May 19

May 20

We took it easy today and just hung out at home because of the rainy weather.

May 21

May 22

May 23

May 24

May 25

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March 31

April 1

We read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea before Ethan went to bed. We want to finish this before moving onto The Hobbit but it’s taking a little longer than expected. An interesting story, though.

April 2

We finished the night reading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. We’re finally on Part II!

April 3

Nature school today. This is what they did, according to Ethan’s teacher, Scott:

Our first day back together was rainy, but we made the most of it! We started by deciding to take a walk down to Lynn river in search of Licorice fern root. I talked about the rhizomous growth pattern of the fern and how to harvest it in a way so as to keep as much of it growing as possible. Also, we talked of the fact that the spot we harvested from was a good one to choose because of the abundant amount of the fern in the area.

After washing up the roots, we walked back up to the tarp shelter that we had constructed and re-joined Blake’s group. Here, we had lunch and started up the stove. Blake’s group helped by adding more ingredients.

While sipping tea, we played a game of “Catch the poacher” with Blake’s group, then spent the rest of the day playing on a big tree stump!

April 4

We’re more than halfway through Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It’s a challenging book to read as some of the scientific terms and other words are difficult to pronounce. Anyway, it’s fun!

April 5

Ethan spent most of this day making videos so please see this one about beryllium.

April 6

And that was Ethan’s week!

Hello Ethan,

Your recent videos on elements are awesome! I passed a few on to my friend who has a grade 2-6 class and they also did the periodic table and element projects. I do hope she shows them to her class sometime.

I love the music you have playing in the background, the animations of the models and the facts you included. Excellent work! I was hoping you would do something like this based on all the work you have put into your periodic table. I learned a lot of new information about helium, so thank you.

It is exciting that you are circling back around to your interest in origami and now trying more difficult ones. The fortune one that transforms into a box is incredible.

I see you were studying the Nara period in Japan. I went to the city of Nara. It has the largest wooden structure in the world, the Todaji temple, and some really cute deer which roam the streets.

I have a few open ended questions for you to answer if you are interested in any of them. Please respond to them in the next (week 32) observing for learning if you choose to.

What would you like to learn more about (today, this week, this year, etc) ?

What problems do you hope to solve (today, this week, this school year, in your lifetime, etc) ?

What will you need to learn to solve those problems? Who could you ask to mentor you?

How are you applying what you are learning in your own life?

What are your dreams?

What are some of the potential obstacles you may face in chasing those dreams?

What are some things you can do to overcome those obstacles or swim around them?

What actions are you taking today to help you reach your goals in the future?

Hi Ethan and Carl,

I will be responding more lightly to this Observing for Learning communication as I am taking the week to engage in Professional Development activities.

I have taken a few online classes through the Self Design Graduate Institute. Did you know Self Design has a graduate school program? The teachers can get a Master’s in Self Design. So that means Self Design has a k-12 program and a masters all that is left is university…

Some of the Zoom workshops I took were, mindfulness and presence in relationship, using songs to teach literacy and a very interesting one on awareness and the afterlife.

Well I thought of you (of course) when the first ever photos of a black hole made the news headlines. I thought Ethan would enjoy this zoomed out picture of the black hole and the folowing article and the video in the article as well.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/katie-bouman-helped-generate-the-first-ever-photo-of-a-black-hole.html

On Wednesday, after 10 years of planning and scientific investments totaling over $50 million, researchers released the first-ever image of a black hole. The image is a feat of modern science — experts say it’s the equivalent of taking a photo of an orange on the moon with a smartphone — and international collaboration. Over 200 scientists across the globe contributed to the project.

One of those scientists is Katie Bouman, a 29-year-old computer scientist who began working on the project when she was a graduate student at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT.

Bouman earned her bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Soon, she’ll begin working as an assistant professor in the Computing and Mathematical Sciences Department at the California Institute of Technology.

But when she became involved in the project almost six years ago, she had no experience studying black holes.

“I go after problems that excite me. When I started this project, I didn’t know anything about black holes and honestly, it was a risky project,” Bouman tells CNBC Make It. “But my heart was in this project. I love this project, and I think that that’s what makes it a success. When you get really smart people together, who are super motivated by the problem that they’re working on, I think people will figure out the answers.”

Here is another article: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47891902

The post Unschooling Journal March 31-April 6, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

February 24

Sunday at home. What to do? With the beautiful weather, we knew we had to go outside.

February 25

February 26

February 27

We wrapped up the evening by reading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The story is getting more interesting because the narrator is now embarking on a journey to find what they think is a giant narwhal.

February 28

March 1

March 2

And that was Ethan’s week! He helped with preparing food for the family and did a lot of his usual activities.

Ethan started the morning with some violin practice. We watched some videos of Benjamin Zander, a music teacher with the Boston Philharmonic, and were inspired by the way he teaches and inspires students to view music as an extension of our lives.

I listened to Benjamin Zander’s TED talk on classical music. Thank you for introducing me to a new inspiring person. Did you watch this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LCwI5iErE

He learned about verbals and wrote a fun story using gerunds.

Now gerunds are fun…my favorite ones I think involve sports kayaking, biking and skiing!

He explained that there are circles throughout. He also thought about how the negative space was a bunch of curved triangles.

I really appreciate how Ethan is looking at the curved triangles in this image and considering negative space. I wonder if he will try to figure out how to find the surface area of these curved triangles?

I am interested in the relationship between with this geometric pattern often called overlapping circle grids or sometimes the “Flower of Life” and physics. Ethan might find some interesting history and ideas to explore too:

triangular circle grid
1+
3
4
7
19

Ethan drew a magnifying glass looking into a solar system. More exploration of perspective here…

Ethan made a square root wheel. You turn it and it shows a square root and the answer.

Now this was so cool! Where did he find this idea or did he come up with it on his own?

We’re trying to reduce the amount of packaged or prepared snacks we’re having so Dong Eun made these healthy cookies without flour, oil or sugar. We definitely feel that nutrition has played a huge role in how Ethan learns and behaves. Even when he was still in the womb, Dong Eun always ate well and continued to do so after Ethan was born.

I would have to agree. Often families seem at a loss as to how to address their children’s difficult behaviors. My first question (but I don’t often say it) “is what is your child eating and drinking?” “How might a healthier diet and long nights sleep help support this child to self regulate better.”

Ethan does seem very healthy and bright. The in utero nutrition that Dong Eun so carefully attended to can not be underestimated!

We read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It’s an interesting book with some not so easy vocabulary and sentence structure. For example, he asked me what capricious means and I couldn’t answer. We know now

It’s so wonderful that Ethan enjoys classic novels so much! The richness of language really sets them apart from some more modern children’s literature.

I said that I would offer some more resources for Ethan to better express himself including his needs and feelings. I would like to suggest non-violent communication. There are many resources on the internet. Here is a simple overview in a graphic:

It just so happens that there is an entire LE library page dedicated to this topic of communicating at home and beyond: https://selfdesign.learning.powerschool.com/selfdesignlearning/library/cms_page/view/34194154

Communication can be a friend or foe. Effective communication leads to improved relationships and experiences. Poor communication can have the opposite effect. Want to become a better communicator? Learn more about skills in verbal and non-verbal communication here.

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I found a bit more on music, this time Jazz and mathemetics…the article is linked below

John Coltrane Draws a Picture Illustrating the Mathematics of Music

http://www.openculture.com/2017/04/the-tone-circle-john-coltrane-drew-to-illustrate-the-theory-behind-his-most-famous-compositions-1967.html

The post Unschooling Journal February 24 to March 2, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

February 17

February 18

Today was Family Day so we spent even more time together than usual 🙂

February 19

February 20

February 21

February 22

February 23

And that was Ethan’s week. We also received Ethan’s Winter Connection from his LC, Natasha, which is a progress report.

Ethan is doing very well, according to the report and he was very happy and proud to hear the praise that Natasha had for him.

Unschooling has certainly been a perfect fit for Ethan.

I picked out a few highlights from your observing for learning. Ethan has such full and incredible weeks. I get a real sense of each day because you share so many pictures too.

I can’t believe how many different ways Ethan uses his chalkboard. I also really appreciate that it is not a whiteboard. I feel like there is something very tactile about chalkboards that are lost in whiteboards. Also the medium of chalk versus marker is much more dynamic. I also prefer the dark background versus white, but this is my opinion.

Some interesting facts about chalkboards:

In recent years, green colored boards have largely replaced blackboards. Studies reveal that green color relaxes the eyes and prevents fatigue. Furthermore, the human eye is highly sensitive to the green color, and for this reason, the use of green boards has extensively increased.

As compared to whiteboards, blackboards still have a variety of advantages: … It is easier to draw lines of different weights and thicknesses with chalk than with whiteboard markers. Dashed lines can be drawn very quickly using a technique involving the friction of the chalk(or chalk marker) and blackboard.

For teachers like my mother, the chalkboard’s appeal is largely aesthetic. My mom found chalkboards easier to clean and considered their green color more calming than white. (This perceived calming benefit is among the reasons chalkboards remain popular in Japan, where they are still present in 75 percent of K-12 classrooms.) Likewise, my mother enjoyed the feel of the chalk in her hand and liked how her handwriting looked on the chalkboard.

A good article here in case Ethan is interested in the history of chalkboards, whiteboards and smart boards in education: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/10/theres-no-erasing-the-chalkboard/503975/

I think Ethan has really found something special in his chalkboard. I am so glad you are taking so many photos of how he uses it because the thinking and learning that he is expressing on it is phenomenal!

How to find the volume of a sphere-

This is such a great video! I shared it with a few of my other learners. Ethan has really improved his animations and transitions. I love the music and editing he did on this piece, creative and informative. You are such a great teacher Ethan and using very engaging tools.

I wonder if you will make a video someday about unschooling or homeschooling. I would be so interested to see wht principles or ideas you would share on the topic.

Solving cube in a cube pattern videos

All I can say is wow, not only was I unaware that cube in a cube was a thing or that you could solve cubes in this way. Thank you for continuing to expand my knowledge Ethan

video of playing Hunter’s chorus, filmed in black and white.

This video is beautiful. I think the choice to film in black and white is lovely. I am so happy to actually hear and see you playing the violin!

We finished the night by watching Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and reading Q&As from xkcd.com.

I checked out the xkcd.com website. Interesting and sort of strange to navigate around. I think I need a bit more time to explore. How does Ethan like to use this website?

We’re going to work on being a plastic free home after watching CBC Marketplace’s episode on just how much plastic is still being used. In particular, they talked about how much plastic there is at grocery stores and how consumers can demand that stores ask their suppliers to go plastic-free.

This is a very difficult challenge. Less plastic is a great goal. There are many ways to accomplish this from using pyrex storage containers, wax wrapping instead of plastic sandwich bags, using reusable shopping bags, buying items in bulk….I am sure Ethan had a bunch of more ideas, but there is still so much plastic in use around us!

https://www.treehugger.com/green-home/11-easy-ways-reduce-your-plastic-waste-today.html

I was really struck by plastic when I was in Nepal. There is no recycling going on there and even trash removal is very rare, so many people burn their trash and plastic as in much of the third world. Not to mention all of the plastic that winds up in the ocean and Ethan has been learning about that. I think it is so difficult for us (any age) to really take in all the damage all this plastic is doing to the environment.

Here is one cool idea. I had grade 5 students tell me how they are making their own beeswax reusable wraps. Here is a tutorial and I saw several youtube videos as well: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-your-own-reusable-food-wrap-244307

Are there any grocery stores like this one in London which are packaging and plastic free yet?

Ingrid Caldironi decided to cut down on plastic two years ago and says the best advice is to “be prepared”.

She told Newsbeat: “At first when you’re trying to do your weekly shop it can be difficult to avoid plastic packaging.

“I found local shops and markets were good because I could bring my own boxes to put cheese or vegetables in, but it does means you have to plan ahead.”

She now runs her own waste-free shop where customers bring their own containers to refill with products like shampoo, pasta or tea leaves which are stored in glass jars.

The Bulk Market in East London

Image caption The Bulk Market in East London
Ingrid says: “Obviously, running the shop makes it much easier for me to avoid plastic.

“What I’ve found since starting the shop is that people pretty much want the products and they don’t care about the packing.

“Our customers are happy to bring their own containers and they don’t mind travelling a bit further to shop with us because of that.”

Ingrid says starting out on a plastic-free life can be as easy as changing one thing.

“The first thing I did was buy a reusable coffee cup. I drink coffee everyday and buying throw away cups is such a waste.

“It made a big difference in the waste I was producing.”

She also has a few suggestions for other ways you can cut scale back on the plastic in your life.

He learned about how math is also a part of music from this TED Talk.

I am glad you watched this talk. The world’s ugliest music…strange to hear someone play it on the piano isn’t it? And the way they used math to find notes for music that had absolutely no pattern or rhythm and how ugly we find that sort of music. How is the piece based on pi going?

He completed everything in this book! We bought this book in fall of 2017 during our cross-Canada road trip. It was also when Ethan first started unschooling. He’s always loved this book and it’s been a great resource.

I can’t believe he did everything in the math book! What an accomplishment! Hooray Ethan. Now what?

What sort of larger patterns or mathematical understanding does Ethan have now that he feels this sense of completion?

He also learned about nonlinear functions from his math book.

Here’s an experiment he did to prove that the area of a circle is πr squared.

This is wonderful. I remember when I went to a French school for K-8 we had to do a lot of proofs not just equations, especially in geometry. This reminded me of doing a proof, but in a video format not just on paper…so cool. He is already doing proofs on his own as well as equations. I will see if I can find some other ones for him to try.

In mathematics, a proof is an inferential argument for a mathematical statement. In the argument, other previously established statements, such as theorems, can be used. In principle, a proof can be traced back to self-evident or assumed statements, known as axioms, along with accepted rules of inference.

As I understand it, a formula is a method for solving a mathematical problem expressed using alpha numeric characters like the quadratic formula is a method for solving quadratic equations when factoring will not work. I understand a proof to be a logical argument that may or may not produce a formula, but will produce a statement that something is true or false mathematically.

Here are some Algebra proof examples on IXL: https://www.basic-mathematics.com/algebra-proofs.html

https://www.analyzemath.com/Equations/proof_quadratic.html

This is the sort of proofs I would have to do in grade 7/8…all in French.

I will take some time to respond to the next two events you shared regarding Ethan expressing himself, his feelings and finding ways to problem solve more difficult inter and intrapersonal relationships. I will take a bit more time to reflect and share in Week 26

• Next up was his skating lesson. Today was a test day but we didn’t get any other information from the teacher. Ethan was happy and excited about the class. However, he mentioned that one of the boys in his group had been pushing him down and laughing at him. We explained to Ethan that he had to take responsibility and talk to the teacher, rather than only being upset and telling us afterwards.

We went grocery shopping but Ethan didn’t want to go. He was a bit whiny and so we had a talk about being better at using words to express himself, rather than just reacting with displeasure.

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January 6

January 7

January 8

January 9

He finished the night by reviewing his work with me and also doing his 60-second exercise challenge. He was able to hold a backbend for 61 seconds.

January 10

January 11

January 12

And that was the week! He really did a lot of Rubik’s Cube things this past week, so let’s see what he does next week.

Well what an incredible week learning, creativity and engagement for Ethan. I am late in my responses again pushing it to the last hour on a Sunday evening. I hope you are all watching the total lunar eclipse right now!

I often find myself at a loss for words once I read his weekly reflections (and see all the photos and watch the videos). This week was no exception. I watched his latest simplifying logarithms video and it was simply put incredible. Ethan’s delivery, animations, passion shine through. He is on fire in math!

So I spend the week tracking his many highlights of learning, like the ones i showed you last week and digesting the submission. I take notes on the parts that stand out the most to me and then I seem to procrastinate, completing all of my other reflections almost two days ago. What to write? What will be helpful and have meaning for Ethan and you?  Instead of guessing maybe you can help me in writing my responses.

How can I be of most service to you as an LC at this point this year?

Would you like me to focus on reflecting back the many accomplishments Ethan is making these days?

Or are there specific areas or resources you could use some guidance or help with?

The reason I ask is because in my professional opinion Ethan is exceeding his grade level in many areas and completely self designing as well.

I was so so excited to see the examples of the the writing breakthrough. I remember having the conversation with you in Nepal about your concerns about Ethan and his writing or reluctance to do more of it and now look at what he did in just one week!

I read his blog about the plastic straws, it was a clear and informative piece of original writing, wonderful. I learned a lot more about the enormous number of straws and creatures killed by plastic in the ocean. I appreciated his use of asterisks in order to footnote numbers. His personality really shines through not only in his videos but in his writing as well.

Do you have any concerns in Ethan’s learning now that he seems to be motivated to writing all sorts of genres. He is experimenting quite a bit now. It may be a good time to suggest some writing prompts or styles to try….or just let him continue to find his own way of expressing ideas and topics of interest to him.

I stee he is still enjoying his passions for origami and rubiks cubes. He is finding new and creative ways to engage in these passions too!

His oral language skills are developing at a rapid pace right now. In the logarithm video I noticed him using vocabulary and phrases that are quite advanced such as: intuitive, transfer, “just as a heads up”, dodecahedron, inverted, if you run into any problems…aka, indication to use the quotient property, nothing else to see here, fabulous expressions!, quadratic equations. So he is not only gaining a deep understanding for math concepts, but he possesses the language skills to express his knowledge to others. It is quite inspiring and impressive.

I thought you might be interested in some more resources for Ethan on ethics and morals

I searched for some books that would help Ethan learn more about ethics and morals. We feel that because he’ll have to make many choices and talk to many people over his lifetime, approaching those situations with compassion, kindness and empathy will go a long way.”

I would check out some of the resources suggested in the Big Questions LE, these are specifically on morals and ethics: https://library.sdlc.selfdesign.org/content-collection/morals-and-ethics/

This is on the mind-body connection: https://library.sdlc.selfdesign.org/content-collection/mind-body-connection/

Or on the nature of reality.

https://library.sdlc.selfdesign.org/content-collection/reality/

Ethan is doing a fantastic job of planning his daily and weekly plan. He seems to really enjoy making lists, but there are several other ways, maybe he wants to try some different techniques for oranizing and planning his learning and activities:

Do you have a dream? Want to be more organized? Explore mind-mapping, vision boards, planning techniques, decision making, and more….

Mind maps might be helpful for specific projects or topics whereas creating a bullet journal could help with his overview of the day, week, month and year. See if any of these resonate with Ethan you can find several resources in the LE Library Plan for Today, Plan for tomorrow: https://selfdesign.learning.powerschool.com/selfdesignlearning/library/cms_page/view/30873821

Bullet Journalling:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuaaotSpifM&feature=youtu.be

Ethan is quite a visionary and I can’t wait to see what he does next week, next year and in the next decade.

I wanted to also mention that Ethan has had a breakthrough when it comes to writing.

As you’ll see, he wrote a number of stories this week about different grammar points.

Dong Eun encouraged him to use his imagination and write a story with as many examples as possible of the grammar point he learned.

This turned out to be fun for Ethan because he could write creatively and focus only on using the grammar point. 

When I checked his work, I didn’t do much correcting for things like capitalization or even spelling.

It seems to be working because he told Dong Eun that he’s been enjoying the writing.

Yay!

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