This is a group for families in the Portland, Oregon area who are UNSCHOOLING (which is quite different from other forms of homeschooling - but there are many yahoo groups for Portland area homeschoolers). Everyone is welcome, from those who are just curious about unschooling to long-time and/or radical unschoolers. We also discuss respectful, non-coercive parenting on this list - and there is a local parenting without punishments or rewards group called Unconditional Parenting at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UP-Portland/

For the purposes of this list, here is a description of unschooling, the parent's role, and some guiding principles: http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/pam_sorooshian.html

POSTING GUIDELINES: Please do take some time to read the above link, and when posting to the list, please keep those principles in mind. There will be varied interpretations of what those principles cover, and diverse opinions enrich discussions, but please do not post opinions that are in direct contradiction to the those principles. DO discuss your real experiences, observations, and questions, and make real life plans! That's what the group is for!

Metadiscussion: Please refrain from discussing HOW you think the list should be run, and the definiton of unschooling.

Business Postings: If you have a family business, you are welcome to post an intro to your business on the 1st day of each month, but NOT on other days, to keep traffic down/advertising to a minimum. Feel free to add your business to the directory in the database section of the group page, as well as other businesses with which you've had a good experience.

Unschooling/Community Events: Feel free to post events of interest at any time, and do consider adding community events that you think unschoolers might be interested in attending to the group calendar as well. Please don't add reminders to the events.