We Are Here For The Long Haul

Yesterday, I heard someone say that folks could be concerned that we may not be around in the future.  I can understand that worry; taking a child out of school, adjusting to homeschooling, and the Center and then have it close a few months later would be a huge disturbance in their lives.  However, this statement really caught my attention and I decided it would be the next issue addressed here... 

My (and the whole board's) intention, desire and commitment is to continue this program into the far future. In fact, I envision DRCs all over the North Country.  Deep Root Center is becoming an integral part of our community.  In my mind, this Pilot Program has never been 'a lets try it and see how it goes thing'.  It is simply the beginning place for something that will be part of my life for a very long time.

At this point, we are sustaining our basics.  With a few more members, we will be able to go beyond sustaining to having an actual budget that will allow us to repay loans and even pay a salary.

So, if you hear a youth say, "I do not like school", tell them there is a place that encourages learning on your own terms, with a staff who really listen and are ready to support and mentor your jump into self-directed learning.  DRC is the place where kids own their wackiness and differences to become one more voice in the world that says, "I am awesome, because..." 

Happenings

We are at the end of our 6th week.  This one has been a bit strange; between weather events and illness, we actually only had two days together. 

The boys and I spent a lot of time this Tuesday thinking about and planning science experiments for next Tuesday's Science Day.  We wanted to make ice cream with Dry Ice, but can't find a source for it.  So, to maximize the messy component, we are going to make slime with glue and borax.  Nate found something on YouTube involving matchsticks, clothespins and flying... We bought some straws, popsicle sticks, hot glue and string to build things with.  And, we borrowed Steven Caney's Ultimate building Book from the library, along with several other "science experiment" books.  We also have plenty of dishsoap, baking soda, vinegar and other interesting supplies to stay busy for a while. 

Elwood and I went back to the Electronic recycling box at the Town Barns on Monday to throw in a broken microwave (yes, we had to buy a new one), but the only new item from the week before was another old microwave and NO we are not tearing one of those suckers apart!

He finished a project about Germany and created a presentation on Google Drive.  He really loves using Google.  Everything is stored in the"cloud" and can be accessed anywhere.

Elwood and Andrew explored the mini dell some more and discovered when they were installing the Linux Mint operating system that the 7gb harddrive was dieing.  We have a couple of options that we are looking into.  They also took apart an old DVR donated to the Center and discovered a 500gb harddrive.  Elwood really wanted to make a computer from the DVR but Andrew convinced him it wasn't feasible.  So, we are holding onto the hard drive until we figure out what we want to do.  Ideally, we will find an old tower that can be rebuilt.

Miguel was here on Tuesday to play more music.  Elwood learned a lot of new chords and listened to Miguel play along to some of the tunes on the keyboard. 

---

NEXT WEEK:

Lots of good stuff is happening!  Please pass it on!