2015 Retreat SESSION TOPICS

Meet & Greet
4-6 Thursday afternoon
Nina Jones & Christina Wester

Bring a camping chair or blanket along with your favorite “happy hour” beverage to the community fire ring behind the Dining Hall.   Bring your Unschooling and Partnership Parenting questions or just say “Hi” to old friends and get to know new friends to kick off the weekend.

Learning All the Time:
Unschooling Q & A
10am – Noon Saturday

Life Learning, Whole Life Learning, Self-Directed Learning, Child-Led Learning, Organic Learning, Natural Learning, Interest-Led Learning.  There are so many different names for this type of education but the underlying principles are the same: trust, respect and allowing our children to find and follow the path that lights them up and motivates them.  Whether you are new to Unschooling or have been at it a while, bring your questions about how to make this educational approach work for your family.

Definitions of Unschooling are helpful to read before hand so we can all begin the conversation with a basic, common understanding of the concept.

Creating Peace and Harmony through the Family Meeting
10am – Noon Sunday
Doreen, Mila, Stone and Harmony Fisher
In an effort to find more harmony, reduce stress, and accomplish more of her family’s individual and collective goals, Doreen Fisher decided to implement a Family Meeting to create a little bit of structure in her family’s highly creative, free and unstructured lifestyle.

The result?  They became more grounded as individuals and as a family, found more peace in their home, and began to show up for each other in a way that resulted in measurable movement toward their individual and collective goals.

Join this Unschooling family as they share their process for the Family Meeting and discuss the benefits of allowing all family members – of ALL ages – to participate in running family matters and discover their own interests and accountability in the process.

Young Adult Unschoolers Panel –  Q&A
2:30 – 4 Saturday
Ask your burning questions about what it’s like to grow up as an Unschooler!  How did they learn to read or do math?  What was it like to live a life that was SO different from the neighbor kids?  Hear what these unique young people are up to now and if they plan to Unschool their own kids one day.

Creating the Life You DESIRE
4 – 5:30 Friday
Christina Wester

This is an opportunity to take some time for YOURSELF and focus on your own goals and desires!  Once we have kids we are often SO focused on supporting and nurturing THEM that we neglect ourselves.  Christina is a Desire Map Facilitator and will be using elements of The Desire Map to lead you through a process of self-discovery – to dig deep – past your surface desires to the depths of your soul’s longing.  This process will uncover your “Core Desired Feelings” (CDFs).  Once we discover our CDFs we can use them as a kind of “road map” to find our way to a more fulfilling, satisfying and JOYFUL life!

This session will be appropriate for new and experienced Desire Mappers alike!

Click here to read more about The Desire Map
Click here to read “What does The Desire Map have to do with Unschooling”

Clearing Road Blocks on the Road Less Traveled
4 – 5:30 Saturday
Christina Wester

In this session we will talk about the fears, worries, concerns and other “blocks” we have about Unschooling or ANY WAY OF LIVING that is different from the norm.  These fears and challenges can all be traced back to our BELIEFS – established in childhood and reinforced throughout life – about what is appropriate, valuable or safe.
Unschooling and Partnership Parenting are often a HUGE departure from the way we were raised AND the way most parents in our culture are raising their kids.   When we choose a way of living that goes against prevailing cultural beliefs it can be a regular battle to re-center and move forward on our paths with confidence.
Most of our efforts to release our fears and worries about living a life “off the beaten path” utilize the conscious mind to make changes (such as reading “success” stories of Unschoolers, or reading books about natural and interest learning, or attending an Unschooling conference!)

These conscious activities are very helpful, but because the SUBCONSCIOUS mind is so vast (95% or the “computing” power of our brains), the beliefs we hold in our subconscious minds will “over ride” many of our conscious efforts to change.

The good news is that in the last 30 years we have learned ways to access and change the subconscious beliefs that are thwarting our efforts to fully implement the choices that we are consciously making.

Click here: to read about some different methods for changing subconscious beliefs.  During this workshop we will demonstrate the first method listed at the above link:  PSYCH-K.  Is a powerful tool to quickly and easily change the subconscious beliefs that get in the way of creating the lives we desire.

This session is appropriate for new OR seasoned Unschoolers who want to step more fully into the trust that is necessary to experience the joy and peace that Unschooling can bring to family life.

It is also applicable for ANYONE who is wanting to change something about their lives, but has encountered problems implementing the changes they are wanting to make.

Related reading:
I thought we ALREADY De-Schooled!
Why PSYCH-K?
Christina’s personal story of transformation with PSYCH-K

Honoring Our Kids’ Choices
2:30 – 4 Friday
Krystal Trammell

It can be scary to see those we care about making choices that we don’t fully understand.  We make judgements about certain choices, often without having all of the facts.  Some areas where parents tend to judge the choices kids make:

media consumption & usage
internet and social media
“dangerous” activities
relationships
being “productive” vs. doing “nothing”

It’s important for our own peace, and for our relationships with our children, that we strive to let go of our projections, fears, and judgements about their lives and choices, especially as they get older.  Fearing for our children, and therefore restricting and controlling them, is quite common and a culturally acceptable method of parenting  – but it doesn’t give them any useful tools for problem-solving or self-actualization as they begin to make their way in the wide world.

If we can trust and allow the choices our kids make we will preserve our relationship with them and maintain a position of influence so that they will continue to seek our counsel and guidance as they get older.

Unschooling Outside the Bell Curve
10am – Noon Friday
Christina Wester

Is Unschooling possible or advisable for kids who don’t fit into the mold of the “typical kid?”  How can a kid with neurological or sensory differences get an “interest led” education when their interests are intensely narrow or they are reluctant to try new things? What if a child has learning differences that make it difficult to grasp certain academic concepts?

We will discuss these questions and any others that come up for parents of “square pegs” that refuse to be pounded into the “round holes” of typical parenting and education methods.

IMPLEMENTATION
4 – 5:30 Sunday Afternoon
Angie & Ken Dickinson

We will create a plan of action to implement all of the great ideas and thoughts from the Workshop Sessions each person attended during the weekend. Bring: pen, paper, notes from any & all sessions you attended, and a calendar if possible.

Henna Body Art
2 – 3:30pm Saturday
Heidi Wunder

This hands on workshop will teach you where to buy henna and how to make henna paste.  You will learn basic design and application techniques and everyone will have a chance to give themselves or someone else a henna tattoo and practice working with the henna.

Women’s Circle & Happy Hour
5:30 – 6:30 Friday
Come for girl talk and stay for Henna!  Heidi Wunder will be bringing the supplies from her Henna Body Art class!
BYOB – must have beverages in a “discrete container” since park rules prohibit “open containers” of alcohol outside of the buildings or tents.

SSUDs – Secret Society of Unschooling Dads – Happy Hour
5:30 – 6:30 Saturday
Special gathering just for Dads.  Come and discuss the unique perspective and questions Dads often have about Unschooling.  Or just drink beer together.  (BYOB – must have beverages in a “discrete container” since park rules prohibit “open containers” of alcohol outside of the buildings or tents.)

Discover Yourself with Awareness Through Movement®
2:30-4 Sunday
Angela Alston, GCFP, MFA

From Christina: Do you have difficulty meditating?  This practice has many of the same benefits of meditation, but it uses body awareness and very small movements to create more focused awareness in the mind and more freedom of movement in the body.  I have found Feldenkrais to be a unique, relaxing and liberating experience!  Wear comfortable clothing and come check it out!

From Angela: Would you like to investigate a new approach to learning and self-understanding? Angela Alston, will lead you through an interactive experience of Awareness Through Movement (ATM). Pioneered by Israeli physicist and martial artist Moshe Feldenkrais, ATM offers a unique, profound way to examine and change your habitual and often limiting ways of moving. You’re invited to learn at your own pace. Angela helps formerly active people living sedentary lives recover movement ease and pleasure. She offers private sessions as well as group classes and workshops. Learn more at dallasfeldenkrais.com.
Angela Alston, GCFP, MFA

214 924 5078

“We improve our well-being when we learn to fully use ourselves.”
—Moshe Feldenkrais

Due to the unpredictable nature of life, the Session Topics, Session Facilitators or other Activities might be cancelled or moved to different times in the schedule.  If this occurs, we will do our best to provide a comparable Topic or Activity with an alternate Facilitator.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING!