Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Julie, James and Adam Daniel

James and Julie Daniel and their son, Adam, will join us from the U.K. Their family is vibrant, busy, fun and you will enjoy getting to know them.

Adam Daniel spoke here in 2011, when he was only six years old. Here is the announcement from that year, and his bio. New Presentation and Adam Daniel.

In 2014, he will speak with his parents on a panel, and the family will be present for games and activities (around possible jet lag).

Earlier this year I interviewed Julie for HSC's magazine, in The Efficiency of Unschooling.

There are photo at the links above, and there might be a newer one of the family soon or you might need to come and take your own photo! Please do read about the family and if you think of a good question to ask them, leave a note here or bring the question with you!

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Hema Bharadwaj

Our main guest this year in Albuquerque will be Hema Bharadwaj. She will be sharing stories of unschooling in India, of their family's move to the U.S. Hema is an artist in many media, and will demonstrate Rangoli, an traditional Indian art form. Everyone can watch, and anyone who wants to can try it, too (outside, where it properly goes if the weather is good; inside if it's too cold).

If you are a subscriber to The Homeschooler magazine, there is an interview I did of Hema in the Fall 2014 issue called "India, New Jersey and the Civil War." I will be able to share a longer version of this, with more photos (in color) in a couple of weeks. You will enjoy hearing Hema!

Read more about Hema Bharadwaj here: Hema


Below is a photo of a session Hema ran at my house in 2009. That's Holly Dodd on the left, with Hema. You can click it to see more patterns from that day, and the supplies. (The little girl is Hema's daughter Zoya, who is tall now.)



The thing that most needs to be seen and shown in person is how to hold the powder (ground rice and natural colors) in such a way that one channels a flow, to make the design, or to deposit color within the spaces.

It's hard to describe, but wonderful to see. The still photos below were on the wikipedia page about rangoli. The first is a before and after, and the second is indoors and incorporates lamps, for the festival of Diwali.





And here is one of many videos from YouTube:

Saturday, October 11, 2014

How near the mountains?

This is how far the mountains are from the hotel. This is taken from the Target Parking lot behind the hotel.
Ten miles. It is VERY cool to look at it after you've been to the top. The trip to the top is quick and easy, there's a little ranger station up there, and so if it's cold there's a building with windows. There are clear, long views in all directions on a clear day, and most New Mexico days are clear. Even with all the clouds in this photo, you can see the mountains clearly!



There are other mountains nearer you can also see, but they're not as high. The store is in the way of seeing them in his photo.