ALL Unschooling news

I changed the template for the blog. (If you're reading this by e-mail, click on "ALL Unschooling news" to see it; minor)

I'm working on the FAQ. (minor)

The hotel changed its name from Sandia Courtyard to "RAMADA Hotel & Convention Center" (or, depending which webpage I look at, Ramada of Albuquerque, or Ramada Albuquerque Hotel; but they haven't moved the building, and Clyde Wanatee is still our contact, so... minor)

No major news to report!

Each time a family member has asked me what I want for Christmas, I've said I want this symposium!

Oh... a 100-member choir from a high school in Oklahoma will be traveling by bus from California, and wanted to have an overnight stay and a place for a New Year's Eve party. Clyde wrote "The band has about 30 rooms set aside - 3 to 4 per room. Mainly they wanted to use it to have a get together on NY eve as well."
We'll have our party in one of the smaller rooms, then, and they'll have the big room. I don't think that's a big problem. (We weren't going to pay for the room anyway, but they were going to let us have it just because our stuff was already in there; now they've sold it, so... we'll just need to get all our stuff out of the conference center early Saturday afternoon.medium news.)

Jill and Pam have decided on names for their talks. (See schedule at the tab above). Others are still thinking. Deb is planning hers this week and is excited because she has not (I'm pretty sure) spoken before. Her writing is well-known, fun and popular among unschoolers though! There are several articles new to my site this week: Deb Lewis

If you have questions, please ask them in the comments box at any blog post, or by e-mail, and I'll try to clarify every little thing! Thanks!!

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There is a park between the hotel and the city pool. It's a short walk across a major road, and we don't know yet how cold it will be, but here are pictures.

The buildings in the distance from the poor little whale or whatever it is are the Owl Cafe and the hotel (through the fences of a softball field). It's close. Those trees will be bare, and it's a 50/50 chance it will be warm enough to play outside on that stuff.

Barefooted in the winter

Responding to an e-mail inquiry, I wrote something that I figured was worth sharing:

The symposium in Santa Fe was really good, informationally, but we had to leave the meeting rooms each evening and scatter back to condos in the dark in the cold. This time we can have the meeting rooms as late as we want, and people can go back to their rooms in stocking feet. Santa Fe is prettier than Albuquerque, but about twice expensive, no matter what you touch. :-)

It's still really hot here, and might be fairly warm (compared to most of the world) in December, but not nearly as cold as we were in Santa Fe up on that hill with the wind blowing over old frozen snow. That was picturesque and not so fun.

Albuquerque has a lower elevation than Santa Fe, and we were up on the hillfort (fort hill, anyway; the fort was gone) of Santa Fe, too. The conference center is all part of the hotel, so no one will need to put on shoes or a coat to go from beds to meeting rooms. And if it does snow, we can see it from the windows and go and play in it.

Add gloves to your checklists, just in case (and I'll start a shared checklist and link it above).

The hotel is changing its name

Sandia Courtyard Hotel & Convention Center is changing its name to a Ramada.

My favorite event coordinator, Clyde Wanatee, will still work there. Our rates are guaranteed this year. He says the bedding is nicer. :-)

Art Modification Opportunity

Even for those who can't attend at all, there's a coloring-contest opportunity (Holly says "call it art modification, not 'coloring contest'"), and that's lower down on that page. Anyone who wants to take a shot at messing with/improving/riffing on that logo could get attention (at least) or a prize. I will share any art that's sent to me, and do various cool things with some of them.

Art to lift or trace, in various sizes and versions:
http://sandradodd.com/all/art

Cafe Press items you might buy and color/amend/decorate:
http://www.cafepress.com/AlwaysLearningLIVE


(one I colored with photobucket or something, just putting colors in the image)

FAQ in progress

I'm working on a FAQ, and just lost my whole section on local museums, but will get back to it in a day or three. If anyone is willing to read there and think of what other questions and sections it should have, please e-mail me or leave a note here. Thanks!
SandraDodd.com/all/faq

It will eventually have some images, better format, and direct links to sections from various other pages, but for now, it's something.

How long to stay in Albuquerque?

The main days of the gathering are Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning, December 29, 30 and 31st. The shortest practical stay would be Thursday and Friday nights at the hotel.

The slightly longer, don't-miss-anything, stay would be Wednesday night through Saturday.

The hotel will honor the conference rates from Monday December 26th through the following Sunday night, January 1.

Every night of hotel-room goes toward credit for less expensive (or maybe free, if enough people attend) conference rooms.

Hotel Reservations, halfway down. (Can be made by e-mail or phone.)
http://sandradodd.com/all/registration
(Which I have repaired to reflect what is happening, as opposed to what would have been happening if we had had a July gathering... it's updated, and corrected, today.)

December in Albuquerque!

I'm writing from summer in Albuquerque. People are saying "I wish winter would come." And those are people who aren't even planning to be at the ALL Unschooling Symposium!

I will keep static pages at SandraDodd.com, and also keep pages at this blog. Some will link back and forth. If you find discrepancies or gaping holes or garbled confusion, please let me know. My intent is to make it clear and simple.

There have been several registrations this week, and after Kirby's birthday July 29 and the Good Vibrations conference in September, I have nothing in the world to do but prepare for the December Symposium!

Keith (Dodd, my husband) said this morning that maybe I should not plan for next summer, for various summer and travel reasons, and he is (as usual) probably right. So I'm going to change the site to reflect that IF there's another of these, so that (I hope) Schuyler, David, Simon and Linnaea can come, December is probably a better time for it. Let's see how 2011 goes and decisions can be made about continuation. Keith also points out that late December is unlikely to conflict with anyone else's gatherings.

Holly today, in front of the hotel. In December, the temperature is more likely to be 45° F than 87 or 89. In the daytime, I mean. (It was 86 when we pulled up to take the photos.)

ROOM REGISTRATION information is at the "Hotel" link above. Registration for the conference and for the hotel are separate. You can do one without the other, in either direction.

Holly is wearing a chiton (just because) with a belt from a charity shop in Ashford (wide elastic with a zippered pocket), in case you wondered.