photo by Jesper Conrad
Showing posts with label vehicle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vehicle. Show all posts
Friday, February 23, 2024
A learning environment
photo by Jesper Conrad
Something looks like this:
reflection,
sunset,
vehicle
Saturday, October 14, 2023
Real vs. acting, or practicing
That is from a discussion about the depth of being, rather than of acting like a child's partner. Examples were used, and tangents were taken. The longer collection is at:
photo by Holly Dodd
Monday, July 24, 2023
Acts of caring
There are times in life that you won't feel like you can take care of others around you as well as you'd like. You need nurturing yourself and other people's neediness starts to be draining on you.
I've felt that, too.
But I've also found that if I focus more on "seeing" my kids with loving-eyes focus, consciously choose to pay attention to what I love about them, then I actually begin to feel more nourished and strengthened by them, and by the very acts of caring for them.
—Pam Sorooshian
(original)
(original)
photo by Rippy Dusseldorp
Friday, April 28, 2023
Why not?
Consider why something is or should be. The range of useful and acceptable options is very likely wider than you first thought. What is the purpose? What's the principle?
If you're tempted to say no, out of habit or convenience, first think "why not?" If you don't have an honest, good reason to say no, perhaps it's time to say something like...
Let's try it, or
I'll help you, or
Okay, yes.
photo by Sandra Dodd
(chain guards and other details, India)
Thursday, April 13, 2023
Shine on through
photo by Holly Dodd
Monday, February 27, 2023
Relative sizes
If you feel that you're turning your back on your entire culture, take a deep breath and note that when you turn your back on school, all that's behind you is a school. What's not school is infinite. What is school is small.
photo by Roya Dedeaux
quote is from page 16, Big Book of Unschooling
Sunday, January 8, 2023
Choose not to snark
One of the best things I've done for our marriage is to be more quiet when I'm tired/hungry/not feeling well. In those instances, I'm more prone to feel like snarking at my husband, or commenting on something he did / didn't do, or otherwise saying something that would be hurtful to him.
What goes along with that, for me, is to remind myself of the things he *does* do. And also to remind myself that "it's not all about ME!!" If the trash is full and he doesn't take it out when he heads outside, him not taking it has nothing whatsoever to do with me, in spite of what my tired/hungry/cranky brain may want to think in that moment. 😉
When you're feeling competitive with your husband, be aware of what you're thinking and be aware of how easy it could be, in that moment, to snark at him. Then make the choice to not snark at him. And make the choice to think nice thoughts about him, to think about the nice things he does for you and your daughters. Be the one to make the better choice in that moment, to not say or do something that contributes to the competitiveness.
—Glenda (wtexan)
photo by Cátia Maciel
Saturday, November 19, 2022
Climbing mountains and baking pies
It's human nature to avoid what we feel is a waste of time, energy and resources.
It's also human nature to pour energy into what we find fascinating.
If someone is made to climb a mountain, they'll find the easiest path, and perhaps even cheat.
If someone desires to climb a mountain, they may even make it more difficult—challenging—for themselves if the route doesn't light their fire.
If it were human nature to go the easy route, I wouldn't be sitting here writing out a response! No one would write a novel. No one would climb Mt. Everest. No one would bake a cherry pie from scratch. No one would have kids.
—Joyce Fetteroll
Photo by Sandra Dodd, of Holly Dodd riding a steam train restored and largely operated by volunteers. The easy route would have been for them to stay home and read books and watch movies about trains.
Something looks like this:
Dodd,
mountains,
perspective,
vehicle
Monday, March 7, 2022
Past and Present History
History is why people in different places speak different languages. Why are there different accents in different parts of the same countries? Why are they speaking French in Québec and Louisiana? What's with Hawai'i? Why isn't South America all Spanish-speaking? What's with Brazil and Belize? How long did it take to get from Europe to those places back in the day? How long now?
Why are there milestones in Massachusetts? Why are there milestones in England? What the heck is a milestone?
Some figurative and (photos of) literal milestones
photo by Teresa Phillips
Something looks like this:
reflection,
vehicle,
water
Monday, January 24, 2022
Be more, do more
It might have to seem a little artificial, for a while, if it isn't natural to a parent to just "be" this way.
—Pam Sorooshian
photo by Cathy Koetsier
Something looks like this:
building,
furnishing,
vehicle
Monday, September 7, 2020
A thousand or three choices
If there are a thousand choices, or even three choices, how do you
choose? Some people like to live without choices, so they can say "I
had no choice."
So how do you choose? You decide where you want to go before you
decide to turn left or right, don't you?
Just like that. How to Screw Up Unschooling
original, on Always Learning, April 2009
photo by Karen James
__
Just like that.
The way to know the right direction is to identify the wrong direction.
original, on Always Learning, April 2009
photo by Karen James
__
Sunday, August 30, 2020
No one can envision everyone
And if a parent of a young child is looking outward, and collecting hurts and sorrows and bringing them home to sort through and bemoan, who is holding that child and touching him gently, singing to him and smiling at him?
photo by Jamie Parrish
Sunday, April 5, 2020
Shady shadows
Light makes art, by projections, reflections, animated shades, and shadows! It's beautiful, temporary and only costs the time it takes to remember to look for it. |
SandraDodd.com/light
photo by Karen James
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Learning without lessons
I wrote this in 1997; I added the ages in 2019
My kids have learned to read on their own. Kirby (11) is fluent and uses reading for all kinds of things. Marty (8) is irritatingly phonetic, but will become fluid with more practice.
First of all, Pam Sorooshian and such folk would probably be able to point out or draw out dozens of things I did with/to/for my kids that helped them learn to read, but I didn't "teach" them to read, any more than I taught them to play Nintendo (although I did buy them a Nintendo, let them rent games, and bought some game guides and magazines).
I didn't teach them to do tricks on the swing set, but we did put the swing set up and maintain it and keep it clean and available. I didn't teach them to ride bikes, but I did make sure they had bikes and opportunities to ride places other than just right in front of the house. I didn't teach them to sing, but I did sing to and with them a lot, take them places to hear others sing, play videos and recordings of different kinds of singing, etc.
They read.
They know that something as hard as reading can be learned without formal lessons.
That's a heck of a thing for kids their age to know.
There are adults who don't know it.
Life in progress
photo (fuzzy, but Marty) by Sandra Dodd
My kids have learned to read on their own. Kirby (11) is fluent and uses reading for all kinds of things. Marty (8) is irritatingly phonetic, but will become fluid with more practice.
First of all, Pam Sorooshian and such folk would probably be able to point out or draw out dozens of things I did with/to/for my kids that helped them learn to read, but I didn't "teach" them to read, any more than I taught them to play Nintendo (although I did buy them a Nintendo, let them rent games, and bought some game guides and magazines).
They read.
They know that something as hard as reading can be learned without formal lessons.
That's a heck of a thing for kids their age to know.
There are adults who don't know it.
photo (fuzzy, but Marty) by Sandra Dodd
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Value, form and substance
My response to this (years ago):
Deschooling only works when it works. Doing nothing schoolish isn't the same as actively recovering from school. Kids will get over school gradually, but there needs to be an active unschooling life taking its place as they recover. Parents get over schooling MUCH more gradually, as they were in school more and they have parental fears and responsibilities and pressures from others. So it takes more work and more time for parents to see the value of and to recognize the form and substance of natural learning.
Unschooling - some questions (2003)
photo by Ester Siroky
We are going into our third year of "homeschooling." Our first year consisted of complete deschooling. The next year I fell victim to mother panic modeIf I said "I went through a year of demagnetization, and the next year all kinds of metal stuck to me," you might think I hadn't really demagnetized!
Deschooling only works when it works. Doing nothing schoolish isn't the same as actively recovering from school. Kids will get over school gradually, but there needs to be an active unschooling life taking its place as they recover. Parents get over schooling MUCH more gradually, as they were in school more and they have parental fears and responsibilities and pressures from others. So it takes more work and more time for parents to see the value of and to recognize the form and substance of natural learning.
photo by Ester Siroky
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
There and aware
Conventional parenting is not about being present with kids. It's about giving kids rules as a replacement for being there. Same can go for information. Information shouldn't be a substitute for being there and being aware. We should let kids know that cars can hurt them, which is why we steer them clear of the street. But we shouldn't then depend on kids understanding. We need to be there. We need to be aware of our child's tendencies to run to the street when in that type of situation. We need to avoid as much as we can places where they can run into the street until they can understand.
—Joyce Fetteroll
photo by Ester Siroky
__
Monday, July 23, 2018
Look and see
The world you see where you are today will not be what you could see ten years ago, or twenty.
What your child sees and what you see will probably be different, and continue to change.
Keep looking.
photo by Ester Siroky
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Familiar and unfamiliar
If everything is unfamiliar, it's hard to think about what it is at all. If everything is too familiar, it can escape notice and conscious thought.
Learning happens best at the edge, where something familiar has a difference. Something is not the same, in an otherwise understandable scene.
Angle
photo by Ester Siroky
Learning happens best at the edge, where something familiar has a difference. Something is not the same, in an otherwise understandable scene.
Angle
photo by Ester Siroky
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
More and more connections
Each idea, object, concept, person, song, motion—anything you can think of—has personal associations for you. You have an incalculable mass of connections formed in your brain and will make more today, tomorrow, on the way home, and in your sleep.
photo by Ester Siroky
Friday, January 26, 2018
The best thing
"The best thing that any parent can do is to make their life with and their relationship with their children as good and as happy and as stress-free as possible."
Quietly, sweetly, gently
photo by Ester Siroky, in Seville
__
—Schuyler Waynforth
photo by Ester Siroky, in Seville
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