Speakers - Unschoolers Waterpark Gathering

2019 Speakers

Don DeSerrano: Foundations of Financial Freedom

Foundations of Financial Freedom is for kids and the parents of kids who want to make their own rules and have fun whenever they want, and don’t like being told what to do. How can you become financially free to be forever in charge of yourself and your life? How young can you get started, and what are the first steps? We will answer these questions and more as we lay the Foundations of Financial Freedom.

Ed Forteau

Ed had successful corporate careers in engineering and sales and marketing management with two Fortune 500 Companies. He left the corporate world to pursue his passion of being a consultant and advisor to business owners and entrepreneurs. Ed’s always had an affinity for working with local businesses. This has been especially true, as larger regional and national companies are pushing local and family-owned companies out of the marketplace. Find him at EdForteau.com

Revisiting Word of Mouth Marketing for your Local Business
Word of Mouth Marketing is probably how you got your very first customer, and how you initially grew your business. Then, it dried up, and you turned to other methods that were not as effective at gaining new customers. The good news is: word of mouth marketing is alive and well (and better than ever!) when leveraging social media in ways that are overlooked by most businesses. Ed will share three social media word of mouth methods that produce results better than advertising ever could. And the best part is: you can implement them right away.

Lillie Forteau

Lillie, always unschooled, is a writer, entrepreneur, graphic designer, and artist. She is a passionate musician (voice, ukelele, and guitar) and cosplayer, leading workshops in this field. Along with that, she is a master at home business, the founder of two businesses. She’s been to every single UWG.

Expanding your own creative writing: how to share your works, improve your grammar, and more.
Words stuck in your head?
This workshop/masterclass will help beginner to advanced creative writers improve their craft. We will cover several writing topics, from advanced worldbuilding to the correct places to put commas. There will be prompts and time for questions.

How to: Online selling and how you can actually make money
Wanting to start an easy business? Considering Etsy, Ebay, or other similar selling sites? This talk will give you the fundamentals of becoming a successful seller, how to properly plan out your business, smart budgeting, and how to price your items. Please, feel free to ask questions during the Q&A, or after the talk.

Julie Bond Genovese: Aligning with the Soul’s Joy: Unschooling Ourselves from the BS (Belief Systems)

More than any outer adversity, losses or challenges, our inner BS is the biggest block standing in the way of an awesome and fulfilling lifetime. By consciously questioning our beliefs, we open up to greater possibilities and empowerment. Carl Jung said, “The greatest burden a child must bear is the unlived life of the parents.” The clearer we are on our own path, the more loving we can be as parents. The more devoted we feel to our own passions and soul-blissipline, the brighter example we become for our family and their unique dreams. No matter what dificulities come our way, an open heart and mind align us with our best selves. Join us for an interactive discussion on how to shift our daily focus toward greater peace, presence and inspiration.

Harmonizing Our Relationships (with Partners or Kids) using The Work Of Byron Katie

“The teacher you need is the person you’re living with.” -Byron Katie. A conscious relationship (with ourselves, partners, kids or friends) is one of the most powerful tools for personal joy and spiritual growth. By recognizing when we project our painful thoughts and feelings about ourselves, onto those closest to us, we can begin to free ourselves from confilict. Relationships act as an insightful mirror of the denied aspects within ourselves. What we judge or ignore within ourselves, we’ll notice crawling all over others. By honoring our truth and “Loving What Is,” we can use any adversity as a catalyst for growth and compassion. These wake-up calls from the soul teach us how to champion our true selves while learning to live peacefully with our families. As we change our inner perspective, the healing and peace ripples outward. join us in an interactive workshop and discussion on how to shift anger, overwhlem and judgement into mindfulness, freedom and love.

Raina Hodgson: Bus Build/Bus Life Round Table

Join or experienced bus build panelists at our Bus Build Round Table for a lively discussion of all things relating to bus conversion. Share your stories, ask questions and meet other bus enthusiasts.

Fred Kluth:Demystifying Dungeons and Dragons: How D&D launches us into a world of imagination research and teamwork

In this engaging, light-hearted presentation, Dungeon Master Fred shares his practical insights about the game and exactly how it’s a fun and exciting journey in an imaginative world of role playing where the by-products are the life skills learned. He will enthusiastically share how fantastic the game is; cover the basics of game play; share heart-warming anecdotes about working with a team to achieve goals; discuss how to play out scenarios to resolve conflicts ; and discuss the hidden lessons learned.

Heather Schleidt

Heather is a passionate, energetic mother of four children who have never been to school. Heather is celebrating 21 years being married to Markus, her German-born husband that immigrated here at age 25 having no idea how this journey would work out. Unschooling has become a way of life for the Schleidt family, in spite of the challenges they have received from family and friends and they have made it work to the positive advantage of their children. Heather believes her mission is to guide her children in the freedom to live, learn, fail, succeed and show positive personal growth along the way. She loves engaging with people new to unschooling and worry it may not be a healthy path for raising children, so find her and fire away the questions burning in your heart.

Shift Happens

Come hear an experienced unschooling mom who started her journey with no direction and no real understanding of what unschooling meant for her family. Travel in the journeys of her family as they have witnessed the “shifts” that have taken place along the way to help create a family that values love, respect, individual thought and learning for it’s own sake. None of Heather’s children have ever been to school and she will discuss the shifts that happened in their parenting style as they began to realize that unschooling was the right long-term choice for them. This shift from being “parents’ to “guidance counselors” has given the kids the time, space and support to becoming young, well-adjusted adults with goals of their own. If you worry that unschooling may not show results, come learn ways to “shift” the paradigm you may have about what results should look like.

A Village Connected

Heather will talk about the social pressure that exists to get your children involved in activities that will teach them lessons and socialize them “properly”. Parental peer pressure often makes us unsupportive of our children’s personal passions because we worry they won’t fit in. She will discuss the importance of supporting your children in activities outside of sports leagues, mission trips, and honor society and how that will allow them to become more connected individuals with family and society. Everyone is asked to bring a few ideas to the table about their children’s or their own passions and how others could get connected to that if interested. As unschoolers, it is important to find our tribe so that we can feel connected and supported. Come help us do that!

Dana Stewart/Maya Serna

College Transcripts Tips

Thinking about applying to a college? Join us for this roundtable discussion about college applications, transcripts, and more.

Jeff Vawter- Gaming and Unschooling

Eric Viele

Jim Woodman: The Misinformation Superhighway

The internet can be a great source of information, but misinformation can travel just as quickly. How do you determine which items you should trust, and which items you should not? In this session, Jim Woodman will offer tips and tricks on how to find what you are looking for, and how to check out anything you hear about, to determine how credible it is.

Jim Woodman is an unschooling dad, who with his wife Sylvia, raises two awesome kids, Gabriella and Harry. He has worked for Prudential for over 25 years, crunching numbers and developing life insurance products. Don’t worry, he won’t sell you anything, because he’s not licensed! He is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, enjoys music, and makes his own beer.

Panels – Moderated by Eric Viele

Ask an Unschooled Teen

How did you____? Why did you_____? If I want to help my kid do____, what should I do? If you have questions like this, then come on down to the Ask an Unschooled Teen panel! There will Talking! Teenagers! Microphones! And most importantly… ANSWERS!! How it works: walk in, sit down aska panel of teen unschoolers your questions!

Teen Entrepreneurs

Ever wanted to work for yourself? Have a kid that wants to start their own business? Then come on down to the teen entrepreneur panel! Young adults who work for themselves will be on stage and ready to answer your questions!

Grown Unschoolers

Now, how does an uschooler swim from the sea of childhood into the ocean of grown human being status? Well, good question… why not ask it at the Grown Unschoolers Panel!! We’ve assembled a whole gaggle of grown, “mature” unschoolers ready to take your questions!