Photography – The Dad Hatter

On my last day in Portland, since the convention was over, I spent the day wandering around the city, photographing bridges and the like. I’d never walked across the Broadway Bridge before, so that’s where I headed first.

He loves trains almost as much as he loves sharks. This morning he was all about building DUPLO railroads.

She loves writing, and spends quite a bit of time every day working on her story. I’m not sure what it’ll be like when she’s finished, but I’m excited to read it!

There are a lot of shark documentaries available these days, but this one is his favorite at the moment.

We spent in the morning up in the mountains walking around a lake. It was nice to get up high where the air was cooler.

She loves looking through portholes on playground structures. This time we were at a playground that we’d never visited before, and you can tell from the expression on her face that she loved it!

He spend a lot of time building. Nine times out of ten, what he’s working on is a new supervillain, complete with a fictional biography and list of powers and abilities. This boy loves building super villains, but even more than that he loves making up stories about them.

September 23, 2017

The Unschooled Lens – Week 38

Picking up where I left off last week, I spent Sunday in Portland before flying home that night and had a great time wandering around the city one last time. The next day it was more or less business as usual! Which means that we built things, wrote, hiked, played, and learned about sharks!

Her hair is a bit messy, and she’s still in the dress she wore to church, but books are far more importwnt than any of that!

They just keep finding more and more of these little guys.

This is their preferred method of swinging, and they’re really good ar it.

This bridge is new to me, since it was built since the last time I was in Portland. It’s also really cool.

To kick off Home Dad Con, some of us went on a photo walk across the Burnside Bridge.

Early the next morning, before official convention activities began, it was time for a trip to Stumptown for some amazing coffee.

I went by Cup amd Bar a couple of times, and this time I ordered their drinking chocolate, which is served alongside whipped cream and sparkling water to offset the incredible richness of the chocolate itself. It was really, really delicious.

September 18, 2017

The Unschooled Lens – Week 37

I had an amazing, but exhausting week. It started normal enough, but early Wednesday morning I headed off to Portland for Home Dad Con, an amazing yearly gathering of At-Home Dads. The convention itself was wonderful. I made some great new friends, learned a lot about how to improve in my work as a father,…

He doesn’t play or build quietly, but his very loud results are fascinating.

He’s fascinated by space and recently watched The Farthest, a new documentary about the Voyager space probes, and then he decided to build one of them out of LEGO bricks. I think he did a great job.

She was grumpy and did not want to be there, but she made it through. Unfortunately she’s going to have to get used to it.

They’ve decided to design and build their own restaurant in Minecraft, called The Fresh Fish.

They’re consulting a Junior Rangers map while looking at down at the landscape below them.

Construction on The Fresh Fish is going well. The dining room is nearly complete, as is the takeout counter.

New paper, pencils, and drawing books can make for a great afternoon.

September 9, 2017September 9, 2017

The Unschooled Lens – Week 36

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September 8, 2017

A Day In The Mountains

One of the best aspects of Unschooling, and indeed almost any type of Homeschooling, is the freedom to explore amazing places when they’re not particularly crowded. Zoos, museums, park playgrounds, etc. are often terrible busy during the summer and weekends, but the opportunity to explore them on weekdays during the school year results in…

He loves sharks and he loves shark books. This morning he’s particularly excited about Whale Sharks!

They found a caterpillar in the yard. They next day they had a cocoon!

They both love climbing, and T is constantly trying to climb everything that her big sister can handle.

There’s no shortage of good books around THIS house!

An empty cardboard box is a World of possibilities to a creative young mind.

Chess club starts soon, so he’s working to prepare for it, and doing very well!

The kids play chess, and so do I. My board is set up for my next game in the Colorado Open chess tournament.

September 2, 2017

The Unschooled Lens – Week 35

It’s been a good week for playing outside, finding insects, reading books and playing chess. And that’s mostly what we’ve been doing, as you’ll see in this week’s Unschooled Lens!

They found sizeable Mantis after chirch this morning and had a great time watching it and coaxing it onto their hands.

We spent the morning at DMNS, enjoying the eclipse and accompanying activities.

They always seem to find something with which to pursue a new experiment.

She absolutely loves this series!

We’re nearing the end of our current book and the growing tension is keeping them remarkably engaged.

He loves building his own circuits!

Another month, another Bitsbox! This week it’s about monsters and aliens. They don’t waste any time diving in once a new kit arrived!

August 26, 2017August 26, 2017

The Unschooled Lens – Week 34

It was a busy week! Insects, an eclipse, playgrounds, books, programming, physics and more!

With losts of others kids back at school, public places are sugnificantly less busy on weekday mornings.

M loves puzzles. He built his most recent one very quickly, without any reference to the picture on the box.

They felt like resting together, so they gathered up materials and built themselves a nest.

N is the most interested in bugs, but all of them were excited about a live beetle sighting.

They’ve been experimenting with the timer on their camera to figure out how to take group selfies.

Her Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shirt is one of her favorites!

August 19, 2017August 19, 2017

The Unschooled Lens – Week 33

Week 33 of my 365 photo project, chronicling our Unschooling life.

An aquarium is an endless source of interest. He often spends time sitting amd watching them swim.

We’re thinking of starting our own competitive league. Now that I think of it, we probably already have enough players in the house.

Bridges have been a topic since of serious interest in our home lately. Luckily they have the materials to build their own!

He caught two grasshoppers and immediately borrowed my phone to look up what they eat so he can make them comfy in their new home. They may not last long, but he’ll learn from the experience.

Sometimes you just need to play a game.

She’s having trouble adjusting to her new diet, but it’ll be worth it eventually.

He loves his Ricky Ricotta books.

August 12, 2017

The Unschooled Lens – Week 32

It’s been kind of a strange week. Mrs. Hatter is back at work now that summer break has ended, and it’s been raining almost every day. As a result we’ve been homebound most of the week, though naturally that hasn’t stopped the kids from learning. Here’s a glimpse at some of what we did.

He loves his setup, and his gradually discovering how to use it.

We hiked up to Nymph Lake in RMNP today. Little T loved it, though I ended up carrying her most of the way. She especially liked the chipmunks that we saw.

He liked building spaceships out of DUPLO blocks, and he’s always very proud of his creations. As he should be!

I’ve been trying to bake macarons lately, but I can’t seem to get the shells quite right. They’re hollow and the feet protrude. Maybe I’ll try again today.