{"id":58037,"date":"2025-04-29T16:18:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T23:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/?p=58037"},"modified":"2025-04-30T10:21:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T17:21:39","slug":"largest-unschooling-conference-in-the-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/largest-unschooling-conference-in-the-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn About the Largest Unschooling Conference in the USA!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element vc_custom_1745965089417 my_no_margin\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our Creative Director, Rachel Nishikawa, recently spoke with <\/span><b>Chrissie Korolsky<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a board member helping to organize this year\u2019s event. Once a traditional high school math teacher, Chrissie\u2019s perspective transformed the moment she experienced this conference for the first time. Since then, she\u2019s built a thriving unschooling community in her hometown and now plays a key role in shaping this inspiring national gathering.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In anticipation of the upcoming event on May 22-25, where Peggy and Karen will be speaking about their unschooling journey and how to put it all in a transcript, Rachel met with Chrissie on Zoom <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to hear the story behind her shift from traditional education to unschooling \u2014 and to explore the meaningful ways this conference has impacted families, including her own.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For <\/span>Chrissie and her family<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the &#8220;L.I.F.E. is Good&#8221; Conference (Living In Freedom Everyday) has become a cornerstone of their unschooling journey \u2014 something they look forward to each year, alongside their closest friends. But it wasn\u2019t always that way. In fact, Chrissie and her husband came from a very traditional background \u2014 she was a high school math teacher, and unschooling wasn\u2019t even on their radar. They were invited by a friend, who encouraged them to come with an open mind. When they first walked through the doors of the conference, they were total newcomers, ready to expand their perspective, and quickly captivated by the ease and authenticity of the kids around them. Just a few hours in, the atmosphere, conversations, and community shifted something within them. Chrissie\u2019s husband turned to her and said, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOh, we\u2019re staying the whole weekend!\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Fast forward seven years and Chrissie&#8217;s eldest &#8211; now a teenager &#8211; is actively involved in shaping the event, offering ideas on how to create a welcoming, inspiring space for fellow teens. The teen program has grown into something truly special: a dedicated room they get to design and decorate themselves (complete with a shopping trip included), plus creative projects, casual hangouts and workshops throughout the weekend. This year, two teens &#8211; aged 13 and 15 &#8211; will even take the stage to speak in front of the entire conference, sharing their voices and perspectives with the community. See more info here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeisgoodconference.com\/teen-scene\">https:\/\/www.lifeisgoodconference.com\/teen-scene<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chrissie shared that one of the most beautiful aspects of the conference is the sense of belonging it fosters. Rachel and Chrissie spoke about how, even beyond the speakers and activities, it&#8217;s the small moments &#8212; spontaneous conversations in the gathering areas, seeing the same faces each day, in-depth chats among teens about the hard stuff &#8212; that create lasting memories and meaningful friendships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>There are many popular discussion circles during the event, including the &#8220;Secret Society of Unschooling Dads&#8221;, where all of the fathers can come together and share vulnerably with each other and deepen their understanding of unschooling, and all it includes. Chrissie mentioned how this safe space tends to have a very positive ripple effect on the whole family.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watch the interview below to learn about what makes this conference so meaningful: real community, honest conversations, and the space to reimagine what education and growth can look like when children are trusted and empowered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Click here to Register and meet us at the event!<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeisgoodconference.com\/registration\">https:\/\/www.lifeisgoodconference.com\/registration<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Watch the interview here:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/5bBvsiMBfLs\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/5bBvsiMBfLs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div  class=\"wpb_single_image wpb_content_element vc_align_center wpb_content_element\">\n\t\t\n\t\t<figure class=\"wpb_wrapper vc_figure\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"vc_single_image-wrapper   vc_box_border_grey\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1678\" height=\"946\" src=\"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-29-at-3.55.42-PM.png\" class=\"vc_single_image-img attachment-full\" alt=\"Rachel, Creative Director\" title=\"Screenshot 2025 04 29 at 3.55.42 PM\" srcset=\"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-29-at-3.55.42-PM.png 1678w, https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-29-at-3.55.42-PM-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-29-at-3.55.42-PM-1024x577.png 1024w, https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-29-at-3.55.42-PM-768x433.png 768w, https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-29-at-3.55.42-PM-1536x866.png 1536w, https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-29-at-3.55.42-PM-18x10.png 18w, https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-29-at-3.55.42-PM-200x113.png 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1678px) 100vw, 1678px\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our Creative Director, Rachel Nishikawa, recently spoke with Chrissie Korolsky, a board member helping to organize this year\u2019s event. Once a traditional high school math teacher, Chrissie\u2019s perspective transformed the moment she experienced this conference for the first time. Since then, she\u2019s built a thriving unschooling community in her hometown and now plays a key [...]","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":58042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[139,7],"tags":[121,106],"class_list":["post-58037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english_post","category-whats-new","tag-freedom","tag-unschool"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58037"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58057,"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58037\/revisions\/58057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westriveracademy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}