Homesteading values26thMarch
26th
March
Urban Homesteading by Tony Deis on Mar 26, 2009
While this is the adult programs newsletter, I have to tell you about a new kids summer camp I'm excited very for, Little House in the Big Valley. No matter how old we are, Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic books strike a spark in us all. At this camp kids will make candles, preserves, simple cheese, churn their own ice cream and live from a time of slower days and handmade sustenance. Today, we really do see people slowing…
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Freedom is Free20thMarch
20th
March
Raising Kids by Tony Deis on Mar 20, 2009
What did I do as a teenager? Take tests? Play football? Run for student government? What I really did was spend three to twelve hours a day in my garden on Oatfield Road in Oak Grove. I grew everything you could think of, from wild native plants to the old timey seeds that I bought during that 90's renaissance of nurseries or begged and stole…
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Truly alive18thMarch
18th
March
Wilderness Survival by Tony Deis on Mar 18, 2009
At a recent taster day at Lost Valley Education Center the gray sky poured buckets of rain. In the early morning all our instructors looked laconically outside, wondering how new students would fare through the deluge. Tasters are supposed to be about inspiring people. They're the first step in a courting process, one where we see if Trackers…
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Teens and Team Leadership11thMarch
11th
March
Raising Kids by Tony Deis on Mar 11, 2009
I am great fan of experiential education: ropes and challenge courses, belaying and rappelling, rafting and visiting foreign countries. They really can teach you how to be the best "you" possible. And its not enough. The greatest challenge for teenagers today is not a lack of self esteem or confidence, it's a lack of feeling useful or of…
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The Village Word10thMarch
10th
March
Village Life by Tony Deis on Mar 10, 2009
When we coined the term Nature of the Village, we believed we were being clever and original. Now we see many others in outdoor education using the term "village." It must be parallel evolution, as we're all applying it in a wonderfully similar way. While the word "community" has been bandied about and overused as a promise for collaboration…
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Neighborhood Strategies for a Child's Freedom6thMarch
6th
March
Raising Kids by Trackers NW on Mar 06, 2009
How far did you roam when you were a kid? Were you a "Goonie" or a "Hobbit"? Did you journey all around the neighborhood streets and surrounding hillside? Was your circuit the family room, the kitchen and the TV? If you grew up in the latter half of the 20th century, you more likely fell in between these two. If you're a child today, you're…