Learning through mistakes

Very cool article here about the science of mistakes (and how people actually learn things)...thanks to my friend Margareta for passing this on!

The girls had a great class at S.C.R.A.P. today (love, love, love that place!) and I found, among other things, a comb binder for $6 (not as fancy as the one pictured...but it works...and did I mention it was only $6!). I've been wanting one for a while...and now it's here! Now if I could only will a die cut machine into our world...I miss working in a library that had all of these things...

This weekend...

Was brought to us by the letter P...

P is for Playfort that was free on Craigslist...and is now re-assembled in our back yard...


P is for Pulley...set up by Sabine and Bret...


and P is for Panniers...sewn by Carolyn for the Yuba Mundo bike (note the black ninja kitty on the bike)...


I found the fabric at SCRAP (I think it was $6 -- and I have some left over -- it is a thick, lined material...formerly curtains), the straps were left over from a sewing project I did for our friend Bud back in Wyoming. I did have to by $6 worth of "D" rings once I finalized my design (I had a bunch, but used them all...). Much less expensive than Yuba's (albeit, nice) ones at $119 each.

Ducky Derby

So the crazy-fun folks at Bret's office have an annual ducky derby. You pay $2 per duck (a two buck duck...) and can race them in either the stock or modified races. Of course, being the mad scientists that we are, we wanted to modify our 5 ducks.


Here's Bret -- assisting Sabine with her bamboo raft creation -- which won FIRST place in the people's choice awards. $25 for Sabine.


Vivan with her ducks...


Sabine working on her other creation - bicycle innertube to duck flotation device.

Fortunately, one of the ducks that Vivian helped create won FIRST PLACE in the modified race, netting her $50! We felt a little guilty about sweeping it like that...but quickly got over it.

Economics of Unschooling

Great article by Ren here. A couple of my favorite sections:

Food should be a celebration of life. Ideally, it is a source of pleasure and connectedness, not stress. Even with a smaller budget, approaching food and nourishment with an attitude of abundance will do so much for the level of calm and peace in a family. Portioning and worrying and talking about what one does not have isn’t going to help children feel the warmth or joy that a family exploring food with an open mind can create.

Peace and joy are more healing than any food of which I know. Healthy relationships, in which all members of the family are respected and given choice, create enough harmony to overcome any ill-effects of the “junk food” so many parents worry about constantly.

and:

For instance, when Jalen is passionate about a movie and all the toys or characters that go with it, all I have to think about is the cost of preschool. The monthly school fee is far greater than all the desires he could have in a month. His world is expanded to a much greater degree by having his choices supported than by being sent to some institution.

and:

Natural learning does have a cost attached to it. So does school. In choosing this unschooling path, we are choosing to put our money into people, into interests, into passions, into the things that really matter for each of us. I look at myself as an investor. I invest time, money and creative energy into helping my children explore their world more fully. I am investing in them as human beings. Human beings who have the potential to affect change in this world. Human beings who aren’t crushed by school thought and the paralysis it can bring. Human beings who will have the ability to see their passions as the most important path in life and who possess a deep inner knowledge that learning is a life-long endeavor. Along the way I am also investing in my own passions and interests alongside them. My children know what it means to honor those inner urgings because they see it played out from day to day as we all learn together and apart.

I think she's brilliant!

Oh, and I have a few posts labeled inexpensive fun...if you're interested. :)

Paper shredders are fun...

These pretty much speak for themselves...please excuse the messy kitchen...it was Friday night.

Tape is cheap

Vivian started by putting tape over her mouth (really, I swear, I've never done that to her or Sabine (or Bret!)), then moved on to one of the kitchen cabinets. Fifteen minutes of fun!