Finding the positive, finding abundance, finding gratitude, will take a person in an entirely new direction, and many of the other problems fall away effortlessly. | ![]() |
photo by Chrissy Florence
Finding the positive, finding abundance, finding gratitude, will take a person in an entirely new direction, and many of the other problems fall away effortlessly. | ![]() |
"Children will flourish if their needs are joyfully met as they explore the world. Creatively support your child in what he's genuinely interested in." —Debbie Regan | ![]() |
![]() | I had a professor, years ago, tell me that one mark of intelligence was the use of tools other than the way they were intended to be used. I thought that definition would show up in other places in my life, but it hasn't. So here I share it with all of you. Try not to say "That's not what that's for" too quickly—your child might be about to do something quite intelligent. "If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society." —Piaget, quoted by Deb Lewis in "Unguided Discovery" |
![]() | Once you start looking for connections and welcoming them, it creates a kind of flow that builds and grows. |
When a child lives with his parents, it's good if the parents appreciate and nurture what it is "to live," and if they can see the value of the "with." | ![]() |
Noticing and appreciating change and variation is good artistically, emotionally and scientifically. Life changes things. See that, accept it, and flow. | ![]() |
This is the 1999th post, and it reminded me of the Prince song. That song came out in 1982, before I had children. It was quite futuristic, right? For most of 18 years, he was singing of something distant. All the children born before then are adult-aged now. Most of the children of readers of this blog were born in the 21st century, and might need some explanation to appreciate that song. You're living in history! It's flowing around you and through you. | ![]() |
Unschooling isn't another version of a curriculum, that will take four hours a day. Unschooling is a different way to live and to see and to think. |
![]() | Few things have only one name, one use, or one aspect. People have different roles and relationships, skills and traits. The same tree will look different in different stages, seasons, and times of day. See things. Appreciate them. |
![]() | Change one thing: timing, route, store, choices, order, station, dishes... One change affects other perceptions and connections. |
Movement can be joy for children. It doesn't need to be organized, formal, or measured. Spinning for fun, jumping, climbing, rolling down a hill—think back to your own childhood memories of moving in new ways. | ![]() |
"Fun is serious. Fun is important, especially for kids. Don't underrate fun. People who are not happy as children seldom find easy or lasting happiness as adults." —Deb Lewis | ![]() |
![]() | Courage, real or imagined, can make a person bigger—larger of soul and of confidence. "Big hearted," it once meant. When a parent has the heart, and soul, and confidence to stand heroically between a child and fear, that takes courage. Defending a child from criticism and negativity (even from our own) makes us bigger. |
![]() | "Food you want, served to you by someone who loves you and brings it to you with a smile and a hug, has magical powers to heal and replenish the soul as well as the body." —Shan Burton |
![]() | "Unschooling is really about learning without school. Radical unschooling includes all learning, not just academic learning. What encourages and supports learning in your child(ren)? Look at that. Learn from that. Proceed from that." —Karen James |
Ronnie Maier wrote: "Unschooling works because the unschooled individual has the time and support to follow the interesting byways that lead to real learning." | ![]() |
![]() | A rich world for a baby is similar to a rich world for anyone else. A baby is a person. A lucky baby has an adult partner who understands that. |
![]() | Things will get better as you weed out negativity and focus on what’s good and positive. |
![]() | People naturally look for similarities, differences, and patterns. We name and categorize. It's a natural part of learning, and it can be fun. |
![]() | Small moments of peace and calm can add up to contentment. Gratitude and acceptance contribute to satisfaction. Having a warm home isn't an absolute, and it's not magic. It's the accumulation of positive choices that create a nest for humans (and their significant animal others). |
![]() | Look around you for simple bits of older art, technology and history. See and appreciate these quiet antiques. |
"The big upside of unschooling, in my opinion, was that it also created an unexpected peacefulness, fulfillment, and happiness for all of us."