Our last, full week of everything included a last-minute Nuggets game with extended family. We got the best seats we’ve ever had – 9 rows back! – and enjoyed watching the actual game instead of on the jumbo-tron. The kids aren’t usually very interested in team sports, but this time they were old enough to care. Everyone learned about the rules, the positions, the shot clock, and cheered their team to victory.
Wilder’s last shop class in Colorado Springs was this week. I will not miss leaving the house by 7am to avoid the traffic standstills in Highlands Ranch on the way down. Plus we were able to skip the snowstorm and attend the Wednesday class instead. He wrapped up the heat treat on his big project, a 13″ knife, and had time to complete a butter knife as well. He left Kilroy’s feeling quite pleased with how he used his time there and how quickly he’d accomplished a larger forge compared to last year. I love that he’s able to compare his skill to previous years, rather than to other kids, and that he understands how much he’s improved by speed. There’s a new quality to projects he’s completing now, and a little more artistic flair. At home, he spent two days finishing the knife. Grinding something so large took a long time. Then he epoxied on some handle scales, let those dry overnight, and then ground them down to fit his hand. After some hand sanding and a coat of wax, the knife looks professional. Of course he used it to chop everything for dinner!
Rosetta spends hours of her free time listening to music while doing art. Her drawing has improved so much in the last year. While she still enjoys creating Warrior Cats from her series – she’s hoping to eventually draw ALL of them, 1000+ named characters – she’ll occasionally venture into new territory and dislike the results. This is terribly disappointing to her, but hopefully she remembers how long it took her to master the style of cats she adores now. (A solid year, at least.) I am not allowed to post “failures,” but there are two “successes” below instead.
Dress-up with Sadie + Savine / Learning Ravine as a group / Walk to Starbucks with our Wildlings (2) / Nuggets game with cousins (4) / Assembling gingerbread houses / Wilder’s last shop class + saying goodbyes / Wilder’s butter spreader / Rosetta’s Warrior cats of the week (2) / Finishing grinding on his 13″ knife + added a stacked handle / Finished, polished knife! / Organizing gingerbread candy / 3rd Annual decorating party with friends / Wilder’s house / Rosetta’s house / Wildlings at Majestic View Park / Waiting for friends on the Memorial Park bumble bee
Unschool Stories 