They started out the new year playing chess with an Uncle.
These two are still having lots of fun with their birthday LEGO sets, constantly building new creations and making up new games together.
Today they created a game inspire by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. After suiting up in their costumes, they wandered around the neighborhood pretending to scavenge for tech that they could trade for “portions” to feed their little brothers and sister. Every once and a while they trooped back inside to drop of an imaginary supply of a few million “portions”. They’re strange kids, and I love that about them.
As big fans of Wings of Fire, Hannah often pretends to be a dragon. Today, some of her brothers joined in her imaginative game, which naturally resulted in bloodthirsty combat.
You might not be able to tell from this picture, but they’re actually playing against each other. They seem to find it easier than actually setting up a physical board.
They’ve been using up our stockpile of old cardboard boxes at an alarming rate. They’ve built large cardboard owls, cars, guns, spaceships, and more. Today they’re at it again, modifying and improving upon some older creations.
365 Photo Project Photography The Unschooled Lens

The Unschooled Lens – Year 2, Week 1

A look at our ongoing adventures in a life of Unschooling.

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Snow is always fun, especially when there are big frozen chunks to carry around.
She’s been an artist for a long time, but her brother is starting to follow in her footsteps. He produced a good polar bear sketch for a four year old.
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Big sisters make great bedtime story readers.
Sometimes the best art projects are the really big ones.
N celebrated by helping to make Cherry Berry Wonderland pies! He was very proud of his handiwork, and of course they tasted great!
Our Spheros are still pretty novel, and they had a great time trying them out in a new place.
The Viking exhibit at DMNS is pretty cool. H particularly liked learning about Viking fashions – dyed clothing, jewelry and the like. The boys were more important interested in boats, armor and weaponry.
Branching out from her usual artistic expression – posters cover huge expanses of her wall – she decided to start a paper garden. This is just the initial morning’s planting – it’s become more elaborate since.
They’ve been begging for two way radios for a long time, and have a blast now that they finally have a pair.
N wanted to help refinish an old school desk, and had a blast trying out the orbital sander.
The kids went to an open barn this afternoon to meet some friendly Alpacas and learn about their wool.
They had a blast at their first book signing, and really enjoyed meeting a real life author!
Mrs. Hatter is currently doing the bedtime readings with one of her favorite books, A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park.
She recently learned to cook one of her favorite foods, and decided to make dinner for the whole family. It was delicious!
M has an infectious personality when he’s happy. And as you can see, he was very happy walking around with Mrs. Hatter, who took this picture.
It was hot, crowded, and wonderful. The kids absolutely loved it, and are already planning to return next year, as well as to practice their own chalk art this summer.
Our hike was best summer up in the words of M, age 3, “Dis is such a wonderful day! My first time hiking in da mountains! Dis is such a wonderful day!” Now, it wasn’t actually his first hike in the mountains, or even close to is, but he doesn’t seem to remember all the way back to last summer. Regardless, he was right that it was a wonderful day.
It’s the kids version and they love it. It probablt won’t be long before they move up to the full version.
These two spent the better part of an hour plaing with old micro machines. They really love trains right now.
We spent some time this afternoon learning a new board game, Kiwetin. Despite a few problems with the rules, we managed to have quite a lot of fun.
This morning we headed up to NCAR to study weather. The Cloud and Tornado exhibits are always a big hit.
He’s geared up and ready to go!
After a drive in the mountains we went for a short hike at Settler’s Park in Boulder.
He loves his setup, and his gradually discovering how to use it.
Bridges have been a topic since of serious interest in our home lately. Luckily they have the materials to build their own!
M loves puzzles. He built his most recent one very quickly, without any reference to the picture on the box.
They found sizeable Mantis after chirch this morning and had a great time watching it and coaxing it onto their hands.
Chess club starts soon, so he’s working to prepare for it, and doing very well!
New paper, pencils, and drawing books can make for a great afternoon.
They just keep finding more and more of these little guys.
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!
We really enjoy the Ninjago tv show as a family, so today I took five of the kids to the new movie. It was quite a disappointing movie, but we still had fun together!
They’ve been working on ambitious chalk art. A jungle scene, complete with monkeys, a sloth, a moose, a beaver, and a cherry tree. Maybe they don’t quite understand jungles yet, but that’s okay.
Today he spent a couple of hours constructing spaceships and “weird mini-figs” to pilot them.
The entire morning has been consumed by the construction and operation of a DUPLO railroad. H has been a great big sister, helping M to design amd build it all.
They had a blast today, all costumed up along with some assorted cousins.
They enjoy building tents so they can read together in peace and quiet
He may enjoy quietly building by himself, but he’s also a very active guy. He tends to make the most of a trip to a playground.
He loves sketching animals at the zoo. He also loves wearing his Pterodactyl cape.
She loves playing dress-up, and she’s got great style.
Today he made Play-Doh snakes. Lots of them, including babies, mommies and daddies. Then they joined together to make a Snake Monster. The kid has a fun imagination.
They were having a great time with a chess tactics book this morning.
N loves teaching his little siblings new things. Today it was time for M to learn to build his LEGO sets, so naturally N volunteered.
We spent the whole morning at the coffee shop, reading and listening to music.
He loved his peacock cake more than he had words to express!
It’s New Years Eve, which this year means candy, popcorn, and a movie! Our Potterheads are having a great time, and it’s a fine way to end the year.
365 Photo Project Photography The Unschooled Lens

The Unschooled Lens, Year One

An pictorial overview of what we did and saw in 2017.

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She wanted to cuddle for a while before bed tonight. I let her.
We’re watching through the Saga before The Last Jedi comes out, and naturally the kids are having a great time with it.
A tiny robot and a miniature bowling alley can provide an entire afternoon of fun!
He didn’t even wait for the cake to be set on the table before he was blowing out the candles. He really loved his birthday this year.
N loves teaching his little siblings new things. Today it was time for M to learn to build his LEGO sets, so naturally N volunteered.
Pictures to color and military vehicles to draw. It was a nice, quiet evening.
This inaugural meeting, convened by big sister H, resulted in no sleeping and a lot of giggling.
365 Photo Project Photography The Unschooled Lens

The Unschooled Lens – Week 50

Week 50 of my 365 photo project exploring our Unschooling life.

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Today we decided to watch a fresh documentary. Tiger: Spy in the Jungle was next on our list!
The boys asked H to read to them. I love how these kids enjoy books together.
Today he made Play-Doh snakes. Lots of them, including babies, mommies and daddies. Then they joined together to make a Snake Monster. The kid has a fun imagination.
Her favorite things about this park are the cool climbing features. Like the giant mammoth.
A typical morning scene, with everyone nice and busy,
365 Photo Project Photography The Unschooled Lens

The Unschooled Lens – Week 48

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She loves playing dress-up, and she’s got great style.
They all love trains, so some mornings they just need to build a railroad together.
She has the pink Play-Doh, and it even matches her outfit!
Tomorrow is about pie, but I really wish I could eat a slice right now.
Muffin has over 250 legs and is 8 or 9 years old!
This is about the only Black Friday sale we’re liable to go to as a family, and it was well worth the trip!
What’s a ride on a tricyle without a deadly weapon shoved down the back of your shirt?
365 Photo Project Photography The Unschooled Lens

The Unschooled Lens – Week 47

Week 47 of my photographic exploration of our unschooled life.

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He enjoys learning to cook. Baled potatoes are pretty basic, but he still had fun.
N is a great big brother. This morning he played Sneaky Snacky Squirrels with the little boys.
Their love of animal documentarys knows no bounds. Africa is their latest choice.
Today he spent a couple of hours constructing spaceships and “weird mini-figs” to pilot them.
Sometimes it’s just nice to get out of the house together and go for a walk.
She loves slides. A lot!
Today we decided to build with DUPLO bricks together, the result was an arctic Space Base, complete with a railroad to keep it supplied.
365 Photo Project Photography The Unschooled Lens

The Unschooled Lens – Week 41

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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.
365 Photo Project Photography The Unschooled Lens

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!

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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!
365 Photo Project Photography The Unschooled Lens

The Unschooled Lens – Week 34

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

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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.
At the zoo today, we happened to see the lions chewing on some bones first thing in the morning. The kds were fascinated!
Apparently T thinks she’s ready to study for a doctorate along with Mrs. Hatter.
365 Photo Project Photography The Unschooled Lens

The Unschooled Lens – Week 31

Week 31 of my 365 photo project exploring our Unschooling life.

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Re-reading a favorite book.
N has begun learning German with DuoLingo, and he loves it!
I got to head to the coffee shop by myself for a while this morning, it was a nice treat.
She loves spending time with her big siblings’ toys.
After a drive in the mountains we went for a short hike at Settler’s Park in Boulder.
The bigger kids spent time at the museum with Mrs. Hatter, so I took the little two to their favorite playground. M has taken to calling it his “own personal playground.”
There’s nothing like reading a favorite book together.
365 Photo Project Photography The Unschooled Lens

The Unschooled Lens – Week 30

Week 30 of my 365 photo project exploring our Unschooling life.

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