Unschooling on the Go

One of my favorite things about unschooling is the ease of traveling. In the past I've brought workbooks, worksheets and lesson plans when we've headed away from home for a bit. It was a hassle planning, no one wanted to to do what I brought and I'd just bring the supplies back home untouched. Instead of pre-planned lessons we ended up exploring (and learning about) whatever we came across in our travels.

This week we are visiting my mom. I've brought along the girls' pencil boxes, lined paper and construction paper. So far (we've only been here about 16 hours) the girls have been writing lists, taking care of "sick" stuffed animals and planning what they will be planting in the garden.

On the drive down we came up with a couple of hypotheses about horses that we'll check out when we we walk to a nearby stable and the girls asked to go bird watching so we'll do that. So much more fun than workbooks!

We're back in the states and dealing with illness and jet-lag. A week ago Thing 1 woke up vomiting at 3:30 AM. Shabbat saw Thing 3 laid low by the bug and Thing 2 started yesterday evening.They've been very snuggly while sick so I've gotten a bit of knitting done and watched many old cartoons thanks to Netflix streaming.

I'm working my way through the 659 photos I took on the digital camera as well as the 50-ish Polaroids. I am bummed I decided not to take the Diana F+ but happy I don't have to deal with rolls of film.

We're Off!

I've got our bags packed and the tickets ready. We're off to Israel for three glorious weeks! I'll post pictures when we arrive!

Travel Photography

With the knitting decision made, I'm moving on to pondering cameras, lenses and film. What of what to bring with me?

On my definite list: Canon DSLR with an 18mm-200mm zoom lens and a 50mm f1.4 lens, two spare batteries and two 8 gig SD cards. (Can you tell where my paranoia lies?) I'm also bringing my little Flip video camera that I got a couple years ago and rarely use.

On my maybe list: Polaroid Land Camera 340 with an assortment of film. Pros: Love the camera and shots. Cons: Huge, heavy and a high trash producer. But a couple shots like this and it is worth the hassle.

Polaroid Spectra Pro with Image film. Pros: Easy to use and I have loads of film. Cons: New-to-me camera and I haven't gotten a good handle on the settings so they wouldn't be used which seems a waste.

Polaroid SX-70 Sonar One Step. Pros: Has an auto-focus option and I have a bit of film for it. Cons: I'm still testing it and not getting super great shots.

Polaroid SX-70 Alpha 1. Pros: Awesome camera when I have the time to get a shot set up. (With my poor eyes, focusing is a longer-than-usual process.) I also have a variety of film. Cons: The time it takes me to focus and it needs a good cleaning which I doubt I'll have time for before we leave.

Diana+ camera. Pros: Lightweight, I have 10 rolls of negative film and 5 rolls of slide film for it. I found a shop that will develop 120 in Jerusalem and also sells the film there. Cons: Its new-to-me and i'm not confident in my skill with it.

Also a consideration is carting this equipment on the plane. I know I can't get it into my backpack so it will have to go in a carry-on with the girls' changes of clothing and snacks.

What I'm leaning towards is the Diana and the Spectra or Sonar depending on how today's testing at the park goes. Lightweight and compact and I can get the 120 developed before we leave so I won't worry about losing images to scanners.

So, my fellow photofiles, what cameras would you bring?

Knitting on a Plane

As soon as we had bought our tickets to Israel, I started thinking about travel knitting. You see, I can't sleep on planes for any sort of decent length of time. I'll nod off and then jerk awake thinking its been at least a couple hours and its been 10 minutes. And I'm now wide awake facing 9 more hours of confinement. I won't take anything because Aba will be driving when we arrive and I'd rather he was well rested and someone needs to be alert in case of emergencies.

So I need something to distract me. I have music and audiobooks and extra batteries for my phone. I buy a puzzle magazine and carry a notebook for lists and journaling. Add in my knitting and I'm pretty well situated. But what to bring?

Anyone who knows me knows I'm the furthest thing from a monogamous knitter there is so my original thought was to take a partially completed sweater on each flight. With some sock yarn. And a shawl. Mittens for the girls? A scarf? A hat for me? What about starting a new sweater with bulky yarn? That sweater for Radar? A hat for Baby Doll? Slipper socks for the family?

Its 13 hours there and 15 hours back so that's 28 hours of knitting, right?

Well, no. Not really. See, the flight may be that long, but there will be some caring for the girls, some eating, a few catnaps, too. I'm guesstimating 8-9 hours on each flight for knitting. So what to bring? My plan as of now (and subject to change) is to bring Idlewood in hopes of finishing it up and some yarn to make hats for Israeli soldiers.

If you've been around Jews when you're getting ready to go on a trip, you've probably had some dollars handed to you. In Judaism, there is an adage that someone who is on a journey to perform a mitzvah won't be harmed. So you get these bills and donate them at your destination. We do that as well as bring along money designated for donation when visiting certain holy sites. (We put it in an envelope and label them "kotel," "Hevron," "R' Meir Baal Haness," etc.)

When I posted my quest for knitting ideas on Facebook, someone mentioned knitting booties for poor mothers and this reminded me of the yarn and pattern I have in my closet waiting. What better mitzvah to perform than help keep soldiers warm while they help keep us safe?

Naturally, though, now I'm considering bringing some of the wool I got to make longies and make a baby sweater or two.