Oranges and water

There have been a couple of discussions in which people said strewing was manipulative and sneaky. I don't see it that way at all. If I know what kinds of things my children could use being exposed to to be more well rounded, or to "fill in gaps" in what they know, or to take them to another level of understanding, bringing those things up in physical or conversational ways is no more "manipulative" than bringing more fruit into the house if there hasn't been much fruit consumption lately, or bringing them bottles of water on hot summer days. I don't need to force them to eat oranges or drink water, but I can notice it might be good for them and make it appealing.

SandraDodd.com/strew/how
photo by Sandra Dodd
of a picture of a steam engine
on a steam engine
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What is this for?

Years before we had children, I was telling my young husband-to-be that in school the only math I liked were the "word problems." He said those are the only real math problems in text books. That was the real math. The numbers sitting already in equations and formations were the solutions to unstated problems, with only the arithmetical calculations left to be done.

I remember that moment vividly. I was in my late 20's and hearing for the first time what "mathematics" meant. I had asked my teachers all through school "What is this for?" and "How is this used?" and they rarely had an answer beyond "Just do it," or "It will be on the test."

SandraDodd.com/math/unerzogen
photo by Sandra Dodd

All around us

Humor is all around us, in art, hats, billboards, t-shirts, magazines, toys, songs, stories, friendly banter, cereal boxes and wordplay. What can make or break a day, or a moment, is whether people see it and smile, or see it and make a face of disgust. The direction parents take with humor can make the difference between a joyful shared moment or an uncomfortable, embarrassing stuckness. And each of those leads to the next moment.

To Get More Jokes
photo by Sandra Dodd
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One interest can lead to...

"One interest can lead to lots of other exciting things." —Adam Daniel

SandraDodd.com/adamlearns
photo by Sandra Dodd, of a helter skelter in London

Do that THIS year.

The words of Kelly Lovejoy:

If you knew you only had a year more with that child, what would you expose him to? Where would you go? What would you eat? What would you watch? What would you do?
If you had only ONE year—and then it was all over, what would you do? Four seasons. Twelve months. 365 days.

Do that THIS year. And the next.

That's how unschooling works. By living life as if it were an adventure. As if you only had a limited amount of time with that child. Because that's the way it IS.

SandraDodd.com/doit
photo by Sandra Dodd

Not learning

If a person's life is compartmentalized into learning and not learning, then they have a part of them that is "not-learning."


The phrase came up in a chat, but this page is a good match: SandraDodd.com/substance

photo by Sandra Dodd, of a beautiful Sheffield wall with delicate flowers
unfairly drafted to portray a harsh wall for the purposes of this post

Live your values

"If we live our values, it's likely our children will value them too. If we impose our values, it's likely our children will reject them." —Joyce Fetteroll

SandraDodd.com/tvchoice
photo by Sandra Dodd, of a little old retaining wall, with stairs, in France;
still working though not maintained