I can see mountains from my house. Something where you are would be breathtaking to someone from a different part of the world. | ![]() |
photo by Chrissy Florence, in Fiji
I can see mountains from my house. Something where you are would be breathtaking to someone from a different part of the world. | ![]() |
![]() | Life. People can live lives, even little kids live lives, without preparation, learning on the job, as they go. They can learn while doing real things with real happiness and real success. |
![]() | When you get better at being happy wherever you are, you can worry less about where you go. |
Unschooling takes a long time to learn. Rushing a child to understand something complicated while the parent isn’t even looking in the right direction to see unschooling is a problem that’s easily solved. ![]() Children need time to heal. Quiet time is probably better than constant noise, no matter how much the noise is intended to express love and reassurance. |
![]() | When there are options, feeling sleepy and choosing to go to bed can be warm, wonderful feelings. How sweet, to have a clean bed waiting, and to want to get into it. On one small bit of gratitude, one can step up and see another one, and another. |
![]() | Let your thoughts wander far and near. Let connections flow. |
If a child has "all the sugar he wants" when he's little, I'm pretty certain that his total will be smaller over the course of his life than someone who is deprived and measured and shamed. | ![]() |
![]() | "I wish I had known about unschooling from the start, and never done anything else. "The net effect is (with unschooling), we're all happier. We're less stressed. We have our own schedule - or lack of schedule - not one imposed on us by school, or even homeschooling. The kids' relationship with their dad is better. MY relationship with their dad is better." |
![]() | Gradual is better, but when people jump, the reaction of the children to that is really a reaction to all of the controls from the past. And though it's difficult for the parents, it's a crop they planted. Gradual is better. Pass on to anyone who listens to any of you about unschooling to change gradually and not to jump far. |
If you know what you believe and what your goals are, then everyday life clears up and you see the benefits and the learning. If convenience and organization are your primary goals, unschooling might not be viable for you. If learning and peace in your family are primary goals, convenience will come secondary to it. ![]() [Y]ou have to know what’s more important. For me it was my child’s peace and comfort and learning, and everything has flowed from that. |
![]() | No matter how far you look, you can't see it all. No matter how hard you squint, you won't understand everything. Rejoice in what you see and know. |
. . . . "I let go, then let go some more, and in the process discovered a deeper connection with my kids than I knew was possible... and because of the inner work involved, a deeper connection with myself." —Caren Knox |
![]() | Deschooling is like changing gears. Go slowly. Go deliberately. SandraDodd.com/gradualchange Don't goof around. Don't stall. SandraDodd.com/doit How can both be true? The clutch and the gas. |
![]() | Sudden change confuses kids, they don't trust it, they assume it's temporary, and so their behavior reflects that. And it robs parents of the joy of gradually allowing more and more, as the parents learn more and more. You could have said "okay" and "sure" hundreds of times instead of "whatever you want" one time, and the gradual change would have been a joy. |
![]() | What we call "deschooling" is about more than school. It's de-tox and recovery from all the ideas that could come between parent and child, or between parent and peace, or that would keep the parent from being able to see learning in all of the fabric of life. |
It's good to be grateful for all the things we have. Sometimes it can help to be grateful to have less, fewer, not as much, as might cause us difficulty. Be grateful for having just enough. | ![]() |
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![]() | "I think to do unschooling well, it is a fundamental element to have an examined life. To be mindful of our choices and understand our thought processes." —Rippy Dusseldorp |
![]() | We do not "school," but, instead, we concentrate on living a life filled with opportunities and possibilities and experiences. Human children are born learners. Literally. What unschoolers aim for is keeping that love of learning and intense curiosity alive as the children grow up. —Pam Sorooshian |
All around are stories and moments, props and scenes, entrances and exits. ![]() Take photos! Speculate. Philosophize. Jo took that photo on a continent other than where she lives, neither of which is where I live. Some few readers might be on yet a fourth continent, but will see this pigeon anyway. I don't think the pigeon and the tube are a good mix, and he will not ride that subway. |
Sometime light comes from just lightening up. Live lightly. |