Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Happy momentum

plastic marble run

Jenny Cyphers wrote:

One of the very important aspects of unschooling that is solely on the parents, is to create a happy learning environment. Kids don't learn nearly as well when they aren't happy. It doesn't mean that every person needs to be happy at every moment of every day, it means that things that create happy momentum should be paramount from day to day.
—Jenny Cyphers

SandraDodd.com/happy
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Count one. One. One.

If every day you help a child gently, generously, directly, personally, that's hundreds of times a year.

By the time that child is fifteen, then you will have helped him, or her, thousands of times.
an anhinga, large water bird
Sandra Dodd, from a talk given in Minnesota in 2013 and Gold Coast 2014.
photo by Robbie Prieto

Monday, April 7, 2014

You can't imagine.

Being a child's partner in exploring the world is valuable in more ways than people can imagine, if they haven't done it.
SandraDodd.com/adelaide
photo by Karen James
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Sunday, April 6, 2014

See it more and more

See learning as your priority, and you will begin to see it more and more.

SandraDodd.com/cairns
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Saturday, April 5, 2014

Be whole; be childlike

toy pinwheel flowers with Australian flag art
A movie reviewer on the Australia Broadcasting Company, giving a just so-so review of The Lego Movie, explained herself to the other reviewer by saying "My inner child was buried long ago."

Don't reject the playful, hopeful parts of you thinking that it's the mature thing to do. A person can't be whole if part of her was buried long ago.

originally here at Radical Unschooling Info on facebook
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Friday, April 4, 2014

Love and coolness

Deb Lewis, about unschoolers' difficulty with parental disapproval:

"What I discovered is that the people who love *you* will love you even if they think you're crazy. Sometimes their concern is an indication of their love for you and your children. And who couldn't use more love? Helping those people feel easier about your choices, if you can, is worth the time and effort. Do what you think is right for your kids, help your parents feel easier about it, if you can. In time, your children will be so cool and smart, your parents won't have any choice but to agree you did everything right!"
—Deb Lewis
Special guest: Deb Lewis chat transcript
photo by Sandra Dodd

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Teenagers are...

"Teenagers are just your babies grown big."
—Schuyler Waynforth
March 29, 2014
Gold Coast symposium



SandraDodd.com/teens
photo by Sandra Dodd