Time and seasons

When I was younger, I couldn't yet grasp the meaning of loving something and letting it go. All I could think of were birds.

As a parent, and as a grandparent, I see it more clearly. I remember a pregnancy, and a baby, and a toddler... but we let them move on, and grow, and appreciate then where they are, while knowing we can't keep them that way.

The new plants grew, and some survived, and harvest came, and fall. This photo shows a garden that's already gone, but will be back in some form next year.

Life flows through us and around us.

Seasons
photo by Cass Kotrba

Wet agapanthus

Be interested, and interesting. Be the bearer of minor good news, with a smile.

People in wet climates value dry, sunshiny times. I live in the desert where people LOVE the rare rain.

These differences are special, and good.

Normal or exotic?
photo by Sandra Dodd

One peaceful moment

There is a song from the 1950's that is sometimes sung in churches and meetings, and the first line is "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." Every bit of peace makes the world more peaceful. If you can engineer one peaceful moment, you can have two or ten.


from "Comforts," page 12 of The Big Book of Unschooling
photo by Gail Higgins
__

Being appreciated

Joyce Fetteroll wrote:

Be someone they want to do things for. We can't make people appreciate us. But we can become people they feel appreciate them and they will want to return that appreciation.

Be someone people will want to show appreciation for—and much of this applies to how we treat our spouses (and friends) too!

—Joyce Fetteroll

Getting kids (and spouses!) to appreciate what you do
photo by Gail Higgins

Happiness and joy

Cynicism and pessimism are poison and will destroy families and learning.

Happiness and joy will create more happiness and joy. Families and learning and the individuals within the families will be better off!

20 Unschooling Questions: Sandra Dodd from NM, USA
photo by Pushpa Ramachandran
__

Happy, calm and loving

"Don't bring all the scary, negative and dark stories from the internet into your home. It will make your home and your lives scary, negative and dark. The most important thing you can do for your children's health is to provide them with a happy, calm and loving home."

—Eva Witsel

SandraDodd.com/radiation
photo by Colleen Prieto
__

Semantics

The words people use will make or break their understanding.


SandraDodd.com/semantics
photo by Lisa J Haugen
___

More "more," less in between

"Everything in moderation… no. Not everything. Not very many things at all. Bad things at the minimum, good things to the maximum, and hopefully not much at all sitting sadly in the in-between."

—Colleen Prieto

SandraDodd.com/abundance
photo by Colleen Prieto
__

A good question

When people change directions concerning their children's lives and learning, sometimes they ask what they should do and how they should do it.

A better question to ask is "Why?"

SandraDodd.com/why
photo by Sandra Dodd
___

Most things are many things

Few things have only one name, one use, or one aspect. People have different roles and relationships, skills and traits. The same tree will look different in different stages, seasons, and times of day.

See things.
Appreciate them.

SandraDodd.com/awareness
photo by Lydia Koltai
__

An outpouring of love

How can one get from resentment and rigidity to an outpouring of love? Too mushy? It happens.

Making the shift
photo by Sandra Dodd
I first credited Holly. She says she put the rose in the bottle,
but I'm the one who took the photo. It's been a while.

Blossoming

From 2011, in a discussion of "special needs":

I have a son who would certainly be labeled with disabilities if he were in school. I am familiar with the early intervention path, and how it can make every suggestion seem mandatory.

One of the reasons I quit the path of cookie-cutter help was because I got to watch my (unschooler) friend's son, a boy much like my own, blossom in her care.With every difficulty or difference he presented, whether it was speech differences, sensory difficulties, or behavior issues, she arranged life to fit his needs. She also approached all this with a solid faith in him that he was the way he was supposed to be, and that he was on his own schedule. She sought appropriate help when needed, but it was out of a "what are his true needs" space.

I have since approached my son's needs in a similar manner, and he is blossoming.

—akgreely

SandraDodd.com/special/
photo by Lisa Jonick

Unschooling, Time and Energy

Someone asked:

Is Unschooling Exhausting?

My first thought is "compared to what?"
Is unschooling more exhausting than having a child in school?
Is unschooling more exhausting than doing school at home?



SandraDodd.com/unschoolingtime
photo by Sandra Dodd

A better place

If by "change the world" a person means "make the world better," then step #1 must be to decide right then not to make the world worse.



SandraDodd.com/philosophy
photo by Lisa Jonick

Sleep, sleepity sleep

At 3:30 a.m., I wake up (woke up, if things went well) to take Keith to the airport, so he can fly to Texas to help our firstborn child move home. Kirby has worked for Blizzard for nine years. He moved to Austin just as he turned twenty-one. He misses New Mexico.

This personal story is a substitute for an inspiring quote. I'm sleepy, and rather than stay awake until I've found a perfect word and image combo, I will share why I went to sleep early.

SandraDodd.com/kirby
photo by Sandra Dodd, of moonflower vines outside my bedroom,
which I plan to grow there again this year
__

The family as a base

Parents unschooling as a way of life can discover learning that no school can find—but the core aspect is the family as a base for learning about family, relationships, resources/money, food, about sleep and laughter.

This was from notes I wrote for an interview.
I didn't use them, so they're here now.
SandraDodd.com/respect might charm and soothe.
photo by Sandra Dodd

New and better

Lean, one choice at a time, one conscious thought at a time, until your choices and thoughts are solidly in the range where you want to be, and you no longer lean that other way so much.

Your new range of balance will involve better choices and options than your first attempts did.

Sandra, from a talk on being partners
photo by Sandra Dodd
___

Change the way you see.

People don't become really good at unschooling without changing the way they see themselves and the world.

SandraDodd.com/radiotranscript
photo by Sandra Dodd
__

Surprises

This plant was found in the trash a couple of years go. Just on speculation, I kept it and watered it even when it wasn't looking good.

It has bloomed a couple of times, but this set looks to be a big one.

People can't always plan or predict or control what happens with flowers, or days, or children. Live in the moment as well as you can and be glad of happy surprises.

SandraDodd.com/unexpectedarticle
photo by Sandra Dodd
___

Being means being

Pushpa Ramachandran wrote about being with her child:

“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.

—Pushpa Ramachandran

Estar con los hijos (translated by Ana Paulina Maya, in Colombia)

Being with my child
photo by Pushpa Ramachandran
__