Catalogs I LOVE

I'm not a fan of receiving too many catalogs and other mail that I don't want. However, I am a huge fan of receiving catalogs in the mail that I'm going to keep around a while and reference. Be sure to check out online catalogs before you have a paper one sent to you. If you prefer to look and purchase online only, be sure to drop them an e-mail saying you don't want catalogs sent to you.

Here are catalogs that I love. They inspire me and my children. We keep them for weeks, or months, or years. We cut them up and make collages with them (then ATCs out of those), we dream about the photos, they broaden our worlds. They often intrigue us and help us have a more Zen-like life, all at the same time. And, sometimes, of course, we actually buy things out of them. :) We keep our wished for items on our vision boards for all the world to see and miraculously, we usually have our wishes come true.

Kid Stuff:
Chinaberry (books, toys, audio books)
Oriental Trading Company (they have several different catalogs)
MindWare (fun "thinking" toys)
Lego Magazine and Catalog
HearthSong (miscellaneous fun toys, lots of wood items)
Spilsbury (puzzles, etc.)
C.W.D. Kids (clothing for little kids)
Magic Cabin (similar to Hearthsong, but more Waldorf -- beautiful illustrations!)
Educational Innovations (science things, their catalog is MUCH better than their online store)
Steve Spangler Science (science fun)
Hammacher Schlemmer (fun dream toys)
Discover Channel Store (great toy and DVD source)

Household Stuff:
IKEA (everything you need to furnish an entire house)
Solutions Catalog (all kinds of interesting things)

Zen Stuff that has all kinds of things:
Isabella Catalog (the "grown-up" Chinaberry Catalog)
Signals
The Wireless Catalog
Gaiam (they have several different catalogs)
Lush (nice massage bars and bath bombs)
Dharma Trading (dyes and blanks for dyeing things -- I always keep a catalog on-hand)
Acacia (some of the neatest things I've seen for a while)

For Travel and outdoor:
Sahalie (clothing, traveling, and outdoor supplies)
TravelSmith (clothing and supplies for traveling)
Magellans

Online only:
Geeks.com (discounted fun electronics)
ThinkGeek.com (fun geeky things)
amazon.com (just about everything these days)
Kodak Gallery
Vegan Essentials
Rick Steves (excellent source for traveling supplies, best source for information about traveling in Europe)

Enjoy!

Celebrating "Not Back to School" 2007

It's that time of year again: NOT Back to School time! Whoo-Hoo for all Radical Unschoolers like my family. It is time to celebrate our freedom and life long journey of learning all the time.

What have we been up to?

I've been busy updating my list of Unschooling books, websites, and magazines for all new Unschooling families out there. Happily for the children of the world, there are more and more each year. Unschooling is living life fully and completely with no matrix of false reality.
No matter which definition you put on it, Unschooling is a journey of self discovery for the parents as well as the children.

We are planning adventures, art projects, and more. My eldest daughter's current favorite activity is making Art Trading Cards (otherwise known as ATCs). We make these 2.5"x3.5" cards and trade with other people in online and in-person "Anything Goes" and specialty themed trades. We've made a "How To Guide" and we regularly update our Flikr page with our own creations and those of trades that we host.

My youngest daughter's current favorite activity is Webkinz. These are brilliant and I would like to officially congratulate the creator. I'm not sure there is anyone out there that doesn't know how great this is, but on the off chance, here is a quick summary: Webkinz are lovable stuffed animals in two different sizes (regular Webkinz and the small "Lil' Kinz" version - close in size to Beanie Babies). Both come with a tag that has a special code that allows the owner to play with a virtual version of their pet in its own world. Each pet gets a room and some special gifts, as well as Kinzcash. There are games to play and jobs to work at and so much more! All earn the user more Kinzcash, which in turn, allows the user to make themselves a mansion of fun. If you have a child between the ages of 5 and 18, you might check these out. Of course, I'm the first to admit that I have two Webkinz of my own. I can't wait for the turtle. :)