A rich environment

Unschooling is arranging for natural learning to take place. It involves having a rich environment and respecting children's ideas and interests.




That definition is from an April 2010 interview, Why I Unschooled My Three Kids
The photo is Holly, by Holly.

If you eliminate "have to"...

If you eliminate "have to" from your thoughts, it's like driving a nice standard transmission rather than riding in the back of a crowded bus. If you see everything as a conscious choice, suddenly you are where you have chosen to be (or you have a clear path to moving toward where you would rather be).

SandraDodd.com/philosophy
photo by Sandra Dodd

Step up

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.

SandraDodd.com/gratitude
Holly in Quebec; photographer unknown

Doors

We are here now.

We have been other places in the past.

We will be in surprising places in the future.

SandraDodd.com/abundance
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Look quietly

Look quietly. At least once a day, just look quietly.

Shhhh
photo by Colleen Prieto
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Happier, easier

"There's a common parenting myth that making our kids' lives easier, being sweet and kind and gentle with them, makes them greedy and unfit for adult life. It is not true. Kids learn from experience. When they experience a lot of kindness, they learn the value of kindness in very real, concrete ways. When we make their lives easier, we make it easier for them to learn more and more richly. And they're happier. And that makes parenting easier, because we're not dealing with kids who are stressed out and frustrated."

—Meredith Novak

New writing by Meredith, a little like SandraDodd.com/spoiled
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Spend time more joyfully

The more willing I am to help Simon and Linnaea to do what they want to do, the less needy they are. And, conversely, the more joyfully I spend time with them, helping them out, the less needy I am of my own space, my time to myself.

—Schuyler Waynforth

SandraDodd.com/breathing
photo by Alex Polikowsky