Jean Dorsey

The Northeast Unschooling Conference super early bird registration is up until January 31, 2012. Go check it out, and register SOON to receive this awesome price!

www.northeastunschoolingconference.com

yourbestself

This is the first I've heard of this conference. Has anyone here gone? Have feedback?

Also, I've been looking at the website but don't see a link to the hotel. Is this it? http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=232

Thanks!
Susanne

--- In [email protected], "Jean Dorsey" <dorkey131@...> wrote:
>
> The Northeast Unschooling Conference super early bird registration is up until January 31, 2012. Go check it out, and register SOON to receive this awesome price!
>
> www.northeastunschoolingconference.com
>

yourbestself

Okay, I just posted that I couldn't find a link to the hotel. And, then I clicked on something I hadn't before & found it! Viola!

Anyway, I'd still like feedback on the conference. It's a haul for us.

Thanks,
Sus

--- In [email protected], "Jean Dorsey" <dorkey131@...> wrote:
>
> The Northeast Unschooling Conference super early bird registration is up until January 31, 2012. Go check it out, and register SOON to receive this awesome price!
>
> www.northeastunschoolingconference.com
>

Debra Rossing

We've been going to this conference since it started. We love it. If you've never been to a conference before, it's very different than what you might think of a 'conference' as being. There are talks and activities scheduled and lots of impromptu stuff happening as well. Kids of all ages are welcome to anything (no "grown-ups only" type things) and it's all come and go if you need to leave (you're not 'stuck' if you sit down in a talk, it's assumed that you will be leaving if family needs you). It's up to each individual/family to determine what they want to do, what is 'appropriate' for them, what is comfortable for them. The first year (it was at a different hotel then), we pretty much spent the whole time at the pool or in our room watching movies/playing computer games or board games. I think I got to hear about 75% of one of the speaker sessions while DS and DH were up in the hotel room watching a movie. As DS has gotten older (he was about 7 I think when NEUC first started, now he's 13), DH and I have had more flexibility to "do our own thing" as DS is more comfortable doing his own thing (which is often hanging out in the game room with his Nintendo DS or up in our room with his laptop). DH is "the duct tape guy" and is usually found at a table in the Untrepreneurial Faire area with his creations. I spend my time bopping around checking in on both of them (do they need fresh water bottles? Snacks? Hugs? Other?) and chatting with folks in transit. We generally use our cell phones to text each other to check in, some folks use walkie talkie type things. There have been some times when DS has wanted me nearby and other times when he's fine with me just checking in once in a while. All of the activities - talks, discussions, funshops - are on one level of the hotel (and there are bathrooms on that level as well) so it's easy to kind of flow with things instead of having to find different places. We always make sure, if DS is heading off someplace, that he knows where we'll be. If he needs us, he can text us or come find us. Way back when, he learned that if he needs assistance, just ask anyone wearing the conference nametag for help and they can find us (DH is very noticeable at 6' 3X size with full facial hair). I suppose there are some (particularly first timers) who have been a little surprised at first with the diversity of the group and especially the brightly hued teenagers (hair colors ranging from bright magenta to deep purple, with stripes and all like that). On occasion, there have been small 'packs' of kids that have started to get out of hand but generally that gets dealt with appropriately by whatever adults are at hand (not punitively but "hey guys - that's not safe/fair/acceptable in this area - how about moving your game over to that area?")

What other kinds of feedback would you like?

Deb R



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