Jamie Maltman is an unschooling dad and avid board gamer. And in this episode, he shares with us what he loves about both these passions. We talk about how he built trust in process of unschooling, ways to stay connected as the working parent, learning through board games, and some great suggestions for new board games that might spice up your family fun!

Quote of the Week

“A child only pours herself into a little funnel or into a little box when she’s afraid of the world—when she’s been defeated. But when a child is doing something she’s passionately interested in, she grows like a tree—in all directions. This is how children learn, how children grow. They send down a taproot like a tree in dry soil. The tree may be stunted, but it sends out these roots, and suddenly one of these little taproots goes down and strikes a source of water. And the whole tree grows.” ~ John Holt, Learning All the Time

Questions for Jamie

Can you share with us a bit about you and your family, and how you came to unschooling?

I’d love to hear what your kids are enjoying at the moment. What are they interested in?

How did you build trust in the process of unschooling? What were the pieces that resonated with you and helped you feel more confident in choosing this lifestyle?

What has been the most challenging aspect of moving to unschooling for you?

As a working parent, how do you stay connected with what the kids are up to?

I really enjoy the glimpses I get on Facebook of your love for board games. You play regularly, and you share your insights as a contributor to the podcast, What Did You Play This Week. Can you share with us a bit about your gaming journey? How did this passion develop?

Your segment on the podcast is about learning through and with board games. Can you talk about the learning you see with your own kids, and what tips do you have for playing with younger kids? Do you stick to less complicated games? Change up the rules?

For people who might like to bring some more board game fun into their unschooling lives, can you give us a couple of recommendations for games to play with young kids, kids, and teens/adults?

Links to Things Mentioned in the Show

Ontario Federation of Teacher and Parents website

Sandra Dodd’s website and email group, Always Learning

Sandra’s “leaning on a truck”

What Did You Play This Week podcast

Games Jamie talked about:

Settlers of Catan

Puerto Rico

Princes of Florence

Tigris and Euphrates

Smash Up

Carcassonne

Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride Europe

Ticket to Ride My First Journey

Forbidden Island

Forbidden Desert

Pandemic

Outfoxed!

Dancing Eggs

Rhino Hero

Animal Upon Animal

Junk Art

Board game websites:

BoardGameBliss.com

CoolStuffInc.com

BoardGameGeek.com

Play-through videos:

Watch It Played

Jamie’s website: jamiemaltman.com, and @JMaltman on twitter

Episode Transcript

Read the transcript here