Forwarded by Jackie: The Cartel movie.

Posted by Sonia:

Bonjour à tous,

Je suis en train de mettre sur pieds un atelier (en travaux manuels, artistiques etc..., pas les matières "académiques") à l'école Steiner de Montréal (sur Kensington).

Pour le moment, j'ai pu négocier une matinée en fin de semaine. Ca pourrait être un bon début si ça se réalise... 

J'aurai vraiment besoin du nombre d'enfants (et âges) des familles intéressées pour pouvoir concrêtiser ce projet.... 

J'attends vos réponses et merci d'en parler autour de vous !

There was a great turnout at Sandra & Holly Dodd's talk on unschooling: about 60 adults and 30 kids!

As promised, all the links to the people and the quotes can be found here. 

At first I was excited that there would be clarification in all the grey zones...  Then I read it : (

Quebec's Homeschooling Policy

And in French.

Posted by Emily McMillan:

I invite you to participate in my research project entitled: A comparison of environmental attitudes between home and public schooling families. This research will form the basis of my PhD at Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON. 

If you are interested, please click on the link below and fill out a web-based survey which should take you about ten minutes. Your participation is much appreciated and upon completion of the survey, you may enter a draw for a gift certificate at Chapters bookstore in the amount of $100.  

The survey can be found at http://fluidsurveys.com/surveys/mcmillan/phd-project-copy/

"In this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning -- creating conditions where kids' natural talents can flourish."

Posted by Rowan:

As some of you already know, I volunteer for an organization called Nourri-Source. We help out new mums and babies who are having a hard time breastfeeding and need a little knowledge, love, and encouragement to go the distance. We are always in need of funding in order to train new volunteers, and keep the old ones up-to-date on the latest research. Last summer we had a lot of success with a multi-family garage sale we had in NDG and so we're doing the same again on Saturday May 15th.

We need stuff to sell. If you are doing some late spring or summer cleaning and you have a few items you would otherwise bring to the Salvation Army, for instance, please give them to us instead! I'm starting to collect things now, so anytime you want to rid yourself of this clutter, call or email me and we’ll arrange something!

Posted by Jackie:

In the New York Times: Playing to Learn.

"Scientists know that children learn best by putting experiences together in new ways.  They construct knowledge; they don't swallow it."

Forwarded by Josée:

Homeschoolers in Sweden are in danger of losing all possibilities to homeschool in June.  Sign the petition here.

Good news!  The public transit system in Montreal (STM) has recently changed its policy regarding who can get a student rate on their OPUS card:  Kids under 16 years no longer have to show proof of school attendance or have a permanent code!  They just need an ID with proof of age, and a parent's signature if they are under 14.

I read it here and went down to SPEQ Photo to confirm it.  And it's true!  Spread the word...