3 days before Christmas, we joined some friends for a ride on the North Pole Express (Texas’ tame version of the Polar Express). Elijah was elated that he would ride in an actual coach. Sadie was actually disappointed when we arrived back where we started- apparently I was not clear that the destination was not the North Pole.
But Santa was there and that was OK too.
Here’s a video clip of some of the North Pole Express shenanigans. Thanks for a fun day guys!
“Unschooled children are often reported to be more mature than their schooled peers, and some people believe this is a result of the wide range of people with which they have the opportunity to communicate.” – Wikipedia (Unschooling)
OK- questionable example on the whole 
) However, we see everyday in our unschooling lives our children’s high level of comfort with all ages of people no matter what the situation. They are not segregated into a false-society of children exactly the same age so true socialization and self-confidence thrive.
We’re still exploring the metroplex and finding letterboxes along the way. Elijah and Sadie love exploring in the woods and it’s an added bonus when there’s a playground near a box!
Here are Elijah and Sadie at their very first violin recital. They stood up on stage in front of a room FULL of children and adults and performed the rest position song- which means they hold their violins in proper rest position while the song is sung and they may move their lips occasionally. They were very proud of themselves (as was I).
Click on the Play triangle on the left to see the action.
Oddly enough, we had our group Christmas party outside at Bear Creek Park. Santa visited much to some of the children’s delight and others’ dismay (Elijah insisted he could just write him a letter but Santa was persistent so we got Elijah in Santa’s vicinity with the help of a candy cane). Christmas ornaments were made by some, graham cracker houses by others, sand castles, playground, or any assortment of these.
Yes, Santa was persistent.
While I went to a 2-day (boring) seminar on fetal monitoring in Dallas, Chris took the kids exploring around the city. We stayed at the Hyatt for two nights right at the central hub for the DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) and they rode the train all over the place. They spent quite a bit of time at the Dallas World Aquarium where we have a membership and the kids got to show Daddy around. That’s all we have pictures of so I’m not sure what kind of mischief they were up to the rest of the time.
Another unschooly outing. We travelled 30 minutes north to Denton to check out one of their fire departments which included a fabulous fire fighter museum, tour of an engine, station, and sleeping quarters, informative discussion, and seeing an engine go out on dispatch!
To top it all off, we got to see the kitchen and ice cream making process at the old style ice cream parlor downtown and, best of all, try it out!
Elijah chose a birthday party theme encompassing any vehicle that can get you from one place to another. He and his friends decorated their bikes, scooters, cars, etc. and then paraded to the playground where we played red light/green light, caroused on the playset and banged the goods out of the Goodyear blimp pinata that Sadie, Elijah, and I painstakingly created. Despite a very chilly wind, it was a fun-filled day.
After the party festivities, the dads ventured into the nearby drainage area with the kids to explore and throw stones in the water.
Being that Chris is working off hours like a madman, he was able to steal a morning away to go see Frosty the Snowman with us at Casa Manana children’s theater. The kids absolutely loved it and Frosty is the favorite Christmas carol around our house these days.
We spent a Wednesday night eating pizza, bowling, and playing arcade games with a few other families in our unschooling group. The kids had a great time and were absolutely exhausted afterward. Since everything is bigger in Texas, candlepin doesn’t exist so it was just big balls for us! Elijah and Sadie did their best to roll the balls down the lane. Just getting them to the end was a challenge! Sadie and Lije both love the racing games at the arcade. Elijah prefers the cars while Sadie likes the motorcycles and ATVs.
Check out the new home of Humans Being for show archives and updates on Sarah's endeavors.
