Showing posts with label stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stuff. Show all posts

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Whirl and twirl

We have made good use of making patterns in the slots of a revolving rack of poker chips, and then with poker chips out on the table. I have set out photocopied pictures and cheap water colors, lots of brushes, and had side-by-side painting by the hour. Whichever kids or visitors wander by will be drawn in and as they play or paint they talk and share and think.
. . . .
Working on patterns in silence allows one’s mind to whirl and twirl.

SandraDodd.com/truck
scanner art by Sandra Dodd

Friday, April 13, 2018

Find abundance


Neediness expresses itself differently with different kids. Abundance expresses itself similarly in all.

A family can learn to find abundance rather than lack, even if they're not wealthy.

SandraDodd.com/respect/dodd
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Friday, February 23, 2018

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Where the magic is


"It's easy to see problems. It's easy to get down and be cranky. Anyone can do that. But to find the laughter, the beauty, the pathway to connection and possibilities—that's where the magic is. It requires you to look at things from different angles."
—Cass Kotrba

SandraDodd.com/angles
photo by Sandra Dodd

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Enjoyment

Enjoyment is about joy.

Find enjoyment in the little things you do.
Choose joy.
SandraDodd.com/battle
photo by Janine Davies

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Stop / Go

Stop doing the thing that stops you from doing what you need to do.
—Holly Dodd
SandraDodd.com/doit
photo by Sandra Dodd

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Temporary


Plants and fruit, paper boxes, tins of cookies... they're not to keep for life.

Enjoy and appreciate things and times and thoughts. Be grateful for sweet memories.

SandraDodd.com/gratitude
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Thursday, November 30, 2017

Museumworld

If you've seen all the cool things on the shelves at your house, look at other people's shelves!
SandraDodd.com/museum
photo by Sandra Dodd

Monday, November 27, 2017

Peekhole


Keith and I installed that peekhole in our front door when Marty was little. Now Marty is 28 and lives in that house with his wife of three years, who is expecting a child.

What you see from your own house, through your own eyes, starts small. The way you see the world as you're growing up can be like a peekhole. We will never be able to see out through others' front doors, as they do. We can't see through their eyes.

Remember your view, no matter how vast it becomes, is personal and limited.


SandraDodd.com/angles
photo by Sandra Dodd

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Clarity and focus

Clarity and focus make things easier.

Muddly confusion make things harder.

SandraDodd.com/clarity
photo by Janine Davies

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Similarities


Things by my back door one day, looking like a set. Inside the glass is an old end table with fancy legs. There's a plastic planter, and a metal watering can, all stripey. The colors were nice, too.

No one arranged them, they just were there.

Be open to seeing something others aren't seeing—in your children, your surroundings, and your life.

SandraDodd.com/angles
photo by Sandra Dodd

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Life changes


Impermanence is irritating, but can also be a relief.

A few centuries ago, people believed strongly in the wheel of fortune—that circumstances would change, and did change, and that nothing good or bad would last forever.

You can't keep air, or save rain. Clouds are wet and wispy.

The weather of the soul
photo by Sandra Dodd

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Make the world better

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

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Deposit the good stuff.


When people ask about being happier and more positive, the answer can't help but be the same. BE happier. BE positive.

But as with any accounting (think a bank account), withdrawals deplete your reserves. Every negative word, thought or deed takes peace and positivity out of your account. Cynicism, sarcasm—which some people enjoy and defend—are costly, if your goal is peace.


SandraDodd.com/negativity (which is really about positivity)
photo by Janine
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Monday, October 24, 2016

Trash or treasure?

You can use antique shops or junk stores, charity shops, thrift stores, as museums to visit with your children. Many things are neither trash nor treasure, but can be interesting examples of art, technology, geography, politics, function and design.

In deciding which link to use with this image, I settled on the history page, and noticed a paragraph I wrote over a decade ago. Now, two deaths and a Nobel prize have entered the story:

History can be nearly current, like comparative pop/funk of the '80s— is Prince really all that much greater than Michael Jackson? Is it because he plays guitar? What about the history of the guitar? Does Minneapolis create better musicians than Gary, Indiana, or does it even matter? Is Bob Dylan evidence for Minneapolis? One thing leads to another. Thinking about Minneapolis can lead to thoughts of U.S. history, of early 19th century border fortifications, the Mississippi River, the French in Canada, and in Louisiana. You can let your mind float downstream (or up). "Hiawatha" would've been set in that area, and Longfellow wrote that and many other things of childhood, and parents, and night time.

SandraDodd.com/history
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Sunday, September 18, 2016

Whole self in a whole way

If you're living in the past, that's a problem for now.

If you're living in the future too much,
In the future that you're imagining,
in the future that you're predicting,
in the future that you would like to imagine you can control,
in the future that you would like to imagine that you can even imagine, that's a problem.

So it's good to aim for living in the moment in a whole way—your whole self, not separated from your past or your future, but also not really over-focussed on it.




SandraDodd.com/listen/london2011
photo by Sandra Dodd

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Strewing


Strewing:

Literally, scattering something out, like rose petals or herbs or straw on a medieval floor.

Figuratively, leaving interesting things out where they will be discovered.

SandraDodd.com/terminology
photo by Sandra Dodd, of Australian things Schuyler saved to show me
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Sunday, March 15, 2015

Seeing Everything


If you learn to see everything instead of just school things, unschooling will start working for you.
SandraDodd.com/seeingit
photo by Rippy Dusseldorp (click image for close-up and fun details)

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

It depends

A question like "should I buy this, yes or no?" isn't the kind of questions others can answer very well. And if we did, we'd need to say WHY we thought so, which would involve explaining a principle. And with all of the best answers, it needs to start, "It depends."
SandraDodd.com/rulebound
photo by Sandra Dodd

Monday, March 2, 2015

Anything but that...

Deb Lewis, on responding to a child who has expressed a feeling of boredom:

Put her on your lap and snuggle and visit awhile. Talk about something interesting you read in the newspaper,
tell her you're going to make her favorite thing for dinner, talk about anything at all except why she shouldn't be bored. Pull out a game she really likes and sit and play with her. Go for a walk around the neighborhood together. Invite her to make cupcakes.

She's not so much interested in you telling her what to do or why she shouldn't be bored. She wants you to help her feel better. Spend time with her talking and doing and that will help.
—Deb Lewis

SandraDodd.com/BoredNoMore
photo by Sandra Dodd