends

blue!!!

What do random photos of our summer days have to do with unschooling? Everything! Life is learning and learning is life. What if your kid wonders about why a beet is red? Or wants to rub it on her cheeks to see if it looks like blush? And then wonders about the history of makeup? And then wants to know more about Ancient Egypt? And then, who knows, maybe Egyptian hieroglyphic numerals? Where does the learning begin and end?

It certainly doesn't have to start with a beet. It could be hip hop, or archery, or Minecraft, or ... I double dog dare you to find an interest that wouldn't lead to history and science and math and art and reading. These are not separate, distinct subjects anyway. Life is not that tidy. :) I'm not saying that every interest has to turn into a "teachable moment" or lead to Shakespeare or some such, but just that children couldn't be stopped from learning given the freedom to do so and an information-rich environment, even better if they have support and encouragement.