Thrive Hive ALC - Self-Directed Learning Center Gainesville, FL

New projects are always underway here at the hive!

After weeks of hard work, our Tree Net(or crazy spiderweb) is finally ready for play! We embrace opportunities to “learn by doing”… Even when things don’t work perfectly the first time, every step of the journey helps us grow!

The first day back from the End of Year break, and we are enjoying Snack and Story time on the porch, adapting to a cold rainy day!

Snack and Story has become an important part of the flow of the day, especially for our younger community members. It’s an opportunity to check in, resolve conflicts, nourish and hydrate our bodies - and hear some delightful stories all together!

Love this idea!

https://www.facebook.com/100064725036759/posts/729437205890441/?mibextid=Nif5oz

Sometimes "unschooling things" just hit me. Today's "unschooling thing" was something that made me realize how beautifully poetic the Thrive Hive name is to me.

I saw a Facebook post about how unschoolers "don't require their kids to do chores." Personally I don't love claims that one is "not an unschooler" if they do/don't do certain things. For me Unschooling is a pretty special and unique journey that one should take in ones own time; and judgement of other people's journeys is something I actively try to avoid. And at Thrive Hive, we trust our families to make their own familial choices in ways that work for them. But nonetheless the post got me thinking about my personal philosophy on my child doing chores.

I've always felt that children need exposure to chores and need to learn how to do things for themselves so they have the opportunity to be good at it as adults. I also feel that everyone should contribute to a household so that it can be sustainable. As a young person I had ideas about what that looked like and I assumed I would require my children to do chores. However... I now have a perfectly capable seven year old that I actually don't require to do any chores. I ask him sometimes for help, and often he actually chooses to help and that's so cool. But I don't make him. Why?

It all goes back to a little detail I learned about bee societies. Many years ago I was talking to my entomologist friend about spousal roles and feminism and housekeeping (what my sweet mama called "solving all the world's problems") and my friend told me that in bee colonies, the bees who do the "chores" to keep the hive tidy are the ones who have the lowest threshold for the mess. Naturally they clean it up, because they're the ones who "need" it to be that clean. That little factoid has spent a surprising amount of time rolling around in my head. In my house, I have the lowest threshold for mess. So I am the one who does most of the cleaning. I want the drawers organized a certain way so I fold all of the laundry and put it away how I like it. Seeing the clothes so nice and neat in the drawer *smacks* me with that good dopamine, and nothing annoys me more than trying to get dressed out of tangle of clothes in a laundry basket. Those are things that are important to *ME* so I find it worthwhile to spend my time on them. My husband and son couldn't care less about those things, so it doesn't make sense to me that they should be required to keep them up to my standards. I realized I have the bees to thank for finding meaning in my own chores and for getting me questioning societal expectations about how spouses "help" one another in the home, how I feel about my child doing and chores, and how a culture (family or community) can be organized so that we can spend our time doing what we find most rewarding. We can learn to really understand and meet our own needs and not expect others to meet our needs for us- but appreciate it more when they help us, and not resent them when they choose not to.

Neat freak bees don't fight and coerce the other bees to clean up the messy hive, they just clean it and that becomes a part of their valuable role in the community. All of the bees *ARE* contributing, because otherwise the hive wouldn't be sustainable. But bees spend their time and effort prioritizing the things that naturally feel the most rewarding and important to them and they don't get annoyed with the other bees about it because it is what they choose for themselves. Isn't that a sweet little poetic alignment for our culture at Thrive Hive? 🐝

~Rae
Thrive Hive Facilitator/Parent/Community Member

We are lucky enough to have so many resources to support the kids in their passions!

During our opening circle, if there’s a request for an offering like cooking or building, we do our best to make it happen - and if it can’t happen that day, we work with the kids to make a plan.

We share responsibility with our kids to see projects through, start to finish - We have a period of time for cleaning up and finishing out our projects at the end of every day.

Thrive Hive is Back in Session!

We had a fantastic day, with a bunch of new friends and familiar faces.

Our younger kids circle is full, but our teenage community is looking for growth! If you are a family with unschooling kids 11+, please reach out!

Our kids love to play - Sometimes ultimate tag, sometimes Undertale or Smash Bros! We support them growing and connecting through their shared passions, and love to see how they use their communication, problem solving, conflict resolution, and organizational skills!

This is the porch!

The chess club meets here on Mondays, the hammock chairs are always swinging, and it’s a quiet shady spot for people to come socialize and have a quiet moment and a cool drink.

There are a couple of social hubs like this, and it’s such a comfort to check in with a friendly face, and to know that there are places to rest when rest is needed.

In some ways, we have the easiest job ever - We don’t ever have to fight with our kids to get them to learn!

We believe that kids are constantly learning, especially when given the opportunity to do it on their own terms… If they discover something for themselves, they’ll probably understand it far easier than they would if someone else was trying to make them understand.

If kids are doing, they’re learning. If they’re taking a break from doing, they’re still learning. Let them explore the world around them and watch the learning commence!

A Panorama of the yard and one of the gardens from the porch! Even distorted, it’s a beautiful day ❤

Our community is not just for kids!

Our adult community is essential to what we are doing here - We have regular meetings and have an active Discord where we communicate and grow with each other.

During our Community Immersion days, we focus on developing our non-violent communication style, embrace conflict resolution and try to practice vulnerability and honesty with each other. Our community works because of our shared values and commitment to creating this space for our kids to learn!

In our community we trust our kids to know their limits and needs!

We allow them to take risks within this space, even though there may be scrapes and bruises… we know that’s how they learn and grow!

Allowing them to learn their own limits through self-directed exploration helps them build confidence and be more aware of themselves and the world around them.

What are “The Agreements”?

An ever evolving and adapting list of things we all agree about! These aren’t so much “rules”, as a list of truths that help us navigate our community life.

When we encounter conflict, we use Non-violent communication to work it through, and most things can be solved when we check our agreements.

Some of these Agreements are:

I take care of myself, others, spaces

I matter, you matter, we matter

I play in my range, and support others to do the same

I transform my judgments to curiosity

I give what I can, and ask for what I need

I am responsible for my experience

I leave places better than I find them

I am punctual and present to the best of my ability

I give the faciltators consent to facilitate

Our Days start with an opening circle, where we check in with each other and explore a schedule for the day!

Everyone is given an opportunity to make “Offerings” - a request or offer to do something! An offering can be anything - a game, an art project, a book read, cooking… anything! The adults help with time keeping and are on hand for facilitating, but for the most part the kids decide the shape of their day.

Meet the Hive!

This building is where we meet for most of our opening and closing circles, where the kids can always go to escape from the heat! It’s equipped with instruments, art materials, books, sewing machines, and the back room is stocked with toys, electronics, and sensory materials.

This building is designed to empower - We don’t try to force kids to learn, but we trust and supply them with as many different resources and opportunities as possible!

Did you know that all summer we've been working on the gardens at Thrive Hive in preparation for planting *so much food* in the Fall? It's been a huge project and we will have a giant children's garden and an even bigger food production garden to serve the community. It's been a huge gift from Judith Bellaire, who has an incredible wealth of wisdom and experience growing food. I definitely think we should try this in the kid's garden, Judith!!!! What do you think? Also - anyone have any containers to donate to the children's garden? Old bathtubs, fiberglass or plastic boats, anything that could hold dirt that's not made of wood. We'd love to have your contributions!
https://www.facebook.com/1844437184/posts/10219150449712481/?mibextid=Nif5oz

This farmer couple used silicon to create molds in the shape of their own feet. They then planted turnips using these molds. As the turnips grew, they filled the molds and took on the shape of their feet.
Follow: Black Alien

Another ALC is offering this sweet opportunity to explore the Agile Learning Model. Check it out if you're curious about what we are doing here!

School’s not working for us, now what? This event is geared towards folks who are considering not sending their kids to school in the fall, or who need support in the decision

Starting Right NOW! 12:30pm ET (US) today, July 4th! Here's a great way to celebrate true liberation today - come to the public watch party of the GROW MELODIC Visual Album. Journey music, musings, and creative resources for the liberation movement. Based on Dr. Sundiata Soon-Jahta's amazing work, The Theory of Indivisibility! Self-directed learners, social workers, artists, activists, and anyone who dreams this this beautiful blue and green sphere we call home could be a deeply nourished and nourishing home for all, please come check it out!

Grow Melodic Visual Album — Grow Dialogue Mark your calendars and join us to celebrate the release of our new visual album, GROW MELODIC—journey music, musings, and creative resources for the liberation movement. Name * First Name Last Name Email * Thank you!We will add you to our calendar invite. We will also email you a link to our Zoom...

What if the “troublemaker” kids were not trapped inside all day?

What if what we have taken from them is what they need most? Let them connect with nature and immerse themselves in free play + wonder and see where that takes us. 🐛☀️🤍 #letthembelittle #naturekids #homeschoolmama #preschoolhomeschool #naturalparenting

Let your job is create a support system during their teenage years. 😊

Interesting point of view. I know in my training, I’m always saying to parents of teenagers for them to have a reciprocal thing happening with their children’s friend parents. ‘You tell their kid and they tell your kid’ when you want them to know stuff.

What does self-directed learning mean?

To me, a picture is worth a thousand words. One awesome addition to Thrive Hive this session is the skateboard ramp. It was a huge project and required a lot of help to actually move and install. So many community members showed up to make this dream a reality. There were moments when we questioned whether we'd bitten off more than we could chew. It took persistence, collaboration, and lots of skill sharing to pull it off. In the end, it all came together and everyone involved left with a feeling of accomplishment and contribution. And the ramp has been a cherished play space this session, used for a multitude of other creative uses aside from skating.

Shortly after the project was completed, one of our community members called up their friend Billy Rohan Samurai Skate Shop, who generously came to show us how it's done!

This little guy really wanted to try skateboarding, but was pretty scared. He ultimately made the decision to give it a shot and just look at that satisfaction! My experience is that most things that create growth feel scary at first. Learning how to be in relationship with fear, to honor it's wisdom, but not be controlled by it is a priceless gift. I love watching young people discover the joy and confidence that arises by getting through their initial fear while developing new skills, friendships, and ways of being in the world!

So much of what self-directed learning means to me is encapsulated in these experiences. It's not risk free (nothing is!), and the reward is a direct result of the risky stretch into the unknown.

What's an area of life you're stretching into? What kind of support would give you the confidence to go for it?