An Atmosphere of Learning

I'm an unschooler. Lessons are never over. On the other hand, lessons never really begin. Children's questions are answered and an atmosphere of learning is created so that questions are constant and answers are never far away.

SandraDodd.com/unschool/allkinds
photo by Sandra Dodd

Time, attention, focus

Schuyler Waynforth said in March 2014:

When I stumbled across unschooling I grabbed hold. I read and I tried things and I moved further away from the childhood I had known to the parenthood I wanted to know.

And the more I read and the more I experienced and the more I tried, the more that I could see a framework. It was my engagement that made a difference. It was my time and my attention and my focus that kept things moving better and more smoothly than it could ever have done without me.

—Schuyler Waynforth

SandraDodd.com/nest
Younger Schuyler and younger kids,
photo probably by David W.

Play with your food

jencookies43 wrote:

We have an annual get together with friends. It's called "Play with Your Food Day". Every family brings a variety of foods (fruit, candies, veggies) and a box of toothpicks. The kids take the food and build whatever with it using the toothpicks to hold it all together. Super fun munching and building.

—jencookies43

original
photo by Karen James

Wholeness and health

Someone asked:

Why does it have to be so hard to let go and just let our kids make their own decisions and be who and how they want to be!!

I responded:

It doesn't have to be hard.
SandraDodd.com/haveto

If your priority is to keep the peace with friends or relatives who are harsh with and about kids, then it will be difficult.

If your priority becomes the relationship with your child, it will become easier to choose toward the wholeness and health of your child.

Sandra Dodd, 2012

original, on Always Learning
photo by Christine Milne

Spooky surprises

One spooky... morning, ten years ago, I cut a tomato and this stared back. Untouched, eyes and all, just like this:

Let the world surprise you!

SandraDodd.com/surprise
photo by Sandra Dodd

Simply beautiful moments

Karen James, on Always Learning, March 2018, about attaching her attention to things that have the potential to bring her joy:

When things were a bit more difficult (we had moved, my dad died, Doug's new job wasn't going well, my mom's health was deteriorating, I was having some minor health issues myself) I would make sure to notice the moments in each day that were easier and simply beautiful even if there were only a few. In those easier moments I would say "thank you," sometimes aloud. In the simply beautiful moments I would say something to acknowledge the beauty. "This feels so good," was something I said (still say) a lot, again, sometimes aloud as both Doug and Ethan would confirm. 😉

For example, if I was driving to the grocery store and I happened to notice how beautiful the clouds looked, I'd linger a moment longer to notice the relief I felt from simply observing that beautiful sky, and the feeling of joy that I could draw from that humble observation. It sounds kinda corny as I type this, but it was/is a really powerful tool for me. Noticing ease, noticing beauty and spending a moment to reflect on how good that can feel when I acknowledge it was/is a bit like remembering to breathe.

—Karen James
and there's more!

SandraDodd.com/happiness
photo by Theresa Larson

Mysterious everything

If you don't know what something is, another person probably does know.

If your child knows something you don't know, be glad of that!

When you know something your child doesn't know, it might not be something he wants or needs to know.

Calmly accept the mysteries of life.

SandraDodd.com/focus
photo by Sandra Dodd