awarenesses — Blog

On Tuesday the weather looked to take a turn for the better, although it was still forecasted to rain through the morning. I anticipated more Learners showing up on day eleven than on day ten, but our numbers decreased. Two Learners chose to stay home because of the weather, two others stayed home to order clothes better suited for rainy and cold weather, and another is still out of state. Meanwhile, the other cell started the day with more Learners than we did, although they didn’t finish the day that way. More on that later.

With so few Learners in our cell on Tuesday we had lots of flexibility to entertain the wants of the Learners. During our morning meeting we shared what we were excited to do during the day, we reviewed our awarenesses (five of them) and the practices we are working on this week, and then we played a game that we made up that morning. Everyone was really into the game, and we had been playing for over thirty minutes when we finally got tired (some sprinting was involved for the more eager participants) and decided it was time to move on with our day.

One Learner said they wanted to move back to the lake (which they had not been to since last week) while Facilitator Lauren said that she was hoping to go on a hike instead of going straight to the lake. We found a good compromise is taking what we assumed would be a short detour down a path that we found on Monday. And it was a beautiful, short hike. Along the way we came across a bunch of ants frantically working, a picturesque tree and grapevine that framed the trail, and a rusted metal frame of some sort that was certainly out of place along the side of the trail. One of the Learners and Facilitator Lauren talked about magic and superheroes during the walk.

Because of the longer game we played in the morning meeting, I was rushed to set up the zoom room for the remote Learners when I arrived at the lake. And after the morning meeting we checked on the tadpoles we had been helping out. We were thrilled to see the puddles were larger than we had ever seen them before, and the remaining tadpoles bigger and much more lively than they were last Friday.

Digging a “baby trap” is hard work (play)

While we were not surprised to see so few people in the park on Monday, because of the weather, we were surprised to not see many people in the park on Tuesday. Rain was forecasted in the morning but it never materialized, and the weather turned out to be quite beautiful, if not sunny. Throughout the day we didn’t even see any boats on the lake—noticing only one person going by on a jet ski. And although getting wet was a problem the day before for the Learners, they had no problem getting wet on this day. Specifically, they began digging in the sand on a small inlet on the shore of the lake. They said they were digging a “baby trap” (no babies were harmed), and it required some frantic efforts that splashed water all over their shirts and their pants. In addition to the weather being more welcoming, they appeared to be dressed in clothing that pulled the water off the skin, as opposed to holding it agains the skin as cotton does.

The most challenging part of the day was addressing boundaries; a challenge for my cell and the other Abrome cell. In my cell there was some throwing of small sticks, tossing of sand, and kicking water at others in a joking manner, but without consent. We raised the awareness multiple times and that helped modify the behavior. But addressing the issue of boundaries and consent seemed to leave one of the Learners a bit embarrassed or insecure, and they reverted to insulting me. The Learner received direct feedback from me and Facilitator Lauren about this, and we pointed to our principles, agreements, and the practices we were working on that addressed why the behavior was problematic and how we were working together on it to improve the culture at Abrome.

Shortly thereafter the Learners ran up the hill to hang out at a favorite spot. But because of the recent rains and occasionally strong wind gusts we asked them to not hang out under the pecan trees. The young Learner who was having difficulties with the boundaries previously mentioned began yelling over us asking them to please move away from the pecan trees. This led to a conversation about how when it comes to safety boundaries we will be directive if we need to be to protect everyone in the community. I was then told by Facilitator Jennifer in the other cell that the day was ending early for some of the younger Learners because they had ventured off beyond an agreed upon distance. The Learners, one of who needs support for spatial awareness, had been reminded multiple times to honor the safety boundary and had been told that if they couldn’t honor that that they would need to go home for the day. So Facilitator Jennifer called their parents for an early pickup and had a conversation with them about why safety boundaries are important to us as a community, even if we are far more willing than most to allow them to engage in risky play. One of the Learners replied, “Jennifer, I like you, but you just ruined my day.”

Post-difficult boundaries conversation at our cell, the Learners were back at playing in the water, talking to the Facilitators, and hanging out on the dock. One of the Learners focused on a fairly large rock and decided to see if he could lift it. He could not, but he could roll it into the lake. We decided to bring the rock back out of the lake so that I could see how big of a splash it would make if thrown in the lake from overhead. I don’t know if it was bad form on my part or the angle of the rock face when it went in the water but I got soaked in the process.

Meme shared by the South Austin Unschoolers

Side note: Facilitator Lauren took a video of me throwing the rock into the lake, and in my phone when I went to look at the photos and videos for this blog post, I saw next to it a picture I got from the South Austin Unschoolers group on Facebook about the stress of e-learning coming at parents who have their kids in conventional schools while unschooled parents look on, untouched. I think I could make a meme where in the video I am conventional school leaders, the rock is their (indoor) school reopening plans, and the water splashing back on them is Covid-19 cases.

Facilitator Lauren later found a feather and took it to the Learners to see if they could identify the bird it came from by comparing it to the images in a field guide she pulled out. And then I found the cutest little baby turtle floating in the lake that we pulled out and looked at. One of the Learners was quite concerned about the welfare of the turtle and suggested that we put it back in the water and let it alone, so we did.

I then stepped away for a quick afternoon check-in with a remote Learner. We discussed the upcoming Scary Story offering that they are hosting, and I received updates on the creepy decorations she was adding to her Halloween themed bedroom. After the remote check-in, I joined the afternoon roundup for everyone present at the lake. We each shared the best thing about our day, the worst thing about our day, and the second best thing about our day. We also played a drinking game of “never have I ever” so that each Learner and Facilitator could get more water in them. We ended our day with a short walk back to the pickup location where the Learners rides were waiting for them. It was a good day, with great weather, and very needed conversations about boundaries. It was one of those days that will help make future days even better.

Another one of the beautiful things about Self-Directed Education is the novelty that comes with living our lives in the world, and having the opportunity to enjoy and explore the opportunities that come our way, or that we create. At Abrome we don’t have to adhere to a standardized curriculum that limits those opportunities to a tiny sliver of what is possible, as determined by some board of education. And going outdoors this year has given us multiple such opportunities each day. On Monday that was being outdoors in the rain, all day.

I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to go on a run, and after I got back and took a shower I checked the weather forecast for the day. The forecast was rain all day, but because the temperatures were going to be hovering around 70 degrees with no sign of thunderstorms there was no need to cancel Abrome for the day. We made a commitment to outdoor learning so that Learners and Facilitators could safely come together and practice building community with each other during this pandemic, and that means even when the weather is not great. We are also lucky to be in Austin, TX, where cold and miserable here is laughable to folks in many northern states. But, we acclimate to the climate that we live in and we all want to be comfortable, so I get finding 70 degrees and wet in Austin in September to be uncomfortable.

When I arrived at our meet up location I found Facilitator Lauren and we debated how many Learners would be with us on our first rain day. We already expected to be missing some Learners as two had previously scheduled appointments and one is still out of state. Of the other four, only one decided to sit out the rain day. The other cell was not as fortunate, with every Learner opting to stay home for a variety of reasons or needs.

Jumping for joy? Or jumping on a flower?

After the Learners arrived we asked them what they wanted to do. One Learner wanted to go toward the lake, but we asked if they would be willing to go on a hike that morning. Facilitator Lauren and I discussed the benefit of going on a hike to get physically active early in the day, and to prevent everyone from getting stuck just sitting in the rain. Each Learner agreed that a hike would be worthwhile, and that we would head uphill first, with the caveat that the hike eventually took us to the lake.

The hike was great fun, challenging, and wet. The rain soon started to come down on us as we were scaling the first hill, and by the time we reached the top we each had started to develop our personal opinions on the merits of wearing raincoats, ponchos, or going without. Some of us enjoyed the views from the top of the hill, while one was eager to get moving. We eventually headed out by moving laterally at essentially the same elevation along the edge of the park. This then took us down some steeper slopes where we practiced various techniques of movement such as walking sideways to increase friction with the ground, or scooting down on our butts, or turning around and holding onto branches.

Along the way we took time out to enjoy nature and beautiful settings. For example, we found some mushrooms that looked like perfectly cooked pancakes (just brown enough), some moss coated trees, and occasionally really beautiful vistas when we came through a clearing. We also came across a really lovely waterfall that one Learner wanted to get a picture in front of so I could share it with her mom. It was at that site that one of the Learners slipped as they were crossing over some rocks and partially fell into the water. While he was already wet from the rain, that only increased the degree of wetness for him.

After that we scaled another hill, and then had a more gentle descent until we found a stream crossing that led us back to a more familiar location that we had all been to before. This led us back to the drop-off location, where we arrived two hours after we started our hike, and everyone quickly settled in for lunch.

Even though the temperature was around 70 degrees, now that we were stationary, and wet, we began to feel the cold. One of the Learners was particularly wet (the one who fell in the stream) and was visibly cold. We asked him if we could give him a coat or a poncho to warm up, and he eventually let us know that he had a raincoat in his bag the entire time. Facilitator Lauren asked him if he would be willing to trade out his wet t-shirt for the raincoat and he said no, but eventually Lauren convinced him that it was worth trading out.

Wood carving as a group for the first time this year

I had just gotten a bunch of wood carving knives sharpened so I asked the Learners if they wanted to carve some wood. One indicated an interest in it, so Facilitator Lauren found a Ligustrum (privet) tree, an invasive species, and took a branch so we could practice carving. We have an awareness about knife safety on our community awareness board right now, and two practices we are currently focused on, so it was great to be able to take advantage of the rainy weather to work with the knives.

Some of the Learners took cover at the end of the day

When we were done carving I asked the Learners what they wanted to do next. The answer was basically to sit there, in the rain. We talked about the benefits of being able to sit with discomfort, but I wondered if it might be better to do so where we had more cover. So we all agreed to move to a place that had an awning to set up at. With about two hours left in the day, most of us sat there (masked up), some of us talking, one collecting various plants, another proving to us that he didn’t mind standing in the rain. We played some word games to pass the tie and we talked about ways that we could make rainy days more interesting. By the end of the day the conversation turned to how we were going to warm up when we got home (e.g., drink hot chocolate, eat hot soup, get a hot shower, wrap up in a blanket).

All in all it was a wonderful day for those who showed up, although they may tell you differently. There was some disagreement on what was the best and worst part of the day, with three of us agreeing that the hike was the best part of the day, and two others agreeing that it was the worst part of the day. It was also a great way to learn the lesson that being wet can make us feel cold, and that there are ways that we can dress to help protect us fro that feeling. I shared the following in an email to families in the evening for the benefit of those who did not get to learn the lessons first hand, and for the guardians:

Some of the Learners had a tough time with the weather today because of clothing issues. Many outdoor schools have a saying—there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices. Fortunately, our first wet day was on a relatively warm day (70 degrees) as opposed to a cold day, so the learning was uncomfortable but not dangerously so. When we are wet we can easily feel 10 degrees colder than the outside temperature, so it is important that we do our best not to get wet, and that we dress for that possibility.

… Wet cotton on the skin can feel nice on hot days because it sticks to the body and stays wet, and does a great job removing heat from the body. Unfortunately when it gets colder this is a dangerous situation. There’s another saying that is popular with those who spend a lot of time in the outdoors—cotton kills. Here is a short article which explains why that is. So if you can get your Learner to wear wool, polyester, nylon, silk, or the other fabrics mentioned in the article that would be great. This goes for underwear, socks, and pants, as well. Jeans are not a good option, either.

I also updated our planning document for the year to make more explicit the importance of not wearing cotton against the skin, and I added a suggestion of bringing some extra clothes in a ziplock bag that Learners can change into if they do get wet and want to change into dryer clothes.

The forecast for Tuesday starts out similarly wet and cool. And I can’t wait to be outdoors again, and I hope lots of Learners join us.

The waterfall we found provided the best shot of the day

Day 11 of AY20-21: working on honoring boundaries

Day 10 of AY20-21: a commitment to outdoor learning