Unschoolers Winter Waterpark Gathering (UWWG):

I am so far behind posting.....but the kids and I were out of town last Tues-Thurs (Jan 22-24) at Kalahari Resorts, about 4 hours from here, for an unschooling winter waterpark gathering...it was a blast, but as always, I dreaded the drive and managing 9 kiddos alone! The place just opened an expansion to their waterpark and is now America's largest indoor waterpark (173,000 sq ft), the place is AWESOME http://www.kalahariresorts.com/waterpark/?locid=2&areaid=16 we stayed in a village suite http://www.kalahariresorts.com/resorts/?locid=2&areaid=8

There were lots of great families at the gathering, but the setup really didn't lend well to socializing! I wish I had had more time to socialize and hang out with the other great families that attended the event. I hosted an Artist Trading Card funshop which was very well attended, but there weren't many adults in attendance. The kids that came were wonderful creative and had a great time, but I had really hoped to hook up with some other moms who had a flair for art.

The dance Wednesday night was AWESOME and the DJ really rocked! It was great to see whole families dancing and enjoying music together.

The waterpark was something to behold....I have never seen such a large indoor waterpark (hmmm...maybe because this is the largest one in the US), Sophia and Will loved the kid area with the blue and orange slides and the boys loved the surfing. Cade was really overwhelmed the first day, to the point that he looked miserable, I really wish I could help him cope better in new or uncertain situations. He was fine the next day and joined Chris, Grant and Jacob in the surfing. I was kind of in a funk and didn't really even get in the water, of course now I wish I had.

Hannah and Emily were both disappointed in the teen room, although they did meet some new teens and hooked up with a friend from Live and Learn. Apparently there was this obnoxious preteen who kept drawing vulgar images on the bulliten boards. A few of the older teens tried to point out the error of his ways, but he was unfazed. I suppose there is one in every bunch!