Our Unschooling Progress Report #2 - Dangerously Good Stories

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Our Unschooling Progress Report #2

April 3, 2021

This report contains some affiliate links.

This progress report is for January – March 2021.

Kendall’s Summary:

I’ve improved on:

  • hula hooping
  • being outside more
  • swinging

I’ve learned about:

  • the blood root flower
  • how to get grammie and papa’s cats to be around you
  • making my own Mangle costume

I’ve had fun:

  • swinging on our swing and Michy’s aerial silk
  • being at Dollywood
  • playing in the stream at our house
  • going to forest school
  • traveling to Michigan

I want to:

  • have a sleepover with Michy again
  • hold Auntie Meena’s baby
  • go on a short backpacking trip with mom and Levi
  • make bookmarks out of my fashion girls—tons of them!
  • visit New Jersey for Luca’s birthday and New York
  • attempt to make macarons

My notes on Kendall’s past 3 months:

This girl loves getting into character—especially with face paint and makeup. We’ve been scoring various things, like shoes, at thrift stories that she can use for dress up. It was about this age when my friends and I stopped playing pretend and dress up. It wasn’t cool anymore. From my observations, she’s not anywhere near close to being done with imaginative play… and I love it! I love that her childhood is lasting longer.

Kendall’s also found her love for the forest! Since moving to SC, she’s always said things like, “Why did you make us move here, mom?” and said that she’s moving back to Michigan when she’s grown up. I believe she’s starting to look at SC as HOME these days—something I think her friendship with Michy and our forest school Wednesdays have cultivated.

Levi’s Summary:

I’ve improved on:

  • using grown up toothpaste
  • chainsawing by myself
  • axing — I’m better at splitting a piece of wood with one swing
  • making fires

I’ve learned about:

  • always wearing chaps when I chainsaw.
  • making wedges on trees when I cut them down.
  • how Autistic people are sometimes sensitive to noise
  • fishing with corn

I’ve had fun:

  • cleaning up our property—getting sticks
  • axing
  • going on our trip to the Ripley’s Aquarium—seeing the sharks and piranhas—and then stopping by the Oconaluftee Indian Village and seeing the wood shed.
  • riding my first, scary roller coaster at Dollywood
  • making fires in mom and dad’s room and sleeping in the cabin

I want to:

  • split even harder wood
  • use dad’s first chainsaw
  • take apart palates as a family
  • make a fire at Papa’s house
  • meet my new cousin
  • get tomatoes to grow
  • grow cucumbers, raspberries, and blueberries
  • go on bike trail rides
  • set up the pool

My notes on Levi’s past 3 months:

This kid was made for movement. Honestly, I can’t imagine him sitting at a desk for hours on end. Everyday is the same: wake up, go outside to “work,” take a break (usually this means a little iPad time and/or food), then go “work” some more, and repeat until his dad wakes up—to which he acts much like a foreman directing Dave on various “work” projects.

Getting him to read and write is still a thorn in my side, but it’s only an issue because of my own conditioning that he “should” be further along at this point. Then I remember all the things Levi is doing that other kids aren’t. We’re no longer needing to hover right over him as he cuts felled trees up with his chainsaw, for example. We’re communicating just fine—in fact, he’s excellent at stating exactly how he feels and making sure he makes his feelings heard. When he does something to cause pain or frustration, even if it’s not in the moment, he’s pretty quick to come back around to apologize. Finally, since he has his own iPad, he’s communicating through audio messages. He’s able to figure out how to communicate without the traditional reading and writing skills.

All this to say, I imagine him as this entrepreneur and sending warm, energetic video messages to his customers. At that point, he’ll probably WANT to learn to read and write, which will make learning a breeze.

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Things I’ve noticed Kendall and/or Levi have done / learned in the past 3 months:

First, this does not include photos with friends. I don’t want to get signed permission to share photos on here and all that. I’m telling you so that you don’t think that my kids have become the stigma of weird, unsocialized homeschool kids. They’ve had lots of interaction with people of all ages—even in the pandemic!

  • Kendall went on a shopping and dinner date (to Chili’s) with Dave
  • We all continued to work on (and finish) the 1,000 piece Christmas puzzle
  • Made paper airplanes from the Dangerous Book for Boys book (L)
  • Started using a day planner (K)
  • LOTS of pretend and game play via Facebook Messenger between Michy and K
  • Moved wood for Russell and made $5 to spend on candy (L)
  • Date to pick up plant, get bagels from Sully’s Steamers, and a few errands (Mom and K)
  • Had a whole family house cleaning day
  • Knot making practice (L)
  • Worked outside all day by the lower fire pit (Mom and L)
  • Started doing much better at cleaning his fingernails (L)
  • Went to Raiden’s birthday party
  • Playdates at our house with Raiden & Apollo
  • Lots of collecting sticks and burning them (L)
  • We’ve been playing Uno (L)
  • Made these churros (K)
  • Made donuts and cake pops (L & K)
  • Typed up quotes for mom and got paid with a purple wig for dress-up (K)
  • Went to Forest School about 4-6 times (both)
  • Hiked at Jones Gap State Park (both)
  • Snow night fun!
  • We took a trip to Ripley’s Aquarium, Newfound Gap, and the Oconaluftee Visitor Center with the Mountain Farm museum. We saw elk too!
  • Raiden, Michy, and Kendall put on a fashion show
  • Kendall and Michy played “Among Us”
  • We went to Michael’s birthday party
  • #maniwin for Levi: not one, but TWO can crushers from Russell
  • Levi went fishing twice – no fish
  • Levi’s practiced chainsawing A TON
  • Levi learned to do his own laundry.
  • I helped Kendall make lunch and she turned it into a mom & daughter cooking show that she filmed with her iPad + tripod.
  • K started a 24 hours outside challenge. Made it to the afternoon. Started her own campfire and planted lavender in a pot.
  • Another dinner date: Olive Garden (Dave and K)
  • Went to Duck’s 81st birthday party and listened to a live Bluegrass band: The Well-Drinkers
  • Dentist appointments (both) & fillings (L)
  • The kids’ took down our fence
  • Swimming at the hotel, Dollywood, and rode first big roller coasters (both)
  • We fostered “Oreo” for the night—a 20-year-old dog that showed up on our doorstep. The next day, she went home to her owners on her own thankfully!
  • How to clean the microwave with vinegar and lemon (K)
  • Lots of faceprinting + makeup (K)
  • The kids saw Auntie Meena’s baby belly and both felt baby in utero. Kendall learned about the mucus plug too.
  • Levi’s working on using grown up toothpaste (with fluoride)

Books We’ve Read / Started:

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Movies We’ve Watched:

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Monthly Writing Project

There’s one structured activity I require the kids to do each month: write their favorite memory of the month. 

I bought a special book for this. I hope this helps them to innately notice and acknowledge the stories they’re living! They’ve completed this for all 3 months.

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WHAT MOM’S WORKING ON / READING / LOVING RIGHT NOW:

I’ve read:

  • Grandma Gateway
  • Unlikely Hiker
  • Die Empty
  • The Power of Moments
  • 2000 Miles Together
  • I’m loving driving around the property in the UTV to clean up the land, and also driving around the mountain roads in it.
  • I’m madly in love with our Little Free Library and being a steward. We started this project in August and finally got it up and open in January.
  • In January I hosted our first unschool entrepreneur gathering.
  • I’ve been writing my first, real book and learning about traditional publishing.
  • I’ve been planning our Appalachian Trail hike.
  • I CAN’T WAIT TO BE AN AUNTIE to my little sister’s little girl. At the time of writing, it’s April 3rd and she should be here *any* day now!

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WHAT DAD’S BEEN UP TO:

  • He’s been doing lots of house projects! “Lots” is really an understatement, but the one I’m most excited about is the addition of the windows on the cabin. These are drop down windows, so we can enjoy the screens when we want, and keep the cabin a bit more insulated when they’re closed.
  • Being the gem of husband, that he IS, he took the kids to Dollywood for an entire weekend.
  • He’s learning to ride a motorcycle and just got an old lawn mower, so we can cut our own grass on the hill this year.

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More pictures of our unschooling life just for fun:

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