June 14

June 15

June 16

June 17

June 18

June 19

June 20

The post Unschooling Journal – June 14-20, 2020 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

Perhaps we’re lucky in that Ethan is relatively self-sufficient when it comes to exploring his learning. But I still feel that any child can thrive in this type of unschooling environment. It’s not always easy and there are certainly times when there’s conflict between child and parents. However, all of it seems worth it when we read someone else’s words describing what Ethan has been able to do and who he is.

With that, here is what Ethan was up to this past week.

May 31

June 1

June 2

June 3

June 4

June 5

June 6

The post Unschooling Journal May 31-June 6, 2020 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

The situation hasn’t affected Ethan too much but he did express that he has missed spending time with his friends.

I’m sure this has been the experience of most children but perhaps the impact is greater on students like Ethan who already learn from home and depend on activities and outdoor play times to have social interaction with other kids.

Ethan has been having video calls with a few of his friends and we have had a social distance play date outdoors with another family who we’re good friends with. However, it’s not the same. Fortunately, Ethan seems to understand why things are the way they are because of the coronavirus. And as mentioned, it’s likely easier for him since he’s already a home learner.

Ethan has enjoyed the online classes where they allow questions to be asked in the chat boxes. The other online classes are less engaging for him because of the lack of interaction.

On days when it was nice out, Ethan has gone jogging in the morning and then we’ll play tennis in the afternoon or in the evening before dinner. He’s gotten a lot better at tennis these past few months.

He also likes to bring his skipping rope out to the tennis court and will practice skipping after getting tired of playing tennis. He has a lot of fun skipping rope. His record for consecutive skips is now 65, up from 49. He could barely do 10 mere weeks ago. (UPDATE: Ethan can do up to 71 skips)

In any case, here is what Ethan was up to this past week…

May 24

Ethan has been preparing some breakfast for himself and for us, too. He’s gotten better at cooking scrambled eggs, for example.

May 25

Here’s the edited Pac-Man stop motion video…

May 26

May 27

May 28

May 29

May 30

And that wraps up another week of learning for Ethan, as well as our year with SelfDesign. Thank you to Natasha for your support and encouragement and we look forward to reconnecting with you in the new school year.

Another year of self design! Grade 6 complete and the learning and creating continues for you of course. 

Well as I imagined it would be your Pac-Man stop animation film is superb!!

I showed it to several friends already. They were impressed with the sound editing and your accuracy to the video game. What a fantastic job Ethan. 

You wrote that you are coding a website. Do you have a website in mind you would like to create? 

Thank you for responding to last week’s questions. I did not even know I included a career test, cool? Did it tell you what sort of career you might want to pursue? I imagine it would be in the sciences or computer programming…

I remember I took a career test in grade 9 or so and working with people, social services and teaching all were matches…

Are you going to incorporate the [Pac-Man] manual into your [Pac-man] stop animation film in any way?

well… that might be a nice idea… Probably not though, because all the stuff in the manual is in my “how do the ghosts in pac-man move?” video. maybe I will look into it if I have time!

What is your interest in decibels? Is it the math? Are you interested in how it relates to sound in general? please tell me more.

umm, I think it’s COOL that you can relate loudness and sound in such an equation! and it’s very simple too. that is why I like it.

And, no, I do not Know what a sound engineer is! sounds fine to me!

also, THANK you for sending me those links. they’re fascinating! I like the career test thing! 🙂

The last week of May is also the last week of Ethan’s official school year with SelfDesign. Curiously, the upcoming week will be the first time that students will be able to return to regular school here in BC. 

The situation hasn’t affected Ethan too much but he did express that he has missed spending time with his friends.

Some of the playgrounds are starting to open here. It might be a chance for him to play outside more with some friends.

I’m sure this has been the experience of most children but perhaps the impact is greater on students like Ethan who already learn from home and depend on activities and outdoor play times to have social interaction with other kids.

Ethan has been having video calls with a few of his friends and we have had a social distance play date outdoors with another family who we’re good friends with. However, it’s not the same. Fortunately, Ethan seems to understand why things are the way they are because of the coronavirus. And as mentioned, it’s likely easier for him since he’s already a home learner.

I wonder how much longer we will have to socially distance for. Does Ethan have any guesses? 

Ethan has enjoyed the online classes where they allow questions to be asked in the chat boxes. The other online classes are less engaging for him because of the lack of interaction.

On days when it was nice out, Ethan has gone jogging in the morning and then we’ll play tennis in the afternoon or in the evening before dinner. He’s gotten a lot better at tennis these past few months.

He also likes to bring his skipping rope out to the tennis court and will practice skipping after getting tired of playing tennis. He has a lot of fun skipping rope. His record for consecutive skips is now 65, up from 49. He could barely do 10 mere weeks ago. (UPDATE: Ethan can do up to 71 skips) Skipping rope is such great exercise! 

Great news about skipping rope, check out all of the benefits: 

Jumping and the brain surge benefits.

Jumping can make you smarter.  Research has shown exercise and jumping rope are a great for your body to release Endorphins.  These stimulants give us a sense of well-being and relaxation. A few more examples of jump rope benefits to the brain:

• Studies have demonstrated jumping helps to develop the left and right hemispheres of the brain to further improve awareness, reading skills, increases memory, and mental alertness.
• Jumping on the balls of your feet requires your mind and body to make neural muscular adjustments to imbalances created from continuous jumping. As a result, jumping improves coordination and dynamic balance.
• Skipping rope encourages your child to be creative. It’s remarkable what can be done in freestyle jumping.  Scissors, criss-cross, heal to toe, up and overs, one foot circles, and many other moves make performing and watching a fun time for kids!

In any case, here is what Ethan was up to this past week…

Happy summer Ethan! I hope you get out onto the water and out in nature a lot this summer. I am looking forward to exploring some new wilderness areas and getting onto the lakes with my kayak and SUP. I might come to the coast sometime in July or August and if I do I will for sure let you know and we can visit in person again. 

I can not believe you are doing AP Calculus on Khan academy (squeeze theorem) . You know that it is a university level course right? Congratulations Ethan I think you are making amazing progress towards your goal of getting into MIT and working for NASA someday. 

All the best and keep in touch

Natasha

The post Unschooling Journal May 24-30, 2020 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

April 5

April 6

April 7

April 8

April 9

April 10

April 11

The post Unschooling Journal April 5-11, 2020 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

December 15

December 16

December 17

December 18

December 19

December 20

December 21

We went to a family Christmas party and Ethan hung out with all of his younger cousins. He really enjoyed playing with the babies.

Afterwards, we went to Ikea and in the photo, you can see what Ethan did to keep himself occupied.

He was also listening to different podcasts, such as Brains On Science or WOW in the World. Another favourite is Pants on Fire.

hello Natasha! 

how are you doing?

here are the answers to week 17:

I really liked the mars video because it tells in detail what we need to do to colonize mars!

also, the speed of light video was fun, because it shows how fast light is, but also, how slow it is!

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Do you have any bad habits to break even?

Or do you have any goals for the year ahead?

hmm, well, I did make a new year’s resolution, that I won’t use the computer as much and use books more, exercise more, focus on science than math because I focused too much on math last year.

How did you like Star Wars? Have you seen the other films? 

 I really liked the star wars movie. in fact, I went again to the movie theatre, and watched it again in 3D! and yes, I have watched the other star wars movies.

Have you asked your parents about their early memories of Star Wars?

well, no, but maybe I should! 🙂 

View in popup 

I think you will enjoy these animations Ethan!

View in popup 

Happy New Year Ethan!!

Ethan you are often quite a planner.

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Do you have any bad habits to break even?

Or do you have any goals for the year ahead? I would love to hear them.

Thank you so much for the card and bracelet! I do have small wrists so it fit me perfectly. It is a treasured gift and the only one I got in the mail. I actually do not celebrate Christmas besides having meals and going skiing with friends so your gift meant a lot. 

 The infinity symbol reminds me of so many things, your love of math, the infinite possibilities in learning…I also learned who invented the symbol as well. 

Infinity is something we are introduced to in our math classes, and later on we learn that infinity can also be used in physics, philosophy, social sciences, etc. Infinity is characterized by a number of uncountable objects or concepts which have no limits or size. This concept can be used to describe something huge and boundless. It has been studied by plenty of scientists and philosophers of the world, since the early Greek and early Indian epochs. In writing, infinity can be noted by a specific mathematical sign known as the infinity symbol (∞) created by John Wallis, an English mathematician who lived and worked in the 17th century.

The infinity symbol (∞) represents a line that never ends. The common sign for infinity, ∞, was first time used by Wallis in the mid 1650s. He also introduced 1/∞ for an infinitesimal which is so small that it can’t be measured. Wallis wrote about this and numerous other issues related to infinity in his book Treatise on the Conic Sections published in 1655. The infinity symbol looks like a horizontal version of number 8 and it represents the concept of eternity, endless and unlimited. Some scientists say, however, that John Wallis could have taken the Greek letter ω as a source for creating the infinity sign.

I loved the snowman carrot cake joke inside. It made me laugh. 

Congratulations on the new belt in Taekwondo!! I can’t believe you can break those boards!

I have been checking your Youtube channel. I really look forward to your new film on how it might be possible to colonize Mars.  We would have to warm it up and one way is to nuke it.

This is a pretty bold and surprising statement. What do you think the long term effects of that would be? 

I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about specific gravity and the multiplicity of zeros. Can you summarize the concepts for me? Or tell me how this new understanding is applied? Here is an opportunity to teach me something new. 

I saw the picture of all of your younger cousins, so many babies wow! 

What do you think of babies? What is your favorite thing to play with them? Peek a boo is always a hit. 

How did you like Star Wars? Have you seen the other films? 

I just saw it recently too.

I really appreciated how strong the Force was in Rey and how she can heal others with it. 

I am enthralled with the spaceships and special effects. 

When I was your age I would watch documentaries like this one of how the original Star Wars trilogy was made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWC7nDX055c

George Lucas was a visionary filmmaker ahead of his time. 

Have you asked your parents about their early memories of Star Wars? 

What do you think are the lasting messages/themes from Star Wars?

So more behind the scenes of the newest film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2gB8eqEV9o

Lastly the music of Star Wars is one of my favorite parts. We had the album when I was young. 

The post Unschooling Journal December 15-21, 2019 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

The post how to play diep.io [video] appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

The post how to play hexapawn – the game that learns (somehow) [video] appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

The post Conway’s Game of Life Explained [Video] appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

The post what is a limit? (with silly part at the end!) [VIDEO] appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

The post what is a mole? (not the creature, the number) appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.