Children's playroom and a cake

Last year the side room dedicated to young children's play had a nylon tunnel, dinosaurs, and a few other things.

Since then I've thought of other things we have that would be fun and not noisy, so that room might be the best of the three. :-)

Related to having bought a cake for the second anniversary of Just Add Light and Stir, we're planning to get a cake from ABC Cakeshop, a local bakery that makes beautiful and great-tasting cakes. We plan to have the snack table as last year, and at some point we'll have an Always Learning cake.

Cakes...

In case you haven't seen my cake page...
Musings about the Meanings of Cake Eight hours after I thought to myself, on the way out to water the yard, "I really should put up a webpage about cake as a sacrifice," I was looking at unschoolers' blogs with a "next" function on a blogring, and came to this photo...

Something old, something(s) new

Here is Heather Booth's review, with photos, of the 2011 Albuquerque Symposium. http://todaywasamazingsf.blogspot.com/2012/01/always-learning-live-2012.html. She called it "2012" because she wrote it in early 2012, but it was a review of the end of December 2011.

I was really excited to have Deb Lewis last year, but she asked (strongly and politely) not to be bothered any more. I'm kind of joking, but she's not a travel-and-speak kind of personality, and I'm glad she allowed us to impose on her in 2011! It was really nice. I'm glad she still writes regularly on Always Learning, from her cosy, peaceful home.

So to the news:

Julie, James and Adam can't make it from England this year. I'm hoping they will in 2013. They are planning to run another LiTTLe Conference in Ashford, Surrey, in July 2013, where Joyce and I will speak.

In Albuquerque, Renee Cabatic will be speaking, perhaps a short session, perhaps two short sessions.

Kirby Dodd (my oldest) will be here from Austin, so my whole family will form a panel on the last day. Before that time, feel free to seek out Kirby, Marty or Holly d and talk to them. They're there to be examples of having grown up unschooled.

Rose Sorooshian's session last year got the best feedback, so she is our star speaker for 2012. Joyce, Pam, Jill and I will be back. Luke will help his mom (Jill) with her presentation on online gaming.

And a request:

For anyone reading who can't attend but might be wanting to help, I have a fundraising project in the works—a gift exchange in honor of the second anniversary of Just Add Light and Stir, and you would get something in the mail, which is always fun. (Those attending are welcome to donate, too, but don't if it will cut into your conference budget!)

That cake is from a local bakery called ABC Cake Shop, and they taste as good as they look. I'll get one for the symposium.