Thursday, December 18, 2014

Transformation through choices

Choices have transformed our lives.
Limitations do not transform lives. They limit lives.

ceramics in an antique shop

SandraDodd.com/limits
photo by Sandra Dodd
__

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Not the same choices

Happy, supported, trusted kids don't make the same choices as unhappy, controlled kids.
—Joyce Fetteroll
small cheese balls shaped like pumpkins, in a store display
SandraDodd.com/eating/sugar
photo by Sandra Dodd

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Beautiful, vibrant and alive

hot air balloons, two nearest are shaped like the heads of Yoda and Darth Vader
If a child has a joyous excitement for music, or sports, computers, poetry, horses, golf or dance, nurture that without owning it. Smile at it without naming it something bigger than your child. Treat is as a butterfly, beautiful, vibrant and alive. Don’t stab a pin in it, label it and stick it in a display box to show everyone the details, and try to keep it as it is forever because then you take the life of it away. YOU own it, and not the child, then.

SandraDodd.com/giftedness
photo by Lisa Jonick
__

Monday, December 15, 2014

Improve life!

"It feels so much better to be doing something active to try to improve life than it did sitting around worrying about it!!"
—Cass Kotrba

SandraDodd.com/doit
photo by Sandra Dodd
__

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Reading will happen.

Reading will happen, and if it takes longer for your child than you think it will, keep them happy and distracted in the meantime. As their experience and vocabulary grow, their reading will be that much more effortless the day they're fully equipped to understand the written word.
Three Readers
photo by Quita Gray

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Doing this deeply

Unschooling is not as easy as some people think it is. It can be fun, and simple, and life changing, if it is done deeply and thoroughly.
wall made of suitcases and trunks, stacked up, in a cafe in Chichester

SandraDodd.com/video/doright
Thanks, Marta Pires, for saving that quote.
photo by Sandra Dodd

__

Friday, December 12, 2014

Peace on earth

In a longer discussion, Joyce Fetteroll wrote that people should be focused on helping a child "peacefully co-exist with the rest of the planet."

Meredith Novak added:
I think this is really key. If you're focused on who's "right" or which "side" to take, that's going to narrow down both your perception of the situation and the options you can envision.
Helping maintain peace within families is a direct contribution to peace on earth.

SandraDodd.com/peace
photo by Sandra Dodd