Chairs in front of the lake on a sunny day with blue skies.
A beautiful orange, purple, and blue sky as the sun sets over the lake.
Unschoolers getting crafty Acid Washing T-shirts.
Chairs in front of the lake on a sunny day with blue skies.
NEUC has truly been a life changing experience. There are no words to express t the impact of being surrounded by families that share the deep convictions about raising children with mutual respect and full autonomy over themselves and their education. The sense of unity, purpose, and support has been nothing short of empowering. I have built strong connections and what I hope will be life long friendships. Even more meaningful is having a space where my daughter feels comfortable being herself. She loves connecting with other teens who are being unschooled. She has formed friendships that hopefully will last forever.
As a first-time attendee, I never once felt out of place. The camp setting is perfect and there’s always something to do or join in on, but never any pressure. It’s such a welcoming, inclusive environment and a wonderful opportunity to connect with other unschooling families
NUEC is organized with so much love, and it is an honor to get to be a a part of it. Everyone there is so kind and interesting and engaging and welcoming all the time. Whether you want to play werewolves narrated by the god of werewolf gods, go around surveying people for a study, learn about alternatives to college, play foam swords in a wide open field, have a round table discussion about what queerness means to you, stay up late talking with your new and old friends, or just roast some marshmallows, NEUC is the place for you! It's like going to fairy land (literally! There was a fairy and fairy magic and a fairy scavenger hunt!) Everything is amazing. I am a 15 year old lifelong unschooler, and I love NEUC.
A Day at NEUC
I wake up to the sounds of kids outside excited for the day and head to breakfast in the dining hall where I meet up with my daughter. She is staying in the Teen Cabin happy to see friends from last year and excited to make new ones. We eat breakfast together (a great variety - fruit, yogurt, eggs, pancakes, juice, cereal) and head to the morning circle where we get announcements and learn about the day's activities and panels being offered. I look over the schedule, and choose “Ask a Parent of a Grown Unschooler Panel” from the many options. It is a wonderful chance to ask questions and talk with parents who have successfully unschooled their kids. My daughter is at the Untrepreneurial Fair (market) selling her handmade bracelets.
Later, I head over to the field where the kids are playing Foam Swords. LARPing is always a crowd pleaser - Violet and Charlie are keeping the kids engaged and everyone is having so much fun!
I head to lunch and I check in with my teen again. She is busy making new friends and tells me about the pottery she made. After lunch, I’m off to a panel made up of grown unschoolers. This year, some have brought their high school transcripts to share. Seeing them gave me ideas on what records I may want to keep and also an idea of what transcripts may look like as we head into our high school years. We head to the lake and even though it’s chilly, the kids don’t seem bothered. There’s an obstacle course, paddle boarding and swimming.
After dinner, we head back to the cabin to get ready for the bonfire and s’mores!!! I love the evenings. It’s a great time to build friendships and really connect with other parents. We finally end the night with a few rounds of The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow, staying up way later than I planned, but I can’t pull myself away from Werewolves.
After a full day of being around my like-minded unschooling community, I go to bed feeling exhausted, but confident in our family’s decision to unschool.
Kelly Kiley
