photo by Sarah Dickinson
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Ongoing and fluid
photo by Sarah Dickinson
Monday, November 2, 2015
Special moments
Special moments can be planned or accidental, funny or profound. Sometimes there's a photo. Sometimes there will be just words, or a quiet memory. Plan a few, and be open to the unexpected.
Holly is ten years older now than she was on the day she saw the Bayeux Tapestry so closely, and her host-dad caught her profile. I'm glad to have this photo of Holly seeing something wonderful.
May you have many special moments, and many more of quiet, normal, peaceful nothing-so-special moments with those you love.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Supplies
How much are supplies for unschooling? It ranges somewhere between nothing and everything—the whole budget. Once a family starts to consider everything educational, even groceries and cleaning supplies |
That's old writing. I avoid the term "educational" now,
but start where you are and keep getting better!
photo by Colleen Prieto
Saturday, October 31, 2015
No big deal
—Pam G
photo and artistry by Hema Bharadwaj
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Friday, October 30, 2015
Making contact
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Thursday, October 29, 2015
Natural human nature
Try not to go against nature, when you're aiming to "be natural." |
photo by Sandra Dodd
of artistry by Devyn (6)
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Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Clear and free
There is quiet beauty somewhere near you. If it's hard to find, close your eyes and imagine some. Look at art, listen to music. Breathe a little more deeply, a little more slowly, and you'll be better for yourself and for those around you.
photo by Irene Adams
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Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Seeing many things
Seeing layers is good. Depth of field applies not just to visuals, but to awareness in other areas too. Consider as many factors as you can, whether in images, patterns, ideas or words. |
photo by Colleen and Robbie Prieto
Monday, October 26, 2015
Care more
I don't like divorce. I don't want any children who can avoid that disaster in their lives to live with it for the rest of their lives (and any parent who wants to think it doesn't affect the child forevermore is practicing self-comfort at their children's expense). I would much rather, when and if it's possible, help the parents both be the kind of people who care more about their children than they do about themselves. |
photo by Cathy Koetsier
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Slowly but quickly
"While we have faced many attachment challenges as a result of my kids' foster care experiences and my own difficult childhood experiences, our home has experienced so much positive as a direct result of moving "slowly but quickly" into unschooling."
SandraDodd.com/special/
photo by Chrissy Florence
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—Rebecca F.
photo by Chrissy Florence
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Something looks like this:
child,
light,
reflection,
water
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Everywhere, all the time
My response to this question, from 2009:
What resources do you use for your children’s “educations”? Feel free to comment on the word “education”.
We don’t “educate” our children. We help arrange so that they have so many learning opportunities they can’t possibly take advantage of them all. We have friends with interesting jobs and hobbies. We invite them over, and we visit them. We have a house full of books, music, games, toys, movies, art materials, plants, food and dress-up clothes. We don’t expect learning to happen in the house, nor in museums, but we know it happens everywhere. We don’t expect learning to happen during daylight hours or on weekdays. We know it happens all the time. So we don’t “use resources” except that we see every thing we discuss or see, smell, touch, hear or taste to be a resource. It’s not a word we use, because it’s all of life.
photo by Cá Maciel
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Friday, October 23, 2015
Foundations and preventions
"Asking how to prevent kids from lying is sort of like asking how to get a steeple bell 50 feet into the air. The answer begins with building a foundation on the ground which hardly sounds like a way to get something into the air." —Joyce Fetteroll |
photo by Sandra Dodd
Thursday, October 22, 2015
More learning
All other things being equal, for me I decided in favor of something new and different, over something same-old, when there was a draw about which thing to do or which way to go. |
SandraDodd.com/depends
photo by Rippy Dusseldorp
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Toys in every room
My son has toys in every room of our house, and his dad and I provide lots of bins and shelves and baskets to make straightening up for visits from friends and grandparents easy for whoever wants to help with the pre-visit clean-up. Because to us, a neat and orderly house with lovely, Perfect rooms and a minimum of Stuff isn't worth trading a relationship with a Child Who Will Be An Adult Before You Know It. — No way.
—Colleen Prieto
photo by Sandra Dodd, at Collen Prieto's house
(There was a Lego Viking ship behind me, on a shelf.)
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Monday, October 19, 2015
Healthy gratitude
I'm writing this just after returning from a long afternoon at the urgent care center.
If you're reading it in health, at home or out doing something that takes strength and stamina, please breathe in a bit of appreciation of your abilities and breathe out enough gratitude to share.
photo by Holly Dodd
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Relax into peace
"Power struggles can disappear when the person with the power stops struggling."
SandraDodd.com/deblewis
SandraDodd.com/battle
photo by Sandra Dodd
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—Deb Lewis
SandraDodd.com/battle
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Saturday, October 17, 2015
Succesful and happy
"In my mind, partnering with kids isn't about having them be In Charge—and it isn't about having parents be In Charge—it's working together, with the more experienced partner (the parent) taking the initiative to help days (and nights!) be successful and happy."
—Colleen Prieto
Who's in Charge?
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Friday, October 16, 2015
Stranger danger
In response to a question about "unschooling schools":
If a democratic school is chosen as the lesser of some array of school evils, that's fine.
If it's being chosen because the parent believes that professionals and strangers can "unschool" their child, then that's a problem with their perception of unschooling, and a potential loss of a wonderful home environment.
SandraDodd.com/school/alternative
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Thursday, October 15, 2015
Accessible enlightenment
When my family started unschooling, my partner and I felt the spirituality of it immediately...
. . . .
It's grounded, realistic, accessible enlightenment.—Janine
SandraDodd.com/spirituality
photo by Sandra Dodd, of the calliope on an English carousel
that now lives in a mall in California
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Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Touching, playing, knowing
"How do you know they're learning?"
The people who ask that question are looking at the world through school-colored glasses. Those same parents knew when their children could use a spoon. They knew when the child could drink out of a cup. They knew when walking and talking and bike riding had been learned.
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Play, Wonder, Smile...
"Play. A lot. Wonder. A lot. Listen. Observe. Smile. A lot."
—Karen James
photo by Leon McNeill
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Monday, October 12, 2015
Is this the way?
If you're going the wrong direction, don't keep going. |
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Sunday, October 11, 2015
Different realities
When our oldest was five and our third was still inside me, we stuck our toes in the homeschooling waters, and asked ourselves some serious questions. We bypassed the regular serious questions. We weren't worried about socialization. We weren't worried about times tables. What my husband and I asked when our should-we-do-this eyes met was "What about marching band?"
an article written in 2003 when my children were 16, 14 and 11.
They are, as this quote is posted, 29, 26 and 23.
The photo shows me, Marty and Kirby, before Holly was born.
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Saturday, October 10, 2015
Teenagers
Of course I was nervous when they were out late sometimes, but I would think of the things I was doing at their ages, and remember that my kids had better resources, more practice making decisions, and had me and their dad ready to help them without penalty if they needed us.
SandraDodd.com/teenager
photo by Sandra Dodd, 2005
Photo note: They were home, dressed as movie characters,
for Kirby's 19th birthday party.
photo by Sandra Dodd, 2005
Photo note: They were home, dressed as movie characters,
for Kirby's 19th birthday party.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Keep your balance.
Things change. Even in the best of peaceful circumstances, things change. Keep your balance, find gratitude and abundance, and accept changes gracefully when you can.
photo by Lisa J Haugen
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Thursday, October 8, 2015
A secure, lively life
—Joyce Fetteroll
photo by Sandra Dodd
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Unmeasured and whole
If you are not required by law to test your child, don't choose it.
Because a test score is never ignored, tests affect the relationship between parent and child, and many unschoolers want to preserve their child’s journey to adulthood unmeasured, uncompared, and whole. It might seem crazy from the outside, but the disadvantage of testing is real.
photo by Sandra Dodd
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