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Who We Are. How We Shine.
This new addition to *We Shine* was inspired last October by the wise 8-year-old Luca Kappa Doto. While listening to Pam introduce me for my talk at the Toronto Unschooling Conference, he turned to his Mom and asked, "When is she going to talk about *us*??!"
Now is the time!!
This connecting and joyful time together (presented Monday, the first morning of the conference) is for EVERY family! If you and your children want to be introduced ~ just as we introduce speakers at a conference ~ please legibly type up your own family introduction...so that I will have the privilege and pleasure of "talking about you".
It would be phenomenal if these introductions were from the words/eyes/Voices of the children...but if they don't want to participate and you do, then go ahead and write one up yourself! Include anything you all would like us to know about your family and How You Shine.
(Please note: in the interest of time and clarity, and in keeping in alignment with traditional speaker introductions, these Shining family introductions will be gathered and read by me... :)
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The Shining Voices.
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This year we are thrilled to be able to inspire you at our conference with some of the Voices that inspire you on the Shine with Unschooling list. One talk per day and more speakers and their talks will be listed as they become available.
Francette Fey ~
I am SO happy to have a powerful Voice from the Shine list speak this year. She has spoken at the wonderful Toronto Unschooling Conference for the past two years. This past year, I was so touched and moved and inspired by her talk, that I asked her to share it with her Shining Peeps at our conference!!
Welcome, Francette! Thank you for Sharing Your Voice!!
Living with her most amazing 10 year old daughter in South East Michigan, Francette has found her home. Home had always seemed elusive until the birth of her only child. The baby arrived with a gift: the key needed to free what was in her mother's heart. Through her daughter, Francette discovered she could be at home in her own skin. She very much wants to be a "full time" stay at home mom, but current circumstances require that she enjoy being an on-campus and online instructor/facilitator at the local University and College. Although Francette works as an academic, she and her daughter have only known the free and happy lives of unschoolers.
Francette's talk (An Original 2009 Toronto Unschooling Conference Presentation):
Piglet's Inspiration: A Radical Unschooling Story. . . . . .
One of the most commonly shared experiences of radical unschoolers is dealing with the mainstream ideas and beliefs of family members, friends, neighbors, coaches, instructors, acquaintances, strangers, and sometimes ourselves. Of the many gifts a radically unschooling family will bestow upon their children, an important one is advocacy. It is up to the parents to advocate on behalf of their children so that the children can grow knowing they are loved for the wonderful individuals that they are.
Join Francette as she discusses how to know when parental intervention is needed on behalf of our children, how to find peaceful solutions for our children to the many situations that may arise (or have arisen), and what happens if we don't.
And to demonstrate practical dialogs to various scenarios, Francette will role play with audience members during her Hearthside Conversation, immediately following her talk.
Jen Armstrong ~I am always so inspired by all that Jen writes ~ whether it be on the Shine list or on facebook or in an e-mail ~ and her words bring such a recognition of Truth to my Be-ing that tears often come to my eyes. I felt that her view of and insight into this world and this unschooling life needed to be shared with an audience. So I am THRILLED that Jen's debut as a speaker at an unschooling conference will be at our conference!! Thank you for saying, "Yes," Jen!! And Welcome!
Jen Armstrong is a lover of dandelions, dirty handed children, the waves of Lake Michigan and her high school sweetheart. After the birth of her second son, Isaiah, in 2002, Jen stopped pursuing a degree in special education and instead began pursuing the joy of an unschooling ilfe. That life has led her to Holland, Michigan where she now lives with her husband, Joe, and her older son, Cutter and where they now celebrate the living and the dying of Isaiah, as well as celebrating puppets and snow and books and video games and all the other mysteries and adventures this radical life has to offer.Jen's talk:
Throw the map out the window!
“It is not down on any map. True places never are.”
Herman Melville knew something that many unschoolers know intuitively: that our authentic journey is not to be found on any map, no matter how lovely, if it is not drawn from our and our children’s own internal and ever-changing landscape. Yet, knowing, we forget, we doubt, we lose our way and seek an external map that leads us on a journey that is not right for our unique family. Jen will explore the importance of play in mapping our grief and our joy, how play can lead us back to trusting in the uncharted journey, to trusting that play always leads us somewhere authentic, to trusting that our children have room - and love - for our own passionate play. If you’re lost, throw the map out the window and start playing!
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Pam Laricchia ~
I hope you are as excited as I am about having PAM speaking at *We Shine*!!! It's been a while since she has given a talk at an unschooling conference, because of HOSTING her own...so this is a real gift for which I am so grateful.
Thanks for sharing your Shine and your Voice, Pam!
Pam Laricchia loves, learns, and lives joyfully with her family in Ontario, Canada, eh. She particularly loves seeing her children (soon to be 18, 16, and 13 - it's the year of milestones!), live with such intention. Choosing the best path for themselves from the rich palate of life gives them so many opportunities to learn about the world and about themselves: It's not always easy, but it is incredible! She is the founder of the Toronto Unschooling Conference, now in it's fifth year, is blogging her book into life at http://livingjoyfully.blogspot.com/ and is excitatiently (excitedly and patiently smashed together - is that patient enough?) waiting for a bit of time to redesign her website: http://livingjoyfully.ca/
She also *loves* being part of the Shine community!
Pam's talk:
Free to Learn
When I discovered homeschooling and pulled my children out of school there were five unschooling ideas that really helped me to shift and understand what this unschooling life had the potential to be. I'd love to talk about a couple of them with you: the idea of choices, how helping our children learn *how* to make good choices, rather than telling them what choices to make, gives them valuable experiences and skills that will last a lifetime; and the idea of yes, how an automatic "yes" is just as thoughtless as a reflex "no" but that many conscientious yeses over the days and years encourage our children to discover and explore the world, learning all the time.. . . . . .
And I am excited to add this beautiful Voice of Shine to our line-up of wonderful speakers...
Amy Carpenter LeugsAmy's talk (originally given at the 2009 Toronto Unschooling Conference):
Like a child who lies down on the ground, eye-level with the grass, to see how the earth works, Amy Carpenter Leugs has always been fascinated by how humans learn and develop. A former teacher and school social worker, Amy now lives a life of freshly made pizzas, freshly created stories, freshly washed quilts and freshly observed mysteries, all with her dear husband Michael and their two boys, Fisher (12) and Riley (6). The family lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan where they have been surprised by joy and unschooling since 2003.
Wholeness: In Search of Our Children's Gardens
Where can children in today's world go to find their whole, true, full Self? Where can families go to find their true center, their guiding principle? Join Amy Carpenter Leugs as she explores unschooling as a place -- a surprising land of both fairy and fact, a homeland and a place of adventure, where the splits and opposites of our modern lives can come together into wonder-filled wholeness.
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Anne Ohman ~
Anne Ohman trusted her first-born child (now 19 and always unschooled) enough to listen to, believe and follow him...especially when he indicated that "teaching" him anything unbidden was insulting to his mind and spirit, and was also interrupting the flow of his own life and learning (and her second son, now 15 1/2, has been reaping the benefits of his brother paving the way!). Since then, Anne has been thinking about, learning about, talking about and writing about how children learn and live joyfully via this glorious path called unschooling. She is the founder of the Shine with Unschooling yahoo list, a published writer, and is currently seeking out space in her rich, full life to complete her first book.
Anne's talk (An Original 2009 Toronto Unschooling Conference Presentation, written in mind, however, as an addition for her book...to be published on this exact date: Some Day!! ):
What is So Radical about Radical Unschooling?. . . . . .
The learning is in the living, and with radical unschooling, the living is MIGHTY! Anne Ohman will be exploring various aspects of this glorious unschooling life, with a light shining specifically on that part that makes it all so very radical in other people's eyes.
Hearthside Conversation Topics and Descriptions:
True to Self ~
The gift of unschooling is that children and parents and families can be true to Self -- that still, quiet voice that comes from their center, the voice that allows them to feel their way into their lives, the world, and their possibilities. Join Amy Carpenter Leugs as we talk about ways of listening to that voice, how to take account of past damage, and how to make space for the complicated, full, rich art of accepting and being true to Self.
In Hindsight ~
There is so much learning every day along our paths... It can be hugely valuable for those who have a sense of *in hindsight* to share that wisdom/experience with those who are at a different place on this radical unschooling path. Gather together with Anne and Pam and let's talk about what we can truly and clearly SEE now, from where we are in this moment.
Our Children and their *Big* Emotions ~
There are times when our children's *big* emotions bring about an immediate visceral reaction within us. Let's talk about how we can walk through our own emotions to get to a place of truly honoring, validating, hearing and SEEING our children, without inserting our own reactions/definitions/judgments into their moment and their feelings.
Infinite Possibilities ~
Unschooling allows infinite possibilities in our children's lives. We, as unschooling parents, must be mindful of allowing the space for these possibilities to exist and to flow, for we certainly also have the power to block them with our words, actions, definitions and judgments. Let's gather and talk about doing the work that allows us to mindfully say *yes* to things we previously thought were bad, wrong or downright impossible...and how we can shift from a place of closed-off thinking to being open to allowing ALL possibilities (and therefore goodness) into our unschooling lives.
Piglet's Inspiration: A Radical Unschooling Story continued
(An original 2009 Toronto Unschooling Conference discussion...)
As a follow up to her talk, Francette will role play with audience members to demonstrate practical dialogues to various scenarios. The following are examples of the types of situations that can be addressed:
Does your mother quiz your kids about spelling and you want it to stop? Does a little voice in your head tell you that you must include "some" structured learning so that your child can keep up with his/her peers and you respond to that voice? Does your babysitter "time-out" your children? Do your neighbor's tell your child s/he won't ever be able to go to college because they don't go to school? Does your ice skating coach think your daughter needs to be more respectful? Does the grocery clerk demand your child say "thank-you?" Does your sibling think you need to discipline your kids? Do Oprah's beliefs about unschooling cause you to think that you're neglecting your kids if you don't implement bedtimes, food restrictions, and curriculum? Does your husband think that if you radically unschool your children that they will grow up wild and unable to fit in with society?
If you have a particular situation you would like to see addressed, please e-mail Francette at f_fey@sbcglobal.net prior to May 14, 2010.
