Brie Jontry

Brie Jontry has helped unschoolers in writing and in person since 2010 or so. In those years, she lived in Pennsylvania, Alaska, and New Mexico.

Audio interview of Brie, by Pam Laricchia, with notes and links. You can listen for free here: Unschooling a child with a chronic illness

Reality as an environment for unschooling (Brie's writing, mostly)

Some Unschooling Tales of Artistry ("Noor learned a lot about various adobe programs simply by using them and also watching videos on YouTube. Eventually, she wanted ...")

Hindsight ("I wouldn't have foisted so many of my adult ideas onto a young child. ...")

Spirit Fuel: a short tale of a piece of art from materials filled with memories of exploring and sharing

If extensive documentation is required (by Brie, about fulfilling requirements, at one time, in Pennsylvania)

Brie Jontry, responding to a new unschooler whoe wrote:

Sometimes I feel anxious that I *should* be pushing them to get outside.

I suggest making "outside" simply another space in a rich and engaging life. "Outside" is a part of the world we live in. "Outside" can be many places - parks, your backyard, a forest, the beach, a concert lawn, a hot air balloon fiesta, a carnival, a party with pleasant spaces set up outdoors ..... there's no one way to have meaningful time outdoors. Thinking about "outside" as some kind of monolith, like some people think about "screens," isn't useful.

Find ways to make being outside enjoyable, even if it means bringing electronics outside. Pack a picnic lunch and the ipads. Host a playdate somewhere besides home in an outdoor setting. Go to the zoo or a botanical garden. Play pokemon Go. Go geocaching. Go camping. Build a shelter. Have a bonfire. Find the darkest sky near you and head out to look at stars one evening. Bring hot cocoa and yummy treats. Go for a drive to the best place in town to watch the sunset.

Make being outside just another part of your lives and not something separate, or designated (as in "outdoor time") from your regular day-to-day. If your children don't like walking, stay in one place, in an area that has interesting things to look at and touch and climb or hide under.

You know your children - maybe they don't like the feel of grass or mud. Maybe they're worried about bugs or snakes. Bring the things they already love outside in ways that work for them, in places that work for them. But don't do so out of fear of "nature deficit disorder," do so because the outdoors are a part of the world we live in, even for city-dwellers, and rich lives aren't created by avoiding the world, hiding out in the house, playing the same video games day after day - sure, that's fine sometimes, but Sandra's advice to (I'm paraphrasing) "choose that which will lead to more learning" is helpful advice to new unschoolers who aren't sure if it's "okay" to plan something exciting out of the house.

then Brie quoted me:

My favorite "new rule" has always been that learning comes first. Given choices between doing one thing or another, I try to go toward the thing that's newest for my kids, and most intriguing. "New and different" outranks "We do it all the time, same place same way." But there are comfort-activities, and to be rid of all of them would be as limiting as to only do routine, same, safe things. So we find a balance. Or we tweak the same and the safe, changing it enough to make it especially memorable from time to time.Sandra Dodd
Balancing in the Middle Ground

original, on facebook, if it's still there

Noor JontryMasterson

Noor, Brie's daughter, has let me use some of her art for my website,

Here, there is a photo of her, sitting outside and Skyping with her dad: Screentime

Other Voices