November 17

November 18

I also went to violin and taekwondo today.

November 19

I also went to the last class of mindfulness, with a 20-minute meditation today. we also ate oranges mindfully.

November 20

I also went to taekwondo today.

Report from Soaring Eagle Nature School:

Wanting to soak up as much precious sun as possible, the North Van Weekly program kicked off the day by making the trek down to the big field downhill of the gazebo. Here, we played a team-building exercise (disguised as a game) called “Dragon Battles”. In this game, there were three teams of kids who linked up by holding onto each other’s shoulders to form a dragon. The goal was for the head of each dragon to steal the tail of another dragon. Many rounds later, we had learned a thing or two about communication. Some groups experienced success while other dragons were repeatedly severed when kids in the front moved too fast for the rear to keep up with! It was a good learning experience, with lessons that if integrated can relate well to real-life teamwork situations! Afterward, everyone shared gratitude in our opening circle, along with educated guesses (some more serious than others!) about our track-cast mystery! A few kids, in particular, spent most of the morning doing research in the tracking guide to try to solve the mystery. At this point, we’ve narrowed it down between a bobcat and a mountain lion (cougar), and it remains to be proved out by the first student to measure the size of the tracks and make a good case for either species! We followed this with Mikaela’s unbelievable Wolverine story, which was rich with animal communication and behavior.

Mink’s group (the Ravens) stayed in the meadow and worked on learning about animal “gaits”–or movement patterns. They did this by learning to mimic animal movement styles in their own bodies, and some of them even competed in a very close Animal Forms Relay Race! A good rest was in order, so the Ravens found solitary sit spots while Mink set up the next exercise–and one kid had a very close encounter with a Dark-Eyed Junco while out on their sitspot! Afterward, Mink explained the basics of deadfall traps, what types of situations might call for their use, and how to go about it as ethically as possible. The ravens split into groups and started working on their own Figure-4 traps to dive into this new skillset! After all of their focus was expended, they finished the day off with a very fun and giggly game of Scout Sword, which felt like it could have gone on for a few more hours! Don’t forget to bring your traps back next week, and do some research on bobcat vs. cougar tracks!

November 21

I also went to the swimming class today.

November 22

November 23

I also went to symphony and swimming class today.

Hello Ethan, 

Thank you so much for emailing me some resources, I forgot about Prodigy and how much fun it is for some learners. 

Also thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and emailing them to me. 

I find it interesting that you are not interested in trying practice problems after you learn a new concept. I suppose you are able to progress more quickly if you skip all the practice. 

Once you learn a new equation and reteach it, do you try different variables or values in order to check your understanding? 

For example in the elastic and inelastic equations do you ever change the weight of the objects? The distances?

I am quite impressed with your timeline project. I think the shear length of it is giving you a better perspective on time, history and events.

I appreciate how this timeline was your idea and like many of your ideas you really stretch yourself and your learning.

I also went to the last class of mindfulness, with a 20-minute meditation today. we also ate oranges mindfully.

Do you feel like mindfulness practice informs your learning? 

Are there ways for you to learn more mindfully?

I am curious to hear your thoughts on Soaring Eagle Nature school. I hear a lot about your learning at home, on the computer, and making movies, but very little from you about your reflections and interests in your outdoor experiences. 

Maybe you can share a bit more in the coming weeks. 

I found these this week and thought of you Ethan. I am so excited to have some new things to share with you. I think you will really enjoy. 

I am curious to hear your thoughts and what sorts of connections and questions come up for you as you look at these infographics and videos about biology, mathematics, physics and chemistry. Any new ideas? New inspiration? 

I posted a few images and videos, but the rest is in the link I posted below. This is the website where I found them and maybe there is more for you to explore there as you are such a visual learner. 

Whether you are a scientist who feels like people never quite get what you do or a student who can’t put their finger on how they might use their math or science degree, Walliman’s infographics will come in handy. Consider them roadmaps to possible careers or cheat sheets to figuring out how quantum physics is related to the theory of relativity. Best of all, by studying the visual maps, it becomes easy to see how all these scientific fields overlap and fit together like a puzzle.

Dominic Walliman has created science infographics and animated videos that explore how the fields of biology, chemistry, computer science, physics, and mathematics relate.

I linked to another infographic and this one is to debunk 100 common myths: https://mymodernmet.com/free-infographic-design-100-common-myths/

Have you heard any of these? Did you learn anything new? 

It’s no secret that some of the things we learn in school, as well as common conventional wisdom, are actually fabrications. Still, these myths are hard to dispel because they’re so ingrained in our society and general understanding of the world at large. How many times, for instance, have you been told not to eat before you go swimming? That’s a total lie—eating prior to the pool doesn’t increase the risk of muscle cramps, so enjoy that cheeseburger before taking a dip. This misconception, along with 99 other common myths, is featured in one fascinating free infographic from GeekWrapped.

Now I know you would like to get into university and possibly pursue a PhD someday. This is an informative infographic of this process. I suggest you read the article here:

https://mymodernmet.com/phd-infographic-matt-might/

I think it is limited albeit often true. I wonder if there are ways to pursue a PhD yet have an interconnected perspective which takes the bigger picture into account more often. I think with your background in Self Design, you may be better poised to do this Ethan.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZihywtixUYo?feature=oembed&rel=0&wmode=transparent

View in popup 

View in popup 

ok, here are my answers to your questions. 

Did he make this[bar graph] for a Self Design workshop? His idea? Or suggested by someone? 

okay, so this was for the self-design workshop. 😉

Why do you think Ethan does not do more practice questions? 

 okay, so I think that, if you learn something, and do practice questions, it’s kinda like learning it again. that’s why I don’t like practice problems. also, if I forget, I can just re-learn it.

BIG STEPS! How is this new role [in the concert strings group] feeling? 

I think it feels really interesting and fun! it makes me “sight read”, which means I can’t write any notes down!

Are you challenged? More inspired? How is this Concert Strings group different from the last one you were in?

I am definitely challenged. the concert strings group does way more complex things than the Debut strings group.

Maybe you can help me understand [the game of life’s] relevance and why you were so drawn to it? 

because the game of life is always changing every time! it’s really cool, and I think it is really fun! so, these are the rules:

1. Any live cell with two or three neighbors survives.
2. Any dead cell with three live neighbors becomes a live cell.
3. All other live cells die in the next generation. Similarly, all other dead cells stay dead.

-What did you learn? 

well, I learned that there are a lot of stable formations, and if you disturb it, the stable group just collapses. it represents how humanity survives and grows.

-How does the Game of Life relate to other areas or topics you are learning about? 

hmm… well, it sorta relates to math I guess… umm…I’m not sure! I found this game of life in the book “Math: with bad drawings”.

N – What ‘n’-ature adventure(s) have you been on this week? Or did you have any experiences this week where you felt like you yourself or somebody else or something had to be perfect and if so how did you deal with the fact that ‘n’-obody’s/’n’-othing’s perfect?

O – What did you ‘o’-bserve closely this week? Or did you do any ‘o’-rigami this week? Or did you learn about any ‘o’-ral traditions this week? Or did you learn or use any math ’o’-perations this week and if so which operation did you learn and how did you use it? Or were you ‘o’-pen to any new experiences this week and if so what? 

V –  Have you watched any YouTube ‘v’-ideo tutorials and if so what did you learn about this week? Or have you ‘v’-iewed any documentaries or films and if so what did you learn about this week? Or have you done any ‘v’-olunteering this week? Or would you like to do any ‘v’-olunteering and if so where? 

E – How did you feel a connection to the ‘e’-arth this week? Or how have you ‘e’-xpressed your learning this week? Or did you ‘e’-xperiment with anything this week and if so how and what did you learn? Or what educational ‘e’-xperience(s) were you open to this week? 

M – Did you ‘m’-ake any music this week, like what? Or did you ‘m’-ake any art this week, like what? Or did you ‘m’-ake anything this week where you were creative with designing or building or innovating or inventing? Or did you ‘m’-ake anyone laugh this week and if so how? Or how did you use ‘m’ath this week? Or did you do anything to ‘m’-ake a difference this week to your community, your planet, your family, yourself, and if so what and how? Or did you develop any more ‘m’-indfulness or discover any more personal growth this week? Or did you study anything about ‘m’-arine life or ‘m’-atter and energy or ‘m’-icrobes or ‘m’-ythology or ‘m’-usic this week?

B – Did you ask any ‘b’-ig questions this week and if so is there an answer and if so are you satisfied (or not) with the answer? Or did you ‘b’-ake or cook anything this week and if so what and how did it turn out and taste? Did you do any ‘b’-irdwatching this week and if so what did you see and what do you love about birds? Or are you interested to learn more about ‘b’-lack history in Canada or other countries? Or did you do any ‘b’-iking or ‘b’-oarding this week and if so what and where and how did it go?

E – Did you engage in any ‘e’-ntrepreneurial ventures this week and if so which and how? Or did you use your sense of ‘e’-conomics this week in any way and if so how? 

Or did you use or learn anything about ‘e’-ngines (big or small) this week? 

R – Did you find any ways to ‘r’-educe or ‘r’-euse or ‘r’-ecycle or upcycle this week? Or have you learned anything new or different or deeper about ‘r’-elationships this week and with who and how have you put it into practice?

The post Unschooling Journal November 17-23, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

November 3

Ethan had creative writing class today. His friend Eldon joined him and they also went skating afterwards.

November 4

Today, Dong Eun was talking to Ethan and she asked him if he’s having a happy childhood. He said yes, except for one thing… That he can’t have meat again.

We recently switched to a plant-based diet and Ethan wasn’t thrilled. We tried it in the past, went back to having meat and now we’re going to try again. But Ethan isn’t too happy about it. However, Ethan knows that he can have meat when he wants it and just has to ask. (Ethan’s comment: wahhhh! I want meat!!!)

Tonight, Ethan had violin class and taekwondo class. He brought a bunch of candy to give away to his taekwondo classmates. After class, several of the kids were saying thanks to Ethan as he left. I think he felt pretty good about what he did. He said it was fun giving the candy to others and making them happy.

November 5

November 6

November 7

November 8

November 9

And that was Ethan’s week! Check back next week for more unschooling.

Week 11 Fall Connection

I had a Zoom call with Ethan and his parents. 

Ethan spoke directly with me for a majority of it. This was the most he has ever contributed to a conversation which seems to go hand in hand with all of the self reporting and direct responses he emails me to my questions. What a delight to see how much Ethan has grown and the sense of ownership he has of his own learning. 

In the beginning of the conversation I spoke a bit about grade 10-12 in Self Design and how one can not do it faster or take individual courses faster. There are other DL courses in which one could probably do the coursework necessary in 1 ½ years as opposed to three. This is to get a Dogwood BC Graduate Certificate which is not necessary for getting into university since that is the goal. 

I spoke with Catherine Denin at Self Design and she recommended some private schools for gifted and talented students in Vancouver Magnasson and Madrona. In case Ethan was ever interested in going to a brick and mortar school. There are probably scholarships available etc. 

His parents spoke about the possibility of sitting in on a high school science class with labs. I would also suggest seeing if there is a math or science class he could observe at a community college like Capilano sometime in the future.

Just some ideas to mull over. After I shared all that I went back to Ethan. Here are some notes from the conversation:

Ethan explained:

 This year is pretty good, pretty fun so far

Learning new things

Solving square root equations, 

Physics: centrifugal force, momentum

Khan Academy different subjects for areas of interest

 Then go on youtube for more resources

He has certain teachers that you like

Year long goal : I can get better at making new equations, and figuring out new equations.

Figured out a formula

Want to figure out more equations for complicated problems

Simplifying calculator

Uploads more videos see what happens

Yes I teach yes my mom

What about teaching anyone else? 

Not really yet

Feels good to put it out there on Youtube

Old rubiks cube a lot of comments

Most people don’t know how to solve one

This winter a lot more videos, really enjoying making them, lots of topics

Coding behind the pacman game

NASA has a youtube channel

Saw a video about how pacman AI works

Then code my own my own pacman game then wrote a code on scratch

Whats next in coding learn javascript, code in python, having fun and making stuff

This morning I was 

How to throw things, how far you can throw some based on an equation

Maximum throw how far you can throw something

Try to code this formula into python, velocity and terminal velocity equations as well

Big formula did not work as integer values, supposed to set them as strings

Books by Munroe

Images

College board recommended reading list for college bound students, making them available

Math and science and really interested in

A little bit cautious, reading for enjoyment

Thinking about going to library and bookstores

I can see how quickly he can improve or accomplish something 

It is quite dramatic

He improved his writing a lot in the last 6 months

He wrote the script for 

History of chat conversations, written some questions and replies to the teacher

Level of clarity and sophistication

Parents: he has done a lot already this year

Looked at the Learning plan 

Improved his movie making: the quality, drew out by hand the content, filmed it and then did voice over

Video about moles, matched the pacing of the voice

Inspired by someone else

Google secrets videos

Animation techniques all in apple keynote discovering all these things he can do with it

Workshop every thursday

Gives him confidence, not shy anymore

That class helped him

Creative writing class at the community centre

mindfulness 

Observing a science class in highschool, doing the experiments 

Writing up the lab

Saturday symphony class teacher violin he is ready to move onto regular concert strings group

 Start that in a few weeks

Space centre in florida, Space Camp in alabama

One in Houston

Appreciate my asking questions to deepen my learning

The post Unschooling Journal November 3-9, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

Note to Natasha from Dong Eun:

We appreciate all the links and thoughtfulness in providing resources to Ethan. We check all the things you send over the course of the week as they are really helpful. The resources help Ethan expand his knowledge and curiosity as he explores new things that he may not have thought or knew about.

October 6

in this blog post, Ethan is taking over. and maybe some more.

From Dong Eun:

Thanks to Natasha for the links to the dry ice experiments. Ethan really enjoyed the experiments and plans on doing an experiment every time we get dry ice.

He also really enjoyed the link to the article about the optical illusion on the side of a building: Optical Illusion

October 7

he also went for taekwondo and violin practice today.

October 8

he also went out and played with friends today!

October 9

This is from Mink, his nature school teacher:

Taking advantage of the surprisingly sunny weather, the Wednesday North Van group made the short trek down to a nice open field in the morning. A big game of wolf ball was enjoyed by many, while others practice crushing stones to make rock paint, and rolling rocks Down hills within some safe parameters. Afterwards, everyone came together for an exciting story about the lives of Rick and Tom Brown learning scout skills under the tutelage of an Lipon Apache elder named Stalking Wolf. A new instructor who will be taking Devon’s group for the month of October was also welcomed into the fold. The team is excited to have Craig joining them for a time!

Mink’s group opted to hang around in the big open field with Scott’s group. Finally it was time to play a game that Mink has been keeping in her back pocket for weeks. This team building game involved four teams and four different coloured pool noodles to be used as swords. Teams had to direct their warrior (who was blindfolded) to pick up the right coloured sword and hit other teams warriors with it. The problem is that only one person could see, and only one person could speak! This hilarious game of broken telephone lasted for about an hour and a half. Tales of the glories of battle re-counted over a relaxing lunch as everyone soaked up the sun. After lunch, Mink’s group separated to work on a couple of crafts. Bow drills were brought out, and everyone started working on a small elderberry container, to be finished next week!

October 10

Here is the video he made about pi versus tau: https://youtu.be/2GNoYEtyKQs

From Dong Eun:

Normally, when Ethan makes his videos he doesn’t prepare in advance. He knows what the topic is that he wants to talk about and just says what’s in his head. However, for the pi versus tau video, he felt that the subject was more complicated so he wrote a script.

October 11

October 12

We appreciate all the links and thoughtfulness in providing resources to Ethan. We check all the things you send over the course of the week as they are really helpful. The resources help Ethan expand his knowledge and curiosity as he explores new things that he may not have thought or knew about.

I am doing my best to find and offer him new and inspiring things to consider. It is difficult because I never took physics, trigonometry or calculus, nor do I know even a fraction of what Ethan knows about space. 

I was wondering, have you considered finding a mentor for Ethan in math or space studies? I spoke with Self Design and he is allowed to use LRS funds for paying a mentor for their time. 

I am also pursuing finding mentors in his are who could work with him through the lead resource curator of the LE Library. She was the one who offered all of the space and math resources last summer. 

Pi vs Tau video

reading The Tau Manifesto by Michal Hartl.

learning how to calculate pi.

transcript for a video he is making about pi and tau

From Dong Eun:

Normally, when Ethan makes his videos he doesn’t prepare in advance. He knows what the topic is that he wants to talk about and just says what’s in his head. However, for the pi versus tau video, he felt that the subject was more complicated so he wrote a script.

How wonderful that Ethan wrote a script. He did the research and decided the content was so specific and complicated that he wanted to be more prepared and cover all the points. I wonder if he will write more scripts from now on. 

Sometimes I find his videos a bit long for me to watch, maybe he will make edited and quick version videos as well. Math can not be rushed I suppose and he wants to demonstrate his findings as well as teach them clearly. I am a bit lost already in his level in math so I appreciate his step by step videos.

history. today he learned about black plague! aka black death

I remember being fascinated by the Black Death or Black Plague. Here is some more info for Ethan if he is still wondering: 

https://www.dkfindout.com/uk/history/black-death/

I also posted a video below. 

Ethan answered many of my questions from Week 5 and I was quite impressed by the amount he wrote, the depth of his responses and his clear self reflection. 

I was wondering have you had a chance to look at the list of “I Can Statements” for the fall reflections? 

Ethan can check these out and see if he has a goal for the year based on the different Core Competencies. I am sure he can do many of these. See what inspires him these days for the year ahead. 

Please let me know if you can not open this document too: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l82lmKZhXYNt4GjIJFVkxdvxtOvYORMMPGYyHD0DXNo/edit

Are you keeping all of these[ideas] in one notebook? 

 yes, actually! I usually keep them in my main notebook. the one that I write my stories, and what I did for the day!.

Do you refer to it before you make videos? 

not exactly, but I keep the notebook close sometimes, so I can refer back to it. so, I usually learn about the subject, then I sometimes teach it to my mom, then, once, I made a transcript, because I didn’t remember what to say. then, usually, I decide what format to make my video in, (like drawing, drawing on the computer, making a slideshow, or Powtoon.) then, I make the video!

Do you use this journal as a place to brainstorm and plan out your instructional videos as well? 

not really, I kind of go right at it, then if I get it wrong, I check my notebook. but, most of my space-science videos are from the notebook that I already talked about!

What is it about Jeremy Shafer that you so enjoy, Ethan? 

oh, yeah. well, he is silly, and a good teacher because he goes slow in the instructional videos! he loves origami too!

Does he do things in his Youtubes that you would try to emulate? 

yes, maybe plan out what I am going to do and say before I record my video(like my transcript I use a lot- oh wait, that was only once.).

What are your Halloween plans?

my Halloween plans? well, my costume is gonna be something related to space, or math, so I have no idea. (yet!)

Where do your new ideas come from?

mostly from fun things(like things that are fun in math, and science, and other things)(for example, when I watch a video and I see something cool, I learn more, then I just do it), and my writing mainly comes from NASA.

 What are you curious about? 

well, mostly about things that are fun to do, like for example space, because of all the things that are being discovered every day (like a live video)!

How have you used questions to learn more about something?

well… not really, technically when I have a question, I will look it up on google or something…(I can’t think of a time I used a question to learn more, so I need some help.)(my mom just said that she is gonna ask more questions from now on)

How could you share your idea with others?

well, I would share it as a blog or something on youtube! (I don’t tell my friends because I have too many things to talk about, so I just tell them to go to my youtube channel.)

What are the different ways you could share your ideas?

well, (a) I could share it as a blog post, (b) I could upload a video, (c) I could write 

about the subject,(d)talk about it to people, (e)make a viral video, or (f)scream it out the window(needs more work).

When did you try something new this week? How did that go?

well, this week, I tried different things with dry ice, and that was fun because there are so many things to do! thanks for the inspiration!

When did you try something hard this week? How did that go?

these days, I learned how to shoot a projectile at a slope, and learning how to calculate the distance up the slope it landed!(this was hard because there are so many things to do and remember the ways to do it!)but, that was fun, because I learned how to do something new!

Tell [me] about a time you made a mistake …

well, there is the Arduino number keypad coding, and I made a mistake in the coding! so, if you make a mistake in the code, the whole thing “malfunctions”, and it shows an error message!

When was a time when you learned from a mistake you made?

that one about the Arduino, I learned that you should always follow the instructions, and you may make mistakes while following the instructions! (so don’t worry if you make a mistake)(must fix it after though)

What is the number keypad for? (Arduino)

the number keypad was just for connecting it to the computer, and it will type out a number!

Does Ethan get frustrated? How does he handle these more difficult emotions these days? 

Carl and Dong Eun answering…

No, it doesn’t seem like he gets frustrated these days. He seems to handle most situations really well. Since he chooses the situations he wants to be a part of, he doesn’t need to deal with many challenging or frustrating situations compared to kids who are in a classroom. 

When he goes to his classes, those are mostly fun and engaging. He goes to the school playground almost every day after the kids get out of school to play with his friends and does things he enjoys. 

The only time he gets annoyed is when we ask him questions while he’s focused on doing something and he doesn’t feel like answering. Or when he’s tired he can get frustrated. 

Overall, he handles his emotions quite well. This Tuesday, he will be starting a new mindfulness class so that might help him learn new tools for dealing with his emotions.

Please share any new techniques and activities that he really enjoys in his new mindfulness class. I like to pass them on to other learners. 

Looking for ways to play with dry ice, bubbles

Thanks to Natasha for the links to the dry ice experiments. Ethan really enjoyed the experiments and plans on doing an experiment every time we get dry ice.

He also really enjoyed the link to the article about the optical illusion on the side of a building: Optical Illusion

More optical illusions by other artists: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/04/new-geometric-projections-by-felice-varini-in-paris/

This one looks photoshopped, but look how it was done: 

This one would have been magnificent to behold at the Louvre: 

https://archinect.com/news/article/150129654/for-its-30th-birthday-artist-jr-creates-a-large-scale-optical-illusion-at-the-louvre-pyramid

Spanish practice

Violin homework

doing some EMF. doing a quiz on ordered n-tuples

math: the intersection points of sin x and cos x.

Teaching it too on blackboard

also for math! graphing y=tan(x). Carl here… Ethan was reminded of this topic after doing the work on the intersection points of sin x 

I wish I could comment more of all the math Ethan is learning of late, but all I can say is wow. Keep going! You passion is palpable. 

today, Ethan learned about launching and landing on different elevations.

he learned about sinsodual functions.

then, physics! he learnded about how to get the distance a projectile travels up a hill.

he learned about the definitions of 9 words, and had to match them up

for writing, he learned about what the sun does as it gets older.

writing an e-mail to his LC.!

this is what he is making in nature school: an elderberry container!

• reading xkcd.this was “what would happen if there was a robot apocalypse?”

Listening to an audiobook: Adventure According to Humphrey

like, for example, if you look up “do a barrel roll”, google will literally do a barrel roll. try it!

writing down all the google secrets

This Youtuber is even younger than Ethan!

View in popup 

Meet a 12 year girl who is the youngest published scientist in the world! Her method? She starts with a question and everything unfolds from there!

View in popup 

So I typed in do a barrel roll and I found all these other tricks. Ethan do you know more than these? 

View in popup 

View in popup 

The post Unschooling Journal October 6-12, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

We hope that this unschooling blog provides some insight into one way of implementing unschooling and self-directed learning.

September 29

Ethan started a creative writing class today at the community centre. He wasn’t too interested in going but ended up really enjoying the class. They worked on developing a character today.

September 30

Ethan had violin class and taekwondo class today, too.

October 1

Here’s a link to the video about the cannonball pulsar on his YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Bc7LyKSCgL0

October 2

Ethan had nature school today. Here’s what his teacher, Mink, wrote about the day:

Our crew kicked off the day by journeying to a large field downhill of the sign in spot to play a very special game. We were greeted there by none other than the great wizard Dumbledor himself, who welcomed us all to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Scott took the mic from there, and explained a super fun game called “forest quidditch” that involves several different types of balls and 4 teams! Afterwards, our instructors performed some knife safety skits which were simultaneously hilarious and harrowing. Many lessons were learned the hard way through these skits, and in the end we are all glad that Mikaela is still alive.

After knife skits, all of the groups went in different directions in search of good places to practice their carving skills. Mink’s group headed into the first and focused on carving their bow-drill kits. A few kids even finished their kits and started to use them! They enjoyed having a potential new group member with them. At the end of the day, they headed back out to the field for a very captivating game of “Icky Stick.”

October 3

October 4

October 5

In the morning, Ethan had his symphony class and his second swimming lesson of the week. He said that the extra swimming lesson has helped his progress in the class.

Ethan made a video about the end of the universe. He summarized things that he learned from other sources to create this video: https://youtu.be/NIfED8shNug

And that was Ethan’s week!

Are you keeping all of these[ideas] in one notebook? 

 yes, actually! I usually keep them in my main notebook. the one that I write my stories, and what I did for the day!.

Do you refer to it before you make videos? 

not exactly, but I keep the notebook close sometimes, so I can refer back to it. so, I usually learn about the subject, then I sometimes teach it to my mom, then, once, I made a transcript, because I didn’t remember what to say. then, usually, I decide what format to make my video in, (like drawing, drawing on the computer, making a slideshow, or Powtoon.) then, I make the video!

Do you use this journal as a place to brainstorm and plan out your instructional videos as well? 

not really, I kind of go right at it, then if I get it wrong, I check my notebook. but, most of my space-science videos are from the notebook that I already talked about!

What is it about Jeremy Shafer that you so enjoy, Ethan? 

oh, yeah. well, he is silly, and a good teacher because he goes slow in the instructional videos! he loves origami too!

Does he do things in his Youtubes that you would try to emulate? 

yes, maybe plan out what I am going to do and say before I record my video(like my transcript I use a lot- oh wait, that was only once.).

What are your Halloween plans?

my Halloween plans? well, my costume is gonna be something related to space, or math, so I have no idea. (yet!)

Where do your new ideas come from?

mostly from fun things(like things that are fun in math, and science, and other things)(for example, when I watch a video and I see something cool, I learn more, then I just do it), and my writing mainly comes from NASA.

 What are you curious about? 

well, mostly about things that are fun to do, like for example space, because of all the things that are being discovered every day (like a live video)!

How have you used questions to learn more about something?

well… not really, technically when I have a question, I will look it up on google or something…(I can’t think of a time I used a question to learn more, so I need some help.)(my mom just said that she is gonna ask more questions from now on)

How could you share your idea with others?

well, I would share it as a blog or something on youtube! (I don’t tell my friends because I have too many things to talk about, so I just tell them to go to my youtube channel.)

What are the different ways you could share your ideas?

well, (a) I could share it as a blog post, (b) I could upload a video, (c) I could write 

about the subject,(d)talk about it to people, (e)make a viral video, or (f)scream it out the window(needs more work).

When did you try something new this week? How did that go?

well, this week, I tried different things with dry ice, and that was fun because there are so many things to do! thanks for the inspiration!

When did you try something hard this week? How did that go?

these days, I learned how to shoot a projectile at a slope, and learning how to calculate the distance up the slope it landed!(this was hard because there are so many things to do and remember the ways to do it!)but, that was fun, because I learned how to do something new!

Tell [me] about a time you made a mistake …

well, there is the Arduino number keypad coding, and I made a mistake in the coding! so, if you make a mistake in the code, the whole thing “malfunctions”, and it shows an error message!

When was a time when you learned from a mistake you made?

that one about the Arduino, I learned that you should always follow the instructions, and you may make mistakes while following the instructions! (so don’t worry if you make a mistake)(must fix it after though)

What is the number keypad for? (Arduino)

the number keypad was just for connecting it to the computer, and it will type out a number!

Does Ethan get frustrated? How does he handle these more difficult emotions these days? 

Carl and Dong Eun answering…

No, it doesn’t seem like he gets frustrated these days. He seems to handle most situations really well. Since he chooses the situations he wants to be a part of, he doesn’t need to deal with many challenging or frustrating situations compared to kids who are in a classroom. 

When he goes to his classes, those are mostly fun and engaging. He goes to the school playground almost every day after the kids get out of school to play with his friends and does things he enjoys. 

The only time he gets annoyed is when we ask him questions while he’s focused on doing something and he doesn’t feel like answering. Or when he’s tired he can get frustrated. 

Overall, he handles his emotions quite well. This Tuesday, he will be starting a new mindfulness class so that might help him learn new tools for dealing with his emotions.

I am glad to hear you are sharing Ethan’s educational story with people you meet and through your blog. 

I too find that a lot of parents have no idea that there is government subsidized distance learning opportunities for k-12 learners in BC. it is actually quite progressive. 

What do you think Self Design or the BC Ministry should or could do to better inform the public of the choices that they have in education.?

I heard this interview and story on CBC quirks and quarks. 

I am interested to hear Ethan’s thoughts on this new technology?

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/oct-5-2019-is-red-meat-bad-deflecting-asteroids-politics-making-us-sick-and-more-1.5307212/nasa-is-testing-a-plan-to-deflect-killer-asteroids-by-crashing-into-one-1.5307218

After watching his two incredible videos this week on the End of the Universe and pulsars…I am wondering if Ethan could do research and on anything in space what is he most interested in? Last year it seems like black holes really captivated him. 

What are Ethan’s big questions about the universe? 

I know his goal is to work at NASA, but does he have a field or focus which he feels drawn to in Space exploration at this time? 

What are his dreams he wants to fulfill at NASA? 

I will write more tomorrow…sorry I sent the completed email by accident

The post Unschooling Journal September 29-October 5, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.