Toys in every room

Colleen Prieto wrote this, at the end of a longer, spookier story:

My son has toys in every room of our house, and his dad and I provide lots of bins and shelves and baskets to make straightening up for visits from friends and grandparents easy for whoever wants to help with the pre-visit clean-up. Because to us, a neat and orderly house with lovely, Perfect rooms and a minimum of Stuff isn't worth trading a relationship with a Child Who Will Be An Adult Before You Know It. — No way.

—Colleen Prieto

SandraDodd.com/deprivation
photo by Sandra Dodd, at Collen Prieto's house
(There was a Lego Viking ship behind me, on a shelf.)

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