June 7-10, 2010 in West Milford, New Jersey.  Details here.

Unschoolers' accounts of how their children taught themselves to read.  The article.

The author, Peter Gray, is looking for stories of self-directed learning.  Find the details here.

Posted by Debbie & Idzie:

Come join us this Summer for a gathering of unschoolers near Montreal, Quebec, Canada!

Youth Book Club - Friday March 26, 3:30 to 4:30pm.

Bibliotheque St-Henri - 4707 Rue Notre Dame O (near De Courcelle) - Just a 5 minute walk from Communidée.

We'll be discussion "Wolves of the Beyond - Lone Wolf" by Kathryn Lasky.  This book club is open to anyone who has reads of has the book read to them and would like to join in a discussion.

Please RSVP to jacquelyngeist@yahoo.com.

Monday May 3rd, from 10am to 2pm.  Please sign up before Monday March 29th.

Intermiel is a bee farm and meadery near St-Eustache (almost an hour's drive from Montreal).  We can try to arrange car pools if necessary - let me know if you need or can offer a ride.

We will have a guided tour, workshops and a puppet show, all the while learning about bees and honey!  They will keep us busy from 10am to 2pm, with a break for lunch - (there are indoor and outdoor picnic areas).

The Montreal Homelearners group has created an account with Scholastic Books - a great place to get discounted books.  Thank you to Melissa who is administering it for us : )

We will be placing an order around the middle of every month.  To place your order, have a look through the pdf flyers at Scholastic.ca, or the hard copies which will be available next week at Centre Communidée.

All homeschoolers are welcome to join us at the Redpath Museum to learn about Prehistoric Animals.

Monday, April 12 from 11am to 12pm.  Please sign up before Monday April 5th.

The wonderful and knowledgeable Ingrid will show us a bit about mammoths, mastodons and sabre-tooth cats.  Then the kids will create a prehistoric finger painting!

Afterwards we can eat together in the cafeteria of the Shatner Building (a two-minute walk).  You can bring food in and/or buy something there.

All homeschoolers are welcome to join us on a field trip to the Sucrerie de la Montagne on Rigaud mountain. Monday March 29th from 11:30am.  Please sign up before Monday March 22nd.

At 11:30am we'll have a horse-drawn sleigh ride and a guided tour of the sugar shack.

At 12pm we will sit down to a midday sugaring-off meal: country-style sausages, farm-style crusty bread, wood-fired baked beans, farm-style soufflée omelette, old-style mashed potatoes, Québécois maple-glazed ham, pancakes with maple syrup, and a glass of milk.

Then some singing and dancing to the accompaniment of traditional music played by their singer-musician.

And finally, maple-taffy-on-snow tasting!

Posted by Glenn:

no lice....no guns...no homework...no molesting...no dry cleaning bills for stupid uniforms...no homework...no angst over exams, report cards and projects you find out about the night before...no parent/teacher meetings....lost metro cards...alarm clocks....rushing out 5 mornings...no lice...no homework....screaming teachers....bullies...bad cafeteria food...impatient monitors...and burned out social workers....no meds for adhd....no lice ...no homework...no questions -q. how was school - a. good...no soggy sandwiches and rotten food at the bottom of the school bag which weighs 50 lbs. giving your kids bad posture and neck aches....no locks, lockers, stolen items...no homework and no lice...

what might you find if you homeschool besides a little peace of mind....well....ugh....maybe that's all...the rest falls in place .... naturally.

Posted by Janice:

This homeschooling child-initiated activity is looking for your participation. Would you be interested in volunteering or selling your hand-made items at the Haiti Relief Project Movie Fundraiser during intermission? Some activities already confirmed are: bake table, balloon animals, jewelry, homemade soap and greeting cards. If you have a hobby or craft that you would like to sell at the fundraiser, please contact Janice Parnell at janice.mecs@gmail.com or (514) 993-4580.

Details about the activity on March 27th: http://montrealhomelearners.ca/content/haiti-relief-project