"Guess what Filly, we tried out the non jr version of Brainpop today and he loves it. I was reluctant before because his 4 yr old sister watches with him. I didn't want it to be totally above her head. But you know what? She has just run off and began working on a craft project she's been obsessing over! Thank you for the suggestion; he totally enjoys the depth of this version! Also the permaculture thing you mentioned to Featherstory, I think we might begin learning about that this year. Planting season is around the corner and the kids have been trying to prep. our balcony garden. "
Emaye I am so pleased he enjoys it! I hope it helps a little. Permaculture is a great thing for city growers and small spaces-one key concept is the one of "zoning" whereby not just the amount of land but its location and espcially how often you can usefully visit it and how often you want to usefully visit it are really important. Based on this there is a strong argument that a tiny, but well situated, amount of growing space can be more productive than a much larger area. That's my experience too-in terms of the food we actually produce, most comes from our tiny backyard (usable growing space is around 10m sq, though we have a few fruit bushes squeezed in too, and a lot too from our windowsills. We grow a lot vertically, using the sunny walls we have to best effect. We have, about a mile and a half easy bike ride away, an allotment-a patch of land on a shared site, in the UK the law states that everyone technically should be able to have one-which we visit a few times a week and while we get food off it, and a great deal of pleasure from it, the yield, actually, every year I have kept records, has been a lot less from the allotment though its fifteen times the size! So what I'm trying to say is that your container garden might be a really wonderful thing. Balconies are sheltered, often warm microclimates, often quite pest/disease free. I have wonderful memories of the incredible range of fruit and veg that my parents managed to grow on their tiny balcony of their London tower block in the late 70s/80s.
Featherstory, you guys sound well sorted. Can I just say how inspring it is to read about not just your daughter's dream but also the steps you are taking to enable it? It would be wonderful if you'd keep us posted, I'd love to know how you get on. She sounds like exactly the next generation we need. Love hearing about projects like this and love even more when they are friendly to kids and even more when they are instigated by them. Hope the permaculture training program goes well.
. I love that there is philosophy and practicality here, and I love that there is a range of opinion and experience. I love that it seems to be ok to use the unschooling forum if you kind of are aiming for a lot of the philosophy, and that it seems to be about collaborative problem solving and troubleshooting and ideas. I'm an enormous John Holt fan (mildly embarassed to say I've got not only his collected letters-which according to BookThing is pretty rare- but every copy of GWS I can find) I think more than anything I'm a fan of the integrity, honesty and intensity with which the guy seemed to live his life, and truly, the excitement I feel on reading this forum is the closest I've come to reading his books, there seems to be a real spirit of inquiry and celebration here. Something very precious. 
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