Sometimes, Unschooling Definitely Does Not Suck

Today is one of those days when I love our unschooling lifestyle. Nature is all around us, all over this planet…so why, beginning with our school days, are we conditioned to turn our backs to it? Why do we huddle indoors instead, doing assignments and organized activities that we’re led to believe are so very important, so critical for our “success?”

“Like Walking on Wedding Cake”

Guanacaste Province in northwestern Costa Rica has welcomed us warmly.

Hell—Bumpass Hell—at 8,400 Feet

Late summer in the High Sierras and South Cascades are such heaven——and so we had to switch it up, and give ourselves a little hell. The name of the place on its own was enough to bring us here!

Horseshoe Crab Studies

Our wonderful cousins invited us to visit Barnegat Light, New Jersey with them. Three cheers for the warm Atlantic! Long Beach Island is a big migration area for horseshoe crabs. We even found a little baby one smaller than my thumbnail. We kept him in a shell for a while, seeing how he burrowed into […]

Raspberries and Wildflowers

We’ve been getting our berry fix, now that summer has decided to begin in the Pacific Northwest. First some fabulous and HUGE Hood strawberries, and now, phase 2: raspberries! Nothing beats farm-to-table like skipping the table part——like when the food goes straight from the farm and into your mouth! Last year, I chided the kids […]

Rattlesnake Country

The silence along that dusty road, the calm approach of the mules to the wire fence, a pat on the muzzle.

Farmstay Weekend

There’s a lot of down time when one visits a farm in late winter. A person who is used to a scheduled life—one with school bells, bus stops, club commitments, and that familiar “get in the car or we’ll be late!” voice—will find a quiet weekend stay on a farm rather confusing: What am I supposed to be doing now? What’s next?

Just being here…that’s what’s next. Opening up our senses and taking in this beautiful place.

At Sea on Board the MV Sundance

An early-season “school at sea” experience where we learned from the captain and the crew how their 72-foot vessel operates.

Haleakala Volcano

The mother always gets a wicked case of acrophobia while driving up to the summit. Crater Lake. Sunrise by Mount Rainier. Even the Appalachians in Pennsylvania overwhelm her. Enter Haleakala on the island of Maui. It’s the mother’s biggest fear: Will they manage to reach the top? And…will they make it back down?

The Old Lahaina Luau

Throwing the shaka with a new friend on an evening of traditional dance, drumming, stories and song.  We felt the aloha spirit and got a perfect taste of all kinds of Hawai’ian dishes.

Surfing Goat Dairy

Some people in our family wanted to be with the goats even more than they wanted to play in the ocean.

And that’s just not at all what I expected from our stay on a Hawai’ian island.