We have been asking Ethan to spend more time answering the questions and reviewing the information and websites sent by Natasha, Ethan’s SelfDesign Learning Consultant.

We greatly appreciate the material she sends us because it helps expand Ethan’s exposure to different learning resources. Everything she sent was related to things that Ethan enjoys learning about, which has helped him become even more engaged in his learning.

Ethan has also taken a strong interest in Diep.io, the online game with the tanks. He made a flowchart about each of the tanks in the game to visualize how to get specific tanks that he likes.

We also attended a physics event introduced to us by Natasha and he really enjoyed it. He mentioned that he wished it was hands-on and that he was already familiar with what they taught. However, he still had a great time, especially since he was there with friends. We’ll likely go every year from now on.

Ethan is very much into physics these days. He has been learning about oscillations and mechanical waves from Khan Academy. He found the lessons about sound waves particularly fascinating because of how they interact with each other.

For example, he learned a formula to calculate beat frequency and was able to input different numbers to demonstrate how the formula works.

He was inspired to write his own code in Python to calculate wavelengths.

In math, he’s been learning about polynomials and likes it because he can graph the results. He really enjoys creating a visual representation of things that he has learned.

He has been reading articles from the NASA website and writing about the topics he most enjoys. He has also made videos that he published today on his YouTube channel and we’ll include them in next week’s blog post.

When he had his symphony concert on the weekend, he really enjoyed it. The group only had three practices but were able to play fourteen of the Christmas classics. He enjoys practicing the violin at home, as well.

We have also started borrowing more books from the library. The topics span coding, science, fiction, math or just anything that he likes. He even got a drawing book. The reason for borrowing more books is because Ethan has been spending a lot of time on his laptop. We want him to have a better balance with offline learning activities, such as reading.

He’s not so much into the classic books we purchased for him. He doesn’t voluntarily read the classics, as he would rather read what interests him that he finds at the library.

He likes stories set in space, no surprise there, but he also likes Tom Gates and the Humphrey series of books. He is still into Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Waste of Space is another favourite that he not only reads, but he also listens to the audiobook. Audiobooks are available from the library as a digital download.

He enjoyed reading Holes by Louis Sachar and borrowed another one of Sachar’s books to read.

What he’s not so into is learning Spanish and learning about history. Although he works on the history timeline, he does it quickly to get it done. This is similar to learning Spanish with Duolingo.

We all went to Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia to finish the week. It was Ethan’s second time seeing it and he enjoyed it just as much this time, too. He didn’t catch any of the Spanish being spoken, though 🙂

December 8

December 9

December 10

December 11

From Mink, Ethan’s nature school teacher:

The day started with a fun round of Titanoboa, a collaborative tag game involving slaying of a giant prehistoric snake using only a few pine cones (poison dart frogs). Afterwards, we all sang a gratitude song together for circle, and Mink finished off the Badora story.

Mink’s group started out by playing a game of scout sword with Mikaela’s group. The object of the game is to pin clothes pins onto a blindfolded ninja, without getting hit by the pool noodle the ninja is swinging at anything hey can here. Afterwards, the ravens headed to a familiar spot where they had stashed some hemlock twigs in hopes that they would be dry for this weeks return to the fire challenge. The fire challenge proves to be just as difficult this week as last week, partially because the stashed hemlock twigs did not stay dry at all! Fortunately the Ravens had enough time to come through in the end, although they did end up having to use a lighter. The Pitch of a nearby Douglas Fir proved indispensable in lighting the fire. The teamwork exemplified by the group in this challenge was very impressive, and everyone got to celebrate by enjoying a hot beverage together at the end!

December 12

December 13

December 14

Thank you so much for writing up this summary for the week. It helps to have your ideas and reflections all in one place as opposed to me inferring from a caption on a photo. The photos are great, don’t get me wrong it’s just nice to have the week summarized like this once in a while, it helps me see the larger picture and make some connections as well. 

I am so glad Ethan enjoys the links and resources I offer. It is challenging to source them because I have to stretch into areas such as higher level math, physics and space which are all not my immediate my areas of interest and very far from areas of expertise. Thank you for the challenge, I am learning a lot from Ethan. 

I am happy to hear he went to the physics event with his friends. I am not surprised that he was familiar with the content. He is way above grade level after all. I guess this is an example of what might happen at NASA space camp and something to consider. 

I appreciate that he was hoping for more hands-on experience, but I guess you can explain that this was a lecture and presentation type event for a large group of people. 

It would be interesting to hear what Ideas Ethan has for making the event or topic shared more hands on, maybe he has some worthwhile input and feedback for the event. 

Perhaps he would like to get involved with it somehow in the years to come. It could be an opportunity for him to start making connections and building relationships with university students or professors of physics at UBC. He also might develop some new organization, event planning and leadership abilities.

Writing his own code to calculate wavelengths is such an advanced synthesis of his recent learning about waves and frequencies. He is really applying his new knowledge in creative and innovative ways. 

Wow 14 Christmas classics performed after only 3 practices, way to go Ethan! I don’t doubt that he practices at home. 

One of my favorites is Silent Night, so calming and peaceful. 

I think it is fine for him to pass on the classics for a bit and read what interests him at the library. Perhaps he could pick one or two classics every few months which he reads. Or listen to a classic on an audiobook. 

If Ethan is not as inspired by Spanish or Duolingo, switch it up. Have him do a country study on a country of his choosing where they speak Spanish, or go out to a Mexican meal and look at the menu for Spanish words he could learn. 

Or make a Mexican or South American meal at home. 

He could learn about the Las Posadas holiday which is celebrated at Christmas time in Mexico. 

https://library.sdlc.selfdesign.org/content-collection/las-posadas/

If this is of interest to Ethan check out winter holidays around the world: 

December is a month full of holidays that celebrate light in the darkness, family, togetherness, unity, and peace. Here are a few winter holidays that are celebrated throughout the world:

• Saint Nicholas Day (Christian)
• Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexican)
• St. Lucia Day (Swedish)
• Hanukkah (Jewish)
• Yule (Pagan)
• Winter Solstice (secular)
• Christmas Day (Christian)
• Three Kings Day/Epiphany (Christian)
• Boxing Day (Australian, Canadian, English, Irish)
• Kwanzaa (African American)
• Omisoka (Japanese)

It is totally acceptable for the second language learning to be more of a cultural experience. 

I have some thoughts about his reluctance to do history. He might be bored of the timeline project and seeing history as a series of events in linear time sequence. 

I am going to direct you to the BC Ministry grade 6 social studies curriculum. 

It is actually not focused on a series of events at all but how complex social interact and influence each other. I suggest you click on the link below and explore the content with Ethan. See what he thinks, what he wonders about and how you could begin to explore the big ideas….I am curious to see what this ignites in him. I am actually surprised how advanced the subject matter is and the critical thinking skills involved. 

Social studies Grade 6: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies/6

Big Ideas:

-Economic self-interest can be a significant cause of conflict among peoples and governments.

-Complex global problems require international cooperation to make difficult choices for the future.

-Systems of government vary in their respect for human rights and freedoms.

-Media sources can both positively and negatively affect our understanding of important events and issues.

Lastly I hope you have a fantastic holiday season together. 

Happy Holidays, 

Natasha in Nelson BC

https://www.youtube.com/embed/79ArflFunZk?feature=oembed&rel=0&wmode=transparent

hey Natasha!

how are you?

I’m fine, thank you.

here are the answers to week 15:

Are you using the [probability of getting exploded by an exploding kittnen] wheel as you play?

well, not really, but I did play with the wheel once, by myself. not with anybody else though ;).

Are there other games you would use this strategy for? 

hmm, I haven’t thought about that. maybe for scrabble, with the chance of getting a certain letter, or monopoly, the chance of landing on a property that somebody else owns…

I am curious to hear about what you learned in this process [of making this computer for hexapawn]?

erm… well, I learned a lot about how machines learn with trial and error! like deep blue, the computer that won against Lee Sedal! not sure if that’s how to spell the name though. Lee is the board game Go champion.

[making and listing every kind of thing in spaceeee] seems like quite a daunting task. 

How are you approaching it?

well, I am starting to try by naming the stars and planets. and those stars break up into main sequence stars and giant stars. which break up even further into brown dwarves, red dwarves, orange dwarves, and yellow dwarves.

 and those are just about 83% of all the stars. then there are supernovae, black holes, pulsars, galaxies, spiral, irregular, dwarf, nebulae, the list goes on and on. so, I am just putting all these categories into a group, and then, there are about 100 things to sort. what a long answer! 🙂

Have you ever been on a seesaw? 

yes, and I loved it! normally there aren’t any seesaws at the school but on the road trip across Canada, there were some!

PS, I really liked the artificial intelligence website you sent me! that’s because the machines you can make with AI are really interesting and they can be used everywhere, like vacuums(Roombas), cars(self-driving), and even chalkboard erasers! (okay, I made that last one up.)

PPS, can you tell me your home address please, because we want to send you something 😉

The post Unschooling Journal December 8-14, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

December 1

December 2

December 3

Video about how to play hexapawn

December 4

Report from Mink, Ethan’s teacher at Soaring Eagle Nature School:

The day started with a squirrel-centric big game of “Midden Madness” in the Forest, during which hungry squirrels had to balance collecting pine cones for the winter with not being eaten by predators! Afterwards, Mink told the first half of the Badora story—the ending to which will be revealed next session!

Mink’s group had a very sneaky day of hiking down a big hill to a river spot they had never been to before! The old growth Sitka Spruce trees were beautiful and unusual to see, and everyone enjoyed a quiet lunch by the raging river. The Ravens decided it would be wise to hike back up the hull sooner than later, knowing it would be a slow journey. Once at the top again, mink presented the group with “the great hot chocolate fire challenge!” This team challenge involved bringing water to boil in a stove that uses only sticks for fuel! The first step was to light the stove, and the group was provided with two flint and steels as well as the choice between a few different tinders to start the fire. In the end they came very close but were not quite able to light the stove. With the promise of another attempt at the challenge next week, it will be interesting to see if their strategy changes!

December 5

December 6

December 7

making a “chance of getting an exploding kitten wheel”for the exploding kittens game.

Are you using the wheel as you play? Are you finding the probability pretty accurate? I am impressed how you are applying your mathematical knowledge to games. 

Are there other games you would use this strategy for? 

map of physics. this was cooool!! because it’s a map!!!! of physics and it’s cool to see a subject on a map.

I am so glad you enjoyed it too! I thought it would be right up your alley. You like visuals and ideas. I was very excited when I stumbled across it. 

making a computer!

it’s supposed to control a game called hexapawn. hexapawn is a game with two players, and you either (a) capture all the pieces of the other player, (b) get one of your pieces to the other side, or (c) block the opponent so they can’t move.

making my video about the computer that is hexapawn.

I looked at your video which inspired me. I learned a lot from your replication and video. Thank you I know know how a computer can “learn”

I am curious to hear about what you learned in this process? 

I typed computer learning into google and got this: 

Machine learning algorithms build a mathematical model based on sample data, known as “training data”, in order to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform the task. … Machine learning is closely related to computational statistics, which focuses on making predictions using computers.

What are your thoughts or applications you see for this? 

An article for you: Machine Learning and why it matters: 

https://www.sas.com/en_in/insights/analytics/machine-learning.html

Many other articles here which may or may not be of interest: https://www.sas.com/en_in/insights.html

math: proof: there is an irrational number between any 2 rational numbers.

Proofs are the best!! Nice work Ethan

writing: every kind of thing in spaaaaaaaaaace! for writing about every kind of thing in space. I’m supposed to write about every kind of thing in space

This seems like quite a daunting task. 

How are you approaching it? 

making a Fibonacci spiral! I thought it was cool, so…

I do love the Fibonacci spiral and so did Brent Cameron who started self Design. I know I have shared that with you before. 

Here is some more inspired art and in nature:

Why is this presenting itself in space? Big question I know

A bit of math work too

learning about centre of mass and solving problems because it was fun!!!!!!

It is great to see you solving some problems too. Have you ever been on a seesaw? 

I don’t know if they put them in playgrounds anymore, for safety reasons. I just loved them as a kid and playing with further away from the center when a heavier person or people got on. 

Here is the physics site I got this from, not sure if the problems are interesting to you or not: 

http://www.solvephysics.com/dynamics_problem45.shtml

making a flowchart of diep.io! check out the game here: 

So this flowchart is so cool!! The image is fairly small so I can’t read it, but I look forward to seeing more of your flowchart work. 

Do you have any other ideas of other flowcharts you would like to create?

Here is a neat one I found: 

Happy weekend and I hope you are in the flow….

Natasha

hey Natasha! 

here are the answers to your questions as always.

😉

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

no, not really. sometimes, when there is a weird variable, though, I usually change it to “x” if it involves algebra.

(weird variables: q,z,v,a,g,b,c,d,e,f,j,i)

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

not really, because sometimes the equation has a square root in it, and I change the numbers, it gets to an irrational number, like the square root of 2. but, next time, I might try it!

Do you feel like mindfulness practice informs your learning? 

Are there ways for you to learn more mindfully?

hmm…mabye when I can’t solve a problem, that’s when mindfulness comes in handy when I get frustrated and stuff(for example, physics, math…)…and maybe there are ways to learn more mindfully… maybe I will try that!

Have you heard any of these [myths]? Did you learn anything new? 

well… no, because I got an error message when I clicked the link for the web site, so I can’t check. sorry!

ps. the map of physics was really fun because it explains so much!

it is interesting to see a concept on a map! so, classical physics is what newton developed, quantum physics is about atoms and nuclear fusion and fission… relativity is Einstein work, like e=mc^2, and special relativity! there is also philosophy! and the future is about dark matter, dark energy, and so on!

 also, this image was really interesting because it’s really fun at the end and it inspired me to keep pushing and learning:

thanks, Natasha!

The post Unschooling Journal December 1-7, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

October 27

In the afternoon, Ethan had his creative writing class.

October 28

Monday, which means violin class and taekwondo in the evening.

October 29

In the evening, Ethan had his mindfulness class.

October 30

From Ethan’s nature school teacher, Mink:

It was another beautiful day in North Van and everyone was thankful for the continued sunny weather. The crew started off their day by ferrying kids to a less-used location in order to reduce their impact on the usual opening game spot above the meadow. After some good old fashioned “Plant Ball” and the next installment of the “Iron John” story by Scott, everyone went their separate ways for the day.

Mink’s group (the Ravens) took the less-travelled path to a new place most of them had never been before, where they established a super-secret base of operations for their day. From there, some of the group worked on harvesting and grinding up charcoal for face paint, while others finished their elderberry containers (which could be used to carry extra charcoal with them). The face paint was used for camo, and everyone dove fully into the exercise! Once everyone’s face had a healthy amount of charcoal, Mink introduced a few extra colours of face paint which she brought from home to add the final touches. The camo worked wonders for breaking up the lines of the face which make it easily recognizable. The Ravens established a symbol for their group which was drawn/painted onto everyone, along with some secret bird calls and hand signals to assist with stealthy travel. After a few rounds of a sneaking game to warm up their bodies, everyone embarked on what turned out to be a wildly successful scouting mission!

Ethan also had taekwondo class in the evening.

October 31

Ethan had swimming lessons this morning.

November 1

November 2

Ethan had a symphony class and swimming lessons today in the morning.

And that was Ethan’s week as an unschooler. Let us know if you have questions or comments about unschooling.

Another incredible week, complete with pacman game coding, lots of research, a ton of teaching what you learn, math, space, costume creation and trick or treating! 

I have noted many of the highlights of learning and I will not be responding in full to this observation as I am going to be working on the Fall Connection and will be having a Zoom call with you tomorrow. Please remember to complete your goal setting activity I posted in Week 11.

I find it interesting that Ethan does not play video games and yet it really interested in the math and sequencing behind the game. 

Are there other games which the coding interest him? What’s next?

I have to say I love the anchor painting he did in mindfulness. 

Anchor: breath, nature, math

So wonderful to have such a clear image of what makes him feel anchored. I felt inspired to think of my own three words. 

It is so difficult to pick three but I will try: nature, connection and movement

The Pumpkin pi costume is clever and fits his interests so well, much like the black hole did last year. 

I did the SelfDesign workshop, where I meet up with people/kids/students/happy faces/teacher. 

Can you tell me more about this when we talk tomorrow? 

teach, teach, teach.(today, I learned about loop de loop bowling!)

Ethan does so much teaching. 

Who is the audience?

Who else could he teach? 

Is he interested in doing any peer tutoring? Maybe in math? At the library?

It is so striking to witness how much Ethan is writing compared to this time last year. Huge progress! Thank oyu for sharing his process from researhc to notetaking to publication of content for his blog. 

You read “Old Man and the Sea” fantastic

What did you like best about this book? 

Did it remind you of any other books you have read? 

It’s on my list to read since it is a Classic and I still have not, do you recommend it? 

Why do you think Hemmingway is considered to be such a great author? 

Wrap it in bacon recipes

The bacon wrapped shrimp sounded delicious. Here are 17 other snacks to try wrapped in bacon..

https://tasty.co/article/melissaharrison/mouthwatering-bacon-wrapped-snacks-that-you-need-to-try

View in popup 

View in popup 

The post Unschooling Journal October 27-November 2, 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!

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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!

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

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

We’ve always said to Ethan that if he ever wanted to go back to regular school, he could. That was a topic of discussion this week while we were talking about behaviour and attitude.

Ethan has been working on using words to express himself when he doesn’t like or want to do something. He’s also working on explaining himself better to help others understand a situation more clearly.

For example, when I come home and ask him about something he did earlier, he’ll sometimes answer without providing much detail or context so I’m not really sure what he did.

During a talk this past week about his reaction to things, listening when someone is speaking to him and using his words to better express his feelings, he revealed that he wouldn’t mind going back to regular school.

When we asked him why, he said that he finds planning his day and searching for material to learn from really hard to do. He said that in school, the teacher plans everything and that he would only need to do the work.

He also mentioned that he could learn new things that he may not find on his own.

However, for this year Ethan is going to focus on SAT prep and using Khan Academy’s SAT prep materials. That means he has a “curriculum” laid out and he only needs to do the work. We’ll see how it goes but we’ll need to talk more about how he’s feeling.

One thing he mentioned was that if he went back to school and didn’t like it after a few months, he would want to switch back to unschooling. We said that he would have to commit to school and couldn’t just change whenever he felt like it. Of course, if he was absolutely miserable, we’d let him come back but we also feel that he’s only talking about school because he was worried about having to find his own learning materials each day.

Overall, he loves learning from home and being able to explore his interests so we’re curious to see if he would really want to go back to school. We’ll support him if that’s what he wants but we’ll see.

Here’s what happened the rest of the week…

September 1

September 2

September 3

September 4

September 5

September 6

September 7

And that was Ethan’s first official week back to unschooling.

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It was a pleasure as always to video chat with all of you the other night. 

As I am working on the Learning Plans this week (and thank you very much for all of your clear and descriptive contributions), I will not be responding to this reflection. 

I will write up our conversation as a Direct Contact for Week 3 and respond more directly to the comments and observations you made here. 

The camping birthday party looked like a huge success! So much fun. 

Thank you for all that you share. 

Natasha Cucek

The post Unschooling Journal September 1-7, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

August 18

August 19

August 21

August 22

August 23

August 24

As mentioned, SelfDesign starts this upcoming week so we’ll probably be posting more about what Ethan’s doing in relation to that. It was a fantastic summer and now, we’re looking forward to another year of unschooling.

The post Unschooling Journal August 18-24, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

August 11

August 12

August 17

And that was this week. We’re looking ahead to the start of the SelfDesign school year, which starts August 25.

The post Unschooling Journal August 11-17, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

August 4

August 5

August 7

August 9

August 10

That seemed like a quick week!

The post Unschooling Journal August 4-10, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

July 28

July 29

July 30

July 31

August 1

August 2

August 3

Busy, busy week! So much fun and so many great memories.

The post Unschooling Journal July 28 – August 3, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

July 21

We went jogging again today, just as we’ve been almost every day lately. Afterwards, we headed out for the day to the Metrotown area of Burnaby.

July 22

July 23

July 24

July 25

July 26

July 27

Having Ethan’s auntie here has been so much fun. Time has been flying by but we’re all enjoying the time we have together.

The post Unschooling Journal July 21-27, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.