Focus on Joy.

Angela, in notes to herself:

Really *listen* to her thoughts about things.

Let her know that I want to learn about the world from HER eyes and HER perspective.

Focus on Joy. Really. That's all I need to do right now. It's vacation time in my home...bring on the Joy.

—Angela (NYCitymomx3)

There's a longer list:
Advice to Remember
SandraDodd.com/howto/advice
photo by Kirby Dodd

Food and art

Food can be art, and there is art about food.

Some thing are obvious, like cake decoration, or piemaking. But even when you make a sandwich, it can be cut artfully and arranged nicely on a plate. You could use matching dishes, even if you're only feeding one child.

Aesthetics! Look for beauty, and create a bit of it.

TV, Learning, Choices and FOOD
photo by Jacki, Hannah's mom, long ago

More "better"

"Better" can build up. There's always a little more "better" to be had.

SandraDodd.com/gradualchange
photo by Sandra Dodd

Another thing...

The interesting thing is the thing someone's interested in.

Normal or exotic?
photo by Karen James,
of her workshop

Thinking and feeling

How are you thinking?
How are you feeling?

How you are thinking and feeling is how you are living and learning.

SandraDodd.com/mentalhealth
photo by Marta Venturini Machado

Breathing life into learning

Pam Laricchia wrote:

Unschooling is not an easy educational and lifestyle choice. It takes energy and dedication to do it well. But it is absolutely a viable alternative to the conventional system—even more so with each passing year. It focuses on each person as an individual and breathes life into the concept of lifelong learning. It also calls for developing strong relationships with your children—relationships that will last far beyond their compulsory schooling years. It's life.

—Pam Laricchia

Unschooling is life
photo by Christine Milne

When Holly wanted plums

Pam Sorooshian wrote this when our children were young:

I went to New Mexico and Sandra picked me up at the airport. We then went to three grocery stores, one right after another, because Holly (who was maybe 4 or 5 at the time) was really wanting some plums and the first couple of stores we went to didn't have any. She wasn't being terribly demanding or whiny or anything—just saying, "Mommy I REALLY would love to have a plum."

So we drove around—which was great because I got to see a bit of Albuquerque—and we got her some plums and she munched happily in the back seat while we talked. I was very impressed with Sandra's willingness to do this—most people would have thought it was MORE than enough to stop at even one grocery store because a child had a sudden urge to eat a plum. Most people would have just brushed off the child's urge (do we brush off our OWN urges like that?)

I thought then, and it has been confirmed for me on many occasions since, that when kids know that their parents are willing to go out of their own way to help them get what they want, that the kids end up usually more understanding and able to more easily accept it when parents don't give them what they want.

—Pam Sorooshian

SandraDodd.com/yes
photo by Sandra Dodd