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photo by Janine Davies
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How are you thinking? How are you feeling? How you are thinking and feeling is how you are living and learning. | ![]() |
If you hold on to all your old ideas and fears and images of learning, every bit of that builds a curtain of "what should be" and you can't relax, see and appreciate what is. | ![]() |
"Question everything"...I love it! As a kid I was told I asked too many questions! As a parent, questions are the beginning of paths to places we have yet to visit, and are so exciting for that reason! —Karen James in response to this | ![]() |
Even when it's not as clear as you're used to, the sun is as bright as can be behind the clouds. It's the same sun. Even when it's not as clear as you're used to, love is as bright as can be behind fear and frustration. It's the same love. Today, be present and patient. | ![]() |
![]() | You should help him pick up his toys, and the more cheerfully you do that, the more cheerfully he will help you. |
![]() | Who you are, no one else can be. Who you are now is not who you were before. Who you are today is not who you will be tomorrow. Breathe and smile and step toward your future. |
If you limit things, kids just want them more. If you wouldn't limit books or Lego-playing time, why would you limit the Unless they really have choices they aren't really making choices. | ![]() |
![]() | Pour kindness and generosity out, and there will be more kindness and generosity right then. |
“Being” with her means being mindful...
“Being” with her means being available to play...
“Being” with her means being emotionally available...
“Being” with her means being connected. In body, spirit and mind. Connection translates to being curious about something that she might have found. Connection translates to trying to find more things that might tie into something that she might have liked before. Connection could translate to being excited about a bug or a thread or a cartoon. It means creating a life that is full of rich experiences, some of which might be jumping in puddles, or holding a snake. Others might involve just going grocery shopping or scrubbing the kitchen floor. The idea of connection at the core, I think, is to feel alive, rejoice in her feeling alive and live those moments together.
Unschooling lives (is alive; breathes; functions) where the learning is happening. The learning is supported and fed by the relationships between the parents and children. | ![]() |
"When I get up and get a glass of water for my child, while I'm filling the glass, I imagine that cool water going into their mouth and down their dry throat and how cool and sweet that feels to them—how their thirst is being quenched. And I very very often give them the glass along with a kiss on the top of the head or at least a smile. "Being generous in a zillion little ways surrounds the kids with generosity. That's the environment I wanted to create." —Pam Sorooshian | ![]() |
I don't look at the state's requirements. I look at my child's opportunities. And I think the moment that the light is on in his eyes and he CARES about this tiny bit of history he has just put together, that he wants me to say "YES, isn't that cool? I was much older when I figured this out. You're lucky to have great thoughts late at night." |
![]() | "When my son was little, we would go to the zoo and try to show him the animals—any animals. His attention was on the lights, grates and plumbing of the zoo! He observed these everywhere we went, no matter the place!" —Karen James |
What helped me, when I had babies, was breathing before I spoke or before I decided, and eventually, taking a breath when I felt my thoughts get zippy-fast. I didn't always do it, but increasingly, many times a day, I did. Before long it was most of the time. That was growth. That was good. | ![]() |
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![]() | 2010: "I wish people who think unschooling is about doing nothing could know that it's about everything!" 2011: "I have enjoyed reading Sandra Dodd's Big Book of Unschooling. It has been my "go to" book that helps me to get over some bumps in the road." |
You can't see what children are learning. If you're lucky, they'll give you clues, but even they are unaware of how much foundation is forming for what they will encounter tomorrow and next year. "The more things something can remind you of, the more you know about it, or are learning about it." | ![]() |
"Better" is better than perfect. Don't be competitive, with yourself or others. Aim for peace and improvement. | ![]() |
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