LIFE is Good 2007: How a One Time Gathering Became a Beloved Unschooling Tradition
Carrying Forward the Spirit of What Came Before
When the long‑running Live & Learn Unschooling Conference prepared to come to an end, many families felt the loss deeply. For years, Conference Coordinator Kelly Lovejoy had created a space where unschoolers could gather, learn, play, and reconnect with their community. Those conferences shaped countless families, mine included, and when Kelly decided to stop hosting them, I felt a tug I could not ignore.
I did not set out to start something big.
I simply wanted to bring an unschooling conference to the west coast and keep the spirit of
Live & Learn alive for one more year.
In 2007, I organized what I believed would be a one‑off, three‑day unschooling conference in a small hotel in Corvallis, Oregon. The goal was simple: offer a warm, welcoming place for unschooling families to gather, share ideas, and celebrate learning in freedom. I had no plans to turn it into an annual event. I just wanted to honor the tradition Kelly had nurtured for so long.
But something magical happened.
A Small Conference With a Big Heart
From the moment families arrived, the energy was unmistakable. We had planned for 175 people, imagining a cozy, intimate gathering. Instead, 325 unschoolers showed up. We filled the entire main conference hotel and then spilled into overflow rooms in two nearby hotels. It was the first sign that something bigger was happening. Our community was hungry for connection, continuity, and a place to land together.
Even in its very first year, LIFE is Good carried the seeds of traditions that would become beloved parts of the conference for years to come:
- A cozy Pajama Party to kick things off
- The always popular Teen Panel
- A lively Talent Show that filled the room with cheers
- A late‑night Midnight Movie
- The joyful, barefoot dancing freedom of the Sunday Boogie
- A welcoming Newbie Circle Chat for families just beginning their unschooling journey
- Creative Funshops spilling into hallways, parking lots, and every corner of the hotel
There was skateboarding in the parking lot, altered clothing and bead animals in the funshop rooms, and the early days of SSUDS, the Secret Society of Unschooling Dads, meeting in a guestroom suite with the same grassroots warmth that defined the early unschooling conference world.
Because the conference was small, or at least supposed to be small, people connected quickly. Kids found their people within minutes. Parents lingered in hallways long after sessions ended. Conversations spilled into elevators, breakfast nooks, and the hotel courtyard. It felt like a community rediscovering itself in real time.
It was small. It was simple. It was heartfelt.
And it was exactly what our community needed.
The Moment Everything Changed
By the end of the weekend, it was clear that this was not just a one‑time gathering. The joy, connection, and sense of belonging were too powerful to walk away from. Families asked if we would do it again. Kids begged to come back the next year. The energy was unmistakable.
LIFE is Good needed to continue.
I remember standing in the lobby on that final afternoon, watching families hug goodbye, exchange emails, and make plans to meet again. There was a feeling in the air, a mix of gratitude and hope, that told me this was not the end of something. It was the beginning.
What began as a tribute to Live & Learn became the start of a new tradition. Over time, LiG would grow into a four‑day event, expand into larger venues, and welcome hundreds of families each year.
Honoring the Past, Growing Into the Future
LIFE is Good was born from gratitude. Gratitude for Kelly Lovejoy’s years of work, for the Live & Learn community, and for the families who showed up ready to learn and play together. That foundation shaped everything that came after.
LiG 2007 was not just the first year.
It was the spark that lit nearly two decades of connection, celebration, and unschooling joy.
Looking back now, it is easy to see how those early moments, the pajama party laughter, the hallway conversations, the tiny funshops overflowing with creativity, became the heartbeat of a conference that would grow far beyond anything I imagined.
Join Us for the Final Chapter
As we look back on where it all began, we are also preparing to close this beautiful circle. I would love for you to join us for the final chapter of the LIFE is Good story at this year’s conference, a celebration of community, connection, and nearly two decades of learning in freedom.
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