The Story of the Shine

All Children SHINE When Celebrated for Being Exactly Who They Are!

WELCOME!  I am glad you are Here.

I Am Anne Ohman.
I Am (among many other things, but none more important than) Mom to always-radically-unschooled Jacob (born 9/1990) and Sam (born 4/1994).



I was introduced to unschooling when my Jacob was born, really. I saw all that he was learning in JOY just from LIVING! And as he grew older, he continued to show me that THIS was the life that he needed in order to Shine. I chose to continue to trust him, listen to him, believe him and follow him...ESPECIALLY when he indicated that "teaching" him anything unbidden was insulting to his mind and spirit, and was also interrupting the flow of his own life and learning. Since then, I have been thinking about, learning about, talking about and writing about how children learn and live joyfully via this glorious path called unschooling.

I have been speaking at unschooling conferences (thanks to Kelly Lovejoy for asking me) since the very first Live & Learn Unschooling Conference in 2002.

At the 2004 Live & Learn Conference in Peabody, MA (hosted by Kathryn Baptista), I saw how people appreciated the type of unschooling support I was able to give with my experience and they wanted more.  So I created the Shine with Unschooling on-line community in September of 2004 in order to have a space to Celebrate All Children for Being Exactly Who They Are.

That community has evolved into the most lovely, respectful, gentle and celebratory community of radical unschoolers, thanks to our phenomenal moderators, Pam, Anna and Tracy...and thanks to our valuable members, their life energy that they choose to invest into our community, as well as their/our Vision of a world where All Children's Voices are Heard, Honored, Respected and Celebrated.

For a long time, I held the Vision of bringing that on-line community together in "real" life, in the "real" world. With the help of my competent and dear friend, Pam Laricchia, that Vision became a reality with our first We Shine Unschooling Conference/Celebration in 2009 in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

This conference is unlike any other. It is True to my Vision of creating a Real-Life Celebratory Radical Unschooling community that is in alignment with the principles and the energy that are found on the Shine with Unschooling list. This conference is not over-marketed nor over-scheduled.  This conference allows SPACE for families to follow their own flow, and STILL be a part of the Glorious Shine.

At We Shine, we have created an amazing Sacred Space that is necessary for the allowing of True Be-ing,
Deep Connections
and


Infinite Possibilities  !!




..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ For This Is How We All Shine!!!! -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*
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In order for that Vision to be a reality, I have chosen to limit the attendance at this conference ~ it is closed to the members of the Shine with Unschooling yahoo list. Yes, I turn down registrations even from the list once we reach our maximum number of attendees in order to stay True to mySelf, the Shining community, and to make sure that my Vision is fulfilled.

This celebratory conference is a sacred Safe Space for everyone to Be Exactly Who They Are, interact with each other, live and work and play and learn and grow and walk through the Joys and the Challenges together...as a family...as a community.

For everyone who is thinking about or choosing to attend our glorious celebratory gathering, please first read our Creed, for this needs to be known for certain:

We Gather For *and* WITH the Children.

It is a great honor that you even consider spending your family's life's energy to be with us. I thank you deeply. I know that it's not always easy. I've been to conferences before that have not felt completely right, that have felt like I was hijacking our family's vacation time, and where we have ended up staying in the hotel room most of the time after investing a great deal of money and life's energy because we have felt so overwhelmed with all of the people and all of the scheduled activities. That's why I created *this* conference. It IS different.

One caveat, in case you are planning on attending and are holding onto any expectations or pre-conceived definitions of  ANYTHING regarding this conference or the people there. Here's how I see it ~ I see it in layers.

The location for our real-life Shining unschooling gathering  provides the perfect outer layer...the wonderful setting...our "homes", our gathering spaces, and all of the amenities of the venue.

My work and responsibility is to provide the next layer ~ the *reasons* to gather...the speakers, the conversations, celebratory activities...

The next layer ~  the True heart of the conference (that which is swirling around those scheduled gatherings and inside of those sacred UNscheduled spaces...that which holds the possibilities for Be-ing and for Lovely Connections and for Sheer Joy!) ~ is what You make/allow it to Be.

We highly recommend that the focus be on the Joy and Shine of your children, and allow their flow to direct you while Trusting in the possibilities that this will open up to you during your time at We Shine. 


SO...if you are drawn to our Shining Creed (our mission statement, really) and your heart feels right about my Vision for this gathering and you are in agreement about the above caveat, then I do believe that you are walking in exactly the right direction for your family. We are honored that you want to be here with us, for it is one of the greatest pleasures in my life to have the opportunity to better know more Shining Unschooling families who are honoring and respectful of their children's hearts and Voices, while showing them, through example, of how to be respectful of others' hearts and Voices.

For the latest updates and to connect with other We Shine attendees, please join the We Shine Yahoo list.

Be Well.
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