Your kids are amazing! My kids are amazing! And every one of them has the potential for genius inside of them. I have a passion for learning and I want everyone to develop that passion. Unfortunately, many are left with a distaste and distrust for learning due to our education system. Learning is not a one size fits all approach and many children will never succeed in the traditional environment. I didn't and carried that weight for a long time. Luckily, I found a passion for learning on my own, but many aren't so fortunate. I have been many things in my life. I have been a chef, middle school math educator, handyman, and entrepreneur. I love making things and working with my hands and I believe a lot of the kids who don't succeed in school can find their passion in the same way. I know when I was in school, a career working with your hands was discouraged. I was always told I was smart, but I hated sitting still in class all day. In addition to everything else, I am a functional medicine health coach with a passion for quality food, health, and community building.
It's down to the wire this week, but the wait will be worth it!
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This week was a huge win in the world of unschooling for me! For starters, I should share that my wife and I are both educated. I have a degree in education and she is a doctor. And we are encouraging our children to become entrepreneurs over going to college. Well, we are actually encouraging them to make sure they know they want to go to school, that what they want to study will be worthwhile, and that they don't go into debt to do it. In addition, we are encouraging them to learn skills that will be valuable. Unfortunately this is something that public schools fail to do. How can we send kids to school for 13 years, and the only thing we've prepared them for is more school? And we do a pretty poor job of doing that! Back to my point, my 14 year old son came to me this last week with a plan. He wants to start a business. He wants to learn public speaking because he knows it will help him in being an entrepreneur. And he asked me, "Dad, what's that book you said you read that you think everyone should read?" I was ecstatic! And by the way, the book is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I read it for the first time when I was 48 and I couldn't believe how much I learned from a book that old. It is timeless advice. And I believe it should be required reading for everyone before they turn 18. I know you signed up for stuff about making, but making and 3d printing are secondary to my passion that is self-directed learning. Let's get to the making! I came across some interesting stuff this week. It's that time of the week! It's MAKER Monday! Every week, we'll share things about things we or others have made, interesting artistic creations, fun new knowledge, education in the maker community, and leave you with a weekly challenge! Monday Maker Magic:I became fascinated by the maker movement since I first saw something called Make TV many years ago. I think it was on PBS and it was definitely before YouTube. I was so enthralled by it that I subscribed to Make Magazine, set up a small makerspace at home, and took my family on a pilgrimage to Maker Faire By Area in 2015. In addition to Maker Faire, we drove from Nebraska to California at the beginning of the summer and from Nebraska to Orlando at the end of the summer! I even screen printed t-shirts! That was a fun year. I love taking the time to make things. Right now, my favorite thing to make is this. If you haven't already, I highly suggest subscribing to Make Magazine. It's what got me into screen printing (although I gave that ll to me niece a few years ago). It's where I first learned about 3D printing. It's what inspired me and led me to creating this! Artistry in Action (Artist Spotlight):I may or may not have mentioned this before, but our family loves Disney! And, this is a statement of fact, and is not debatable, the song I've Got a Dream from Tangled is the best Disney song ever. Fight me! This week I came across this video showing how hand drawn animations are created by a Disney artist. I love this kind of stuff. When people make all of the usual complaints about visiting Disneyland (or Disney World, even though Disneyland is clearly superior), like the ride lines are too long, I argue that there is so much more to the parks than the rides. And one of the things I always enjoy is watching the artist in the art gallery on Main St. Watching videos on YouTube isn't quite as good as seeing it live, but since we can't live at Disneyland, YouTube will have to do. Knowledge Nuggets:Today is March 4th and I learned something new about March 4th today! Admittedly I used ChatGPT to scour the internet for something interesting but it is interesting nonetheless. I'm not sure exactly where I stand on AI, and it cannot give a human touch to information but it definitely has it's benefits. It's so much easier to find what you want than just googling something. Here's what ChatGPT had to say about the history of March 4th! Before the 20th Amendment was ratified on January 23, 1933, the United States had a longer gap between the presidential election and the inauguration. The Constitution originally specified March 4 as the date for the presidential inauguration. This date was chosen to allow time for newly elected officials to travel to the capital and for the results of the election to be certified and transmitted. However, as transportation and communication improved over the years, it became apparent that the extended period between the election and the inauguration led to what was known as the "lame-duck" period. During this time, the outgoing president, who might not have been re-elected, continued to hold power, potentially creating a period of uncertainty and a lack of decisive leadership. In response to these concerns, the 20th Amendment was proposed and ratified in 1933, changing the presidential inauguration date to January 20. This significantly reduced the time between the election and the inauguration, addressing the issues related to the lame-duck period and ensuring a more prompt transition of power in the United States. The amendment also set specific dates for the convening of Congress, further streamlining the process of establishing a new government after an election. Education Exchange:This week was a special week. A new Mark Rober video was released! In case you aren't familiar with Mark Rober, he is a former NASA engineer turned YouTuber. He also has a great video where he programed 8 Creality Ender 3 printers to make music! I highly recommend you look that one up. Better yet, settle in for a few hours and look through his history. He is an incredible maker! Probably the most famous thing he's engineered are his glitter bombs he created to pay back porch pirates. But this week, he tackled three physics concepts and it was fascinating! Rise to the Challenge (Weekly Challenge):OK, I need a new R word. This challenge thing isn't it is it. So far no one has risen to any challenge I've sent out. There we go! That's this week's challenge! Come of with something that begins with R and is related to making/homeschooling/unschooling! Now put down your phone and go make something! Thank you Reader for joining us this week on our making journey! If you have anything to add or you want to share what you've been working on, please don't hesitate to respond! Please share this with your friends and help us grow our maker community! If you haven't already, like our Facebook Page and join our Facebook group, Homeschool Makers and 3D Printing Enthusiasts! Now get out there and create something amazing! |
Hi! I'm Dave Reed
Your kids are amazing! My kids are amazing! And every one of them has the potential for genius inside of them. I have a passion for learning and I want everyone to develop that passion. Unfortunately, many are left with a distaste and distrust for learning due to our education system. Learning is not a one size fits all approach and many children will never succeed in the traditional environment. I didn't and carried that weight for a long time. Luckily, I found a passion for learning on my own, but many aren't so fortunate. I have been many things in my life. I have been a chef, middle school math educator, handyman, and entrepreneur. I love making things and working with my hands and I believe a lot of the kids who don't succeed in school can find their passion in the same way. I know when I was in school, a career working with your hands was discouraged. I was always told I was smart, but I hated sitting still in class all day. In addition to everything else, I am a functional medicine health coach with a passion for quality food, health, and community building.