Free School Documentary DVD ships August 2006. Order your copy now. (posted July, 2006)

The Free School Documentary Feature is now available find out more at www.freeschoolmovie.com.

Exciting New Project (posted January, 2006)

The Harriet Tubman Free School, is the high school project of The Free School.

Grafton Notes, Winter 2005-2006

Seasons Greetings Free School Community!

Brrrr! It took a while for winter to really come in this year, but this morning Grafton was a whopping 0 degrees! We�re settling in for a cozy winter with lots of wood stored to keep us, the family�s new baby (coming any time now!) and all community visitors nice and toasty.

First, here�s a look back at the fall�s highlights: We decided it was time for Goat Dog (our feisty pygmy goat) to be free, so he went up the Northway to the �Goat Haven� to join his fellow cloven-hooved folk. He�ll have 17 acres of pasture to explore and headbutting to his heart�s content with his new family. Ron, the farmer up there, tells us Goat Dog has settled in well, though �he sure is a funny acting goat.� We thought so too- 24 chickens and a bunch of two leggeds are not the typical form of goat socialization.

We received a very sad surprise a few days after Goat Dog had left- our 24 chickens went down to a mere 6 overnight. Our initial hope that perhaps they�d headed north to rejoin Goat Dog was dashed another week later when suddenly we had no chickens at all after a noisy night. Some midnight marauder must have discovered the chickens no longer had a noisy goat�s protection in the adjacent pen. We always figured they would become part of the local ecosystem, just not in the extremely sudden space of a week! Of course, this makes one wonder, whodunnit? Grafton wildlife is flourishing this year. We�ve heard coyote packs and found many tracks of them all on the move. The pack is hanging out for the winter- an exciting first since Dan�s arrival in Grafton in 2001. This is also a sign that the deer populations have risen to become ample enough to support their predators. And as always, we�ve had fishers (a large weasel family member who are renowned for their hunting ability) who would have had no trouble scaling the chicken pen. Needless to say, next time we have chickens we�ll need to have guard dogs or some new goat dogs as well!

In other animal news, earlier in the fall, our neighbor Cindy Pulito spotted a black bear crossing Crandall Road by the Peace Pagoda, at the impressive distance of only 20 feet away! Dan also sighted what he thinks were grey fox tracks, but they were a little mysterious. The size was of a grey fox paw but the stride more of a coyote�some special Grafton freak species perhaps?

We had a small but fun open house on a rainy Saturday, October 15th. Lots of good food, cider, and soggy apple bobbers!

Our biggest accomplishment this fall was laying down salvaged wood flooring in half the downstairs. It has added a lot of warmth to the room and will be even cozier once it�s refinished come spring. Liz and her dirt loving parents planted bulbs and cleared out the garden in preparation for next year. We�ve gathered five cords of wood, and also have a potential donation for sugar shack wood supply thanks to some new friendly neighbors. In early December, Liz and her visiting friend Asha put on the first coat of all natural Alis paint in the stove room. Made from clay, sand, dry milk, wheat paste, and iron oxides to provide a warm red tint, this paint is totally non-toxic and with $30 spent you have enough materials to paint an entire house. Many thanks to Leah and Jonah for providing instruction on how to make it happen!

Dan has a sweatlodge planned for early on New Year�s Eve to which all are welcome. After that they will be slowing down since the baby�s a-coming and we�ll have too much January snow to dig out of the lodge area.

For the rest of the winter, we are researching the possibility of doing more insulating of the basement. As always, we�re looking forward to the annual winter/spring ritual of preparation for and making sweet maple syrup (or Free School Tree Drool as the kids call it). Hopefully we�ll have a bit more production this year if Mother Nature allows for it. At long last, Dan is changing his work schedule to be here on the land more so we can develop a consistent schedule of activities from the Spring through the Fall, and perhaps even another intensive summer workshop to sprout some of the seeds planted in our ecological design course last year.

Many thanks to those of you who�ve provided your wisdom and support as we get ready for the baby�s coming. It�s an incredible blessing to be in a community so supportive of family and natural birth. On the home front, we have been rearranging the house, clearing out clutter, and making as much space as we can in the house so 6 people will be able to live here! Liz hasn�t gone to scrubbing out the fridge with a toothbrush as part of her nesting activities quite yet, though she�s been warned she may feel the urge!

Have a joyful holiday season and Happy New Year everyone!

From the woods,

Liz and Dan

WINTER PROJECT FOR BIG and L�IL NATURE LOVERS

Feed and watch winter birds and animals!
What you need:
Some or all of the following: popcorn, peanuts in shells, apples, cranberries, pears, oranges, kiwi, peanut butter, suet (from butcher) String, needle and strong thread, scissors, knife Pine cone (to use with peanut butter), onion bag (to use with suet)

What to do: