Another week of unschooling down, which has basically been observing Ethan do the things that he enjoys and constantly learning. I met the mom of one of Ethan’s old classmates and she asked me when Ethan does his studying. I’m not sure if my answer of, “He learns all day long” sounded like I was boasting.
It wasn’t meant to sound that way. It’s just the truth because it seems like he’s doing something and learning throughout the day.
I mentioned to the mom that when kids come home from school, they don’t want to do anything that seems like formal learning, but that for Ethan, he’s just doing what he likes to do.
Anyway, here’s what Ethan was up to this past week…
February 18th
Last night, at our Chinese New Year’s party, we received this lovely flower and plant. Ethan got something more traditional, as you’ll see.
Ethan received a bunch of cash in lucky red envelopes, a traditional gift for children and single adults. Ethan wanted to take his haul to the bank so a trip to the ATM was put on the day’s schedule.
But first, Ethan spent the morning watching some videos about space and how stars and galaxies collided. He learned that our Milky Way galaxy was on a collision course with our neighbouring galaxy and that this will happen at some point several billions of years from now.
Cleaning up
We had to clean the penthouse unit after last night’s party so Ethan came up to help out, too.
SNOW!
It snowed last night so Ethan helped clear some of the snow from Juju Jr., as we were going to head out later in the day.
But first, we took a walk down to the beach and enjoyed the beautiful sunny day.
Lynn Valley Ecology Centre Bug Exploration
Ethan and I went to the Lynn Valley Ecology Centre to go looking for bugs in the forest. The session started with a short talk about what kind of bugs we might find and we also had a look at some of the bugs that make Lynn Valley home.
It was an amazing day to be outside, with the fresh snowfall and sun creating a magical atmosphere.
Under this old log was a spider’s egg sack. We didn’t see the spider but we thought this was just a speck of snow.
Back at the Ecology Centre, we looked at the bugs we collected under a powerful microscope projector called Elmo. Afterwards, there was craft time where the kids made a butterfly from a coffee filter.
Bank run
After leaving Lynn Valley, Ethan deposited his lucky money at the ATM. He got to do the whole depositing process and liked watching his money go in and seeing what his balance was.
Friends came over
We had plans for a few of Ethan’s friends to come over, so the rest of the afternoon and evening were spent playing indoors.
The moms all spent time chatting and getting to know each other.
Once everyone had gone home, Ethan spent the rest of the evening building with his Lego.
February 19th
Ethan started the day by working on book 18 and book 19 of the Adventures of a Piece of Paper series.
Next was an assignment from Ethan’s mindfulness class. The students had to think of words that describe themselves, then make a word collage. Here were some of the words Ethan first came up with.
And here is Ethan working on the collage.
Getting out
It was a nice day out, so Ethan and Dong Eun spent some time at the beach and they also went to the library.
At the library, Ethan found another coding book.
On the way home, Ethan saw a robin.
Making Pac Man
Ethan was excited to get home and start coding. He planned to make a Pac Man game and tackled this project head-on.
Ethan used a combination of videos and reading to make his own version of Pac Man. He had to map out how each character moves by inputting the exact coordinates where the characters should move to.
Who is Ethan?
Ethan spent the evening completing his mindfulness project. We had a few more suggestions for him, so he added several more words.
Ethan wound up the day by listening to and audiobook version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We discovered that we can borrow ebooks and audiobooks via OverDrive and our local library account.
February 20th
Ethan started the day with a book, which is normal. Today, it was a science project book, although he didn’t try an experiment today.
Time to head out for violin class.
He had taekwondo and and then in mindfulness class, they completed the word collage.
Ethan really likes violin class and wanted to play for us the new song he learned. He got a bit frustrated when he couldn’t play the song. We talked to him about how it was the first time he learned it and that he needs to practice to play it well.
He’s done this on other occasions, too. He wants to do things well but forgets that we all start from not being good and improving.
Before bedtime, Ethan watched a couple math videos to learn about Algebraic equations. He likes to learn new things and it’s great there are resources like Kahn Academy to satisfy his curiosity.
February 21st
Today, Ethan asked what material has the highest melting point. We did some Googling and found this from ASM International:
“Computations show that a material made with just the right amounts of hafnium, nitrogen, and carbon would have a melting point of more than 4400 K (7460°F). That’s about two-thirds the temperature at the surface of the sun and 200 K higher than the highest melting point ever recorded experimentally.”
Another story mentioned that the above material could be used to make something like the comic book character Wolverine’s adamantium that’s fused to his bones. Very cool.
We also found out that the element with the highest melting point is carbon at 3500℃!
After watching the algebra videos last night, Ethan wanted to do some practice, so he made some equations in his notebook.
Ethan then spent the day at nature school. They learned about tying knots and made a big slingshot to launch snowballs with.
Ethan wanted to show us one of the knots he learned. The knot is used for securing things so you can pull them and easily untie the knot after. Very cool.
Ethan spent the evening watching more math videos.
Tonight, Ethan played the new song he learned and was much improved. Dong Eun says he has high expectations of himself, which is why he was getting frustrated the day before.
Something cool is that he remembers how to play the songs by heart after one lesson. He obviously loves playing violin and we think his teacher has a lot to do with it.
We started reading “The Borrowers” tonight because we’d like Ethan to read more of the classics. He seemed interested in the story so we’ll see how it goes.
February 22nd
This morning, it was Ethan preparing his own breakfast… Eggza!
He also made some apple and carrot juice for everyone.
Such a beautiful day this morning.
We went to the library after Ethan’s swimming lesson. At the library, he likes to read comics because he doesn’t read them as much at home. I think this is because we’re always asking him to read classics or something educational, so I think he enjoys this little break from those other books.
Ethan borrowed a couple of cool books on how to make mini weapons, like a catapult.
So he made one to try out and it worked awesome.
He also tried another catapult design but the first one could shoot much further.
Just letting the world know that he loves pi 🙂
Ethan also worked on his own comic book.
And wound up the night listening to Harry Potter and trying to follow along with the ebook.
February 23rd
Today was day two of a workshop at Science World about energy, so Ethan was finishing up some research he had to do prior to the workshop.
He had to measure how far a elastic could fly based on how far back you pulled the elastic.
Then he had to write out his answers.
He had to make a graph showing his data, so he started by looking up graphs and how data was mapped out.
He also wanted to demonstrate how important brackets are when doing calculations.
First graphical representation of the data.
Plotting out the average of how far the rubber band flew.
At Science World, the workshop only had a few participants so Ethan really enjoyed the experience. Each child shared their results with the instructor.
The instructors briefly reviewed what they talked about at last week’s session and then they moved onto some hands-on experiments with energy.
This was a Rube Goldberg-style video showing how energy can be transferred. After watching the video, the kids tried to make their own Rube Goldberg-style project.
After the workshop, we explored the new “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” exhibit.
The Einstein made from toast portrait was very cool.
This suit is for exploring caves with giant crystals. Ethan’s inside the suit!
This room had a camera that dynamically turned your movements into living art. Ethan loved this.
Time to go home. Beautiful out with the snow falling.
Back home, Ethan tried some problems in his math workbook to see where he’s at, in terms of his math knowledge and ability.
He liked the “test” but was a little stumped by the word problems.
Here, Ethan and Dong Eun are visualizing the word problem to help him wrap his head around how to solve it. We like this part of homeschooling where Ethan can take his time and work through things he finds challenging.
We suggested to Ethan that instead of wondering what to do each day, he can plan out what he wants to do the night before. So here’s what he came up with.
He then spent the rest of the night working on coding a new game using Scratch.
February 24th
Saturday! What an amazing past few days it’s been here. The sun has been out and with the snow on the ground, has created this beautiful scenery for us to enjoy.
Ethan started the day practicing violin and taekwondo, working through his to-do list. We think he’s just trying to finish this stuff early so he can work on his computer, but we’ll see.
Stanley Park Nature Walk
We registered for a nature walk to learn about animal habitats in Stanley Park. The snow and sun made for a magical time.
But it started with some good old-fashioned snowball throwing using the lamp post as a target. The instructor, Jordan, was awesome and made the experience fun and memorable for us all.
Next, they built a snowman for the bus stop.
Time to walk towards Lumberman’s Arch and check out potential creature habitats.
Jordan showed us a spot where she saw some possible locations for burrows.
A muffin tin! Jordan wondered why she had a muffin tin in her backpack, but it turned out to be a great tool for making snow muffins that could line the opening to the burrow.
Some acorns, twigs and leaves and you’ve got yourself a new home for a forest creature.
Nearby was a fort someone had made previously. We went in and made a shelter for other animals to use.
On the way to the seawall, Ethan and Dong Eun couldn’t help but make big snowballs with all the fresh snow that had fallen.
And we turned those snowballs into a giant snowman who Ethan named Fluffy.
Ethan found the sticks to make Fluffy’s face. What a smile!
Fluffy was done and there were people taking selfies with him soon after we left.
At the seawall, Ethan, Jordan and Dong Eun had some fun throwing snowballs into the ocean and watching them disintegrate and melt away.
We were soon joined by one other boy, but Ethan was already busy making some snow furniture.
An armchair seemed like the perfect thing after playing with the snow.
The other boy, who was almost 4-years old, helped make some “food” while Ethan made more furniture.
About to dig in and have some snow muffins. Who knew a muffin tray could be so useful in the snow!
Ethan made a snow angel. The snow and the park were a perfect setting.
On the way back, we found Fluffy but he had been knocked over. Undeterred, we rebuilt him.
We gave him a sturdier, bigger head and a thicker neck. We also put his name with a hashtag so that people can see that he’s cared about. Hope he puts a smile on others like he did for us.
Back home, Ethan rested for most of the day and watched math tutorial videos on Kahn Academy.
He then did some diary writing about his day.
The rest of the evening, Ethan worked on coding his latest game. In this one, you simply move a blue ball around, while avoiding the red ones.
What was neat about his game was that he made it for Dong Eun and I. He had a message at the beginning of the game were he said it was for his beloved parents. Sweet boy. So proud of him.
To finish up the day, Ethan completed his final task, which was making a video. He made a video about how to make a craft stick catapult.
And that was our week of unschooling. Ethan really did a lot but he was a little unsure about what to do on a couple of days.
We let him work through it, but suggested that he set up a schedule, which really helped. He can better visualize what to do the next day, while also learning to manage his time so he gets everything on his to-do list done.
Hopefully, he’ll carry on with the list and maintain this habit.
I apologize for the late response. There is always so much to digest and read about in Ethan’s week. Thank you again for the detailed and rich Observation for Learning with all of the photos. I am way up here at 2100m in a winter wonderland wilderness. It is so wild that I even have WIFI to write this. Unfortunately, I will have to wait until I am back in Nelson to send you some photos. I will do so in the week 26. It sounds like Ethan has been enjoying all of the recent snow in Vancouver! I will write to him and tell him about my snow adventures here. It is some of the coldest fluffiest deepest snow, up to my waist that I have ever skiied. Valhalla means heaven and it surely does feel that way.
I get such a clear picture of Ethan’s week and all of the natural and inspired learning which is unfolding for him.
It sounds like he has such a great balance of outdoor and nature adventures such as Lynn Canyon and the nature program he attends with the indoor activities of coding, reading and watching educational videos. He also has found a dynamic balance between hands-on activities like building all the models and small machines he is doing along with written work.
His writing is really taking off on its own accord as well. I remember how concerned you were about how you were going to get him to write and how dry you were finding worksheets and assignments. Now look at ethan, he is working on his 18th and 19th Adventure of a Piece of Paper books and making his own comic books!!
I wonder if you would like to try to get him to work on some non-fiction writing as well? Here are a few ideas he might be able to experiment with. He can pick any topic, space or bugs might be a good place to start based on his interests as well.
I have another student who is also really enjoying Algebra on the Kahn Academy site, but he is in grade 8! I am so impressed with where Ethan’s passion for math and numbers is taking him.
I have one more idea, in terms of his recent experimentation with making a daily list or schedule. It might be interesting to revisit his learning plan and see if he wants to make a monthly or seasonal “to learn list.” Also let me know if there are other things he would like to add to his mind map.
Sending you sunny joy from the mountain tops.
Natasha
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