Monday, December 31, 2018

Abundance, food, humor, relaxing

Addition, on Abundance, from New Year's 2013, by Nicole, second item:
http://sandradodd.com/abundance

New, humor, bottom of the page (and some clean up and links added elsewhere there)
http://sandradodd.com/foodreligion

There are other links there, if you want more about food, but generally speaking, relax!
Relaxation aids on my site:
Breathing (with a graphic aid) and
Peace (ditto, sort of)
photo (a link) by Karen James

Friday, December 14, 2018

Potential, change, brawling online

Something old added to the Karen James page:
http://sandradodd.com/karenjames

Growth and potential—Karen James' conversation with her teen, and self-reflection.
http://sandradodd.com/karenjames/potential

Video added; if you can smile rather than jump into indignation and fury, you're on your way to peaceful positivity.
http://sandradodd.com/indignation

photo (a link) by Olivia Turner

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Cake or death?

Musings about the Meanings of Cake, with the Spartacus story
http://sandradodd.com/cake (the original cake page)

Betty's Birthday:
How a Peace Corps worker learned what some African kids thought about a picture of a cake with lit candles.
(This was linked, then disappeared, and I found another version later. It's very good, and backs Kirby up.)
http://sandradodd.com/cakeart/bettysbirthday

New on my site, rescued and refurbished, after Caren Knox recommended it. It's about cake, and death.
http://sandradodd.com/cakeAngelfood


photo (a link) by Jen Lynch

I named this post "cake or death" because of a 1999 Eddie Izzard routine, from his "Dress to Kill" show. It's easy to find, funny, but a bit F-wordy.

This is a kid-friendly version of that part about the Church of England offering people cake all the time.



If you want to see the full section that leads up to that, which involves Hitler, colonization, and flags, here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVH0gZO5lq0 (6:48)

Saturday, November 17, 2018

New Interview, and related things



I was interviewed November 8 by a nice interviewer named Brett Veinotte, for a podcast and website he named years ago and isn't as attached to as he once was, maybe, "School Sucks." The interview went pretty well, though, and has had 641 views (maybe listens) in eight days. I start of talking VERY fast, but either I'll slow down or listeners catch up, it seems. He called it Sandra Dodd – On Unschooling and Choice"

I added that to the page of things to listen to (or to watch):
http://sandradodd.com/listen/
That probably has some other things you've missed, as I've slipped a thing or two in there.


Earlier this year, he interviewed Pam Laricchia on
The Relationship Benefits of Unschooling
. Hers is calmer and more organized than mine, I think.

The podcast and blog are quite male focussed, which was interesting to me. I'm used to a preominantly female audience, and the producer told me 70% of their listeners are male. Brett was right there, though—sharp and quick and I like him. I had a good time talking with him.

Friday, November 9, 2018

Gift of service, sweetness, peace

New writing from 2009, about making magic for children, by a mom named Alice D. Second item.
http://sandradodd.com/chores/gift

Two new links on the Deb Lewis page, at the bottom of the lefthand column:
http://sandradodd.com/deblewis/

Zann Carter, two things:
Poem about washing dishes, and brief video of a rhythmic discovery:
http://sandradodd.com/dishes
and a page with links to other things by Zann:
http://sandradodd.com/zann


photo (a link) by Rose Sorooshian

Friday, November 2, 2018

Karen James as a new mom, and other history




Addition of Karen James' beautiful writing about when she blossomed into confident motherhood
http://sandradodd.com/karenjames/#ethan

New at the top, Emily Strength, me, on living in history
New at the bottom, the history of the entire world (nearly 20 minutes long, and has a few "bad words")
http://sandradodd.com/history/




photo (a link) by Karen James

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

No bad days, Morning in the moment



photo (a link) by Eva Witsel
This was never announced, though it's been there since 2008 or so:
No Bad Days—and fewer bad moments
http://sandradodd.com/badmoment

This goes with it, but has been announced.
Moments: Living in moments instead of by whole days.
http://sandradodd.com/moment

Here's a good match, but is a step away from unschooling. In those writings (SCA-related), if it says AElflaed or Ælflæd of Duckford, that's me.
Part of self awareness is to be physically self aware.
I've gotten better over the years.

When I was younger I lived too much in my head and would look through the lens of what should be, or could be, or might be, instead of stopping for two seconds to consider what actually, at that moment, was. If I'm not careful I can be cranky before I know I'm tired, and head-achy before I know I'm hungry.
More of that one here: http://sandradodd.com/duckford/mindfulness
Back to unschooling:
"At your house it will be morning again within 24 hours, but it could be morning in your heart any second."
http://sandradodd.com/morning

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Battling "You do you", Couch, "Me Time"

Added struggling, battling, and "You do you!" to the page on phrases to hear and avoid (halfway down)
http://sandradodd.com/phrases
BUT NOT ONLY THAT!
There is a new intro to that page by Deb Lewis. You might be disturbed, or amused, or both.

New page: Safe on the couch (more will be added there, over time)
http://sandradodd.com/couch

Addition to "Me Time" (bottom) and page clean-up
http://sandradodd.com/metime



photo (a link) by Janine Davies

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Universe, triangulation, instinct

In 2008 I started a page called "Your Own Model of the Universe," with a nice story by one mom named Beth.
In 2018 I added more to it!
http://sandradodd.com/modeloftheuniverse

Modernization, clean-up, and a new link, at Jubilation and Triangulation:
http://sandradodd.com/dot/hypotenuse

Additions to the Instinct page, which is fairly new, and pretty cool:
http://sandradodd.com/instinct, originally summer 2017





photo (a link) by Rippy Dusseldorp

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Separation, orthorexia, "I'm skeptical."

Two nice pieces of Karen James' writing added (at the bottom) to
http://sandradodd.com/separation,
and something by an anonymous writer, with links to two separate discussions about divorce avoidance.

The effect on unschooling of too much control and fear around food:
http://sandradodd.com/eating/orthorexia

Updated all the links to articles on Joyce's page on the skepticism page. I will link to its intro, not to itself:
https://aboutunschooling.blogspot.com/2006/08/skepticism.html
It's an odd page, and twelve years old now. It's about adults learning about learning, I think.






photo (a link) by Lydia Koltai

Monday, October 1, 2018

Early days of unschooling

Three things, all Roya-related:

To the bottom of a 2009 combo interview/chat with Pam-the-mom, I have appended the texts of two posts on a now-gone platform, in which Roya describes the earliest days of her unschooling life. The sections are called "part one of a long and fascinating story" and "part two of journey into the center of the universe."
https://sandradodd.com/chats/pamsorooshian

Expanded the page on Roya:
https://sandradodd.com/roya/

Embedded newer version of sound file, of a 2009 talk Roya gave:
https://sandradodd.com/listen/roya


photo (a link) by Amber Ivey

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Candy, Chemicals, Condemnation



Let them eat candy
http://sandradodd.com/eating/poison

Irrational fear of chemicals by people whose kids might be better off in school:
http://sandradodd.com/chemicals

Condemnation of a substance or interest is also condemnation of children and of non-fearful parents (additions to page):
http://sandradodd.com/condemnation


photo (a link) by Lisa J Haugen

Friday, September 7, 2018

Tool, Reading, Change



Reading isn't a tool, it's a skill, involving several abilities.
New Page, on tools, skills and abilities.
http://sandradodd.com/tool

Quote added, with link to more, about encouragement for reading and other learning:
http://sandradodd.com/r/encouragement

Addition, about acceptance of change, bottom right, with a photo to consider:
http://sandradodd.com/change/



cake and photo (a link) by Sandra Dodd

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Doors, doorways, doorframes

On my website I had started a page, and I've added to it today, a bit.
http://sandradodd.com/doorframes

Mostly, I added a link to a longer set of such images, here:
http://sandradodd.blogspot.com/2013/12/ability-and-opportunity.html
Probably, I created that when I couldn't remember what my previous collection was called. That happens.

Gradually, I'm labelling photos on Just Add Light and Stir. Here are some doors and doorways:
https://justaddlightandstir.blogspot.com/search/label/door

Having three links about images is unusual for this blog. Usually I'm announcing things that are practical or philosophical. I can defend my doors! Strength and options are shown by those climbers. Doorways are representative of choices, of mystery, of newness. They can be symbols of history, and safety. Architecturally, and practically, in human history, doors are wonderful things.

photo by Sandra Dodd

Monday, August 13, 2018

Intelligences, Critical Thinking, "Me time"

Added ten links and an line of bird outlines to the page on Multiple Intelligences.
http://sandradodd.com/intelligences/

Critical thinking, critical thought... When reading, wonder whether it's plausible, reasonable, sensible. Wonder why.
http://sandradodd.com/criticalthought

Added new writing by Jen Keefe, and two images/quotes (Just Add Light posts) to "me time"
http://sandradodd.com/metime




photo (a link) by Gail Higgins



Sunday, August 12, 2018

Voices in your head, support


There are probably some good voices in your head, and maybe some old leftovers.
http://sandradodd.com/voices

Learning to value support of unschooling, and of children, over "support" of the mom:
http://sandradodd.com/support/thoughts



photo (a link) by Roya Dedeaux

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Choice and Incremental change


Addtion to the gradual change page, of a presentation called "Choices and Incremental Change," from 2015.
http://sandradodd.com/gradualchange

Direct link to the new section with video:
http://sandradodd.com/gradualchange#incremental

ADDED to the page of recordings: the link above and four talks given at the HSC conferences in 2010 and 2012. They were for sale there, before, and now are freely available. Listen online or download.
http://sandradodd.com/listen/






photo (a link) by Janine Davies

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Infants, babies, toddlers, in German and English



Translation by Sabine Reichelt of some of my writing about infants, babies and toddlers:
Sei ihr Partner, nicht ihr Gegner
It was published in March 2018 in this issue of unerzogen
https://www.unerzogen-magazin.de/aktuelle_ausgabe/

The source material from which the translator worked is here. She didn't use the first part, I think, and said she shortened the end.
This is eleven pages / nine sections from my book The Big Book of Unschooling.
http://sandradodd.com/german/InfantsChildrenBigBook.pdf

photo (a link) by Eileen Mahowald

Friday, June 15, 2018

Real world, "facist PC garbage," self-command



Saved an interesting Q&A about "the real world," too long for the Unschool World page, so it has its own. Good writers you might recognize contributed to that 2014 question about how to keep CPS from taking unschooled kids away.
http://sandradodd.com/realworld

New writing (quote by evil others and commentary by me) at the bottom of
http://sandradodd.com/separation
(I was insulted, but I did not stand down.)

Addition to "self-regulation" (a page warning against that as a goal) adding "self-command" with a Jane Austen quote
http://sandradodd.com/self-regulation

photo (a link) by Marji Zintz

Monday, June 4, 2018

Jen Keefe; Santa; Doing enough? ; Battling assault


Jen Keefe's writing on growth and change, on peace/becoming (Becoming the Parent You Want to be)
http://sandradodd.com/peace/becoming#Jen

New page, because Joyce wrote "I think Sandra has..." and I didn't. There's a link to what Joyce wrote, and why, too:
http://sandradodd.com/santa

Additions to pages on doing enough, and battling/fighting (being assaulted by fear):

http://sandradodd.com/enough
http://sandradodd.com/battle

photo (a link) by Annie Regan

Monday, April 16, 2018

Getting warm, Politics, Kirby and his mom


"Getting warm" is better than "getting cold." Enthusiasm and excitement are good things.
http://sandradodd.com/gettingwarm

New page on why political activism in the parents has the potential to harm unschooling
http://sandradodd.com/politics

Transcript (a nice one) of 2010 "Class Dismissed" interview of Sandra and Kirby Dodd, and notes, and links, and video
http://sandradodd.com/classDismissed

photo (a link) by Holly Dodd

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Conversation enablers, Video Games, Food Fear,



Commentary added to ideas about side-by-side activities that foster discussion, bottom:
http://sandradodd.com/truckcomments

Learning from video games, as an unschooler—interview of Xander MacSwan, by Pam Laricchia
http://sandradodd.com/videogames/

New video at the bottom of Food Fear page (humor that's truth; short and fun):
http://sandradodd.com/foodfear/

photo (a link) by Orion Larson

Monday, March 19, 2018

Sweet feedback, "getting it," labels


Additions to these pages:

Three new comments, left column, near the top
http://sandradodd.com/feedback/

Older writing, newly added to the site, about why one family didn't get it sooner.
http://sandradodd.com/gettingit (direct link)


And some of that writing added as commentary about how labels did not help, and we were right:
http://sandradodd.com/labels (third on left, for now)



photo (a link) by Annie Regan

Friday, March 16, 2018

2010 video interview of Kirby and Sandra Dodd



Newly on YouTube, something from 2010.

The interview was to gather material for a documentary, linked if you click through to YouTube.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Happiness, and the word "Radical"


Two more sound files new to the site:

Happiness Inside and Out (from 2012)
http://sandradodd.com/hsc/happiness

And a new page on happiness, easier to find by memory (if you can remember this much happiness):
http://sandradodd.com/happiness

Why "Radical" Unschooling?—sound file and many notes
http://sandradodd.com/hsc/radical

photo (a link) by Cathy Koetsier

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Partnerships, and Screwing it up


Two new sound files (and links for free downloads):

Partnerships and Teams in the Family
With notes and a playable sound link:
http://sandradodd.com/hsc2010.html
At the Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/F4SandraDoddPartnershipsTeamsInTheFamilyDSEE9E1

Unschooling: How to Screw it Up
With notes and a playable sound link:
http://sandradodd.com/hsc2010.html
At the Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/SandraDoddUnschoolingHowToScrewItUp

And some notes about those and other fun things:
http://sandradodd.com/hsc2010.html

photo (a link) by Shonna Morgan

Sunday, March 4, 2018

"Poison" from two angles


New (newly finished enough to announce) page on the claim or fear that things are "poison," and Joyce's logical responses:
http://sandradodd.com/poison

There is another page at eating/poison that was announced in 2015, but the two can't be combined. The older page is called "Let them eat candy," and addresses the problem of a candy-deprived child being more likely to eat grandma's pills, or soap pods.
http://sandradodd.com/eating/poison

Two different topics, but both in support of parents giving children opportunities to make their own choices, and both warning against the dangers of parental fear and over-control.

photo (a link) by Sandra Dodd
(who did not do that frosting)

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Meditation, NOT Screentime, Autism/avoidance of labels


New, on meditation (this will surely receive additions)
http://sandradodd.com/meditation

"Screentime" is not what adults call using their computers or phones. What all is IN there? (new page)
http://sandradodd.com/screentime/not

Video added about ways to treat autistic kids (sounds just like unschooling).
http://sandradodd.com/labels

photo (a link) by Ashlee Dodd

Monday, January 15, 2018

Direction, Reading


A link-rich page about the idea of knowing what direction you intend to go, so that choices can be made happily and sensibly:
http://sandradodd.com/direction

Somehow that page, created in late 2014, was never announced.
It's a good one!


Some Thoughts on Later Reading
http://sandradodd.com/hsc/readinglater.html

photo (a link) by Erika Ellis

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Recovery, Perspective, Better



Some similarities between recovery programs and unschooling discussions
http://sandradodd.com/recovery

New quote and image added to the page on perspective. Looks like a fish in a hamster cage. Isn't.
http://sandradodd.com/perspective

Thoughts about doing better, including knowing what is NOT better. Links to several better-things.
http://sandradodd.com/better


photo (a link) by Sandra Dodd

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

School math, reading ages, Jo Isaac, Light


Additions and new title: School math in history, and school math after unschooling
http://sandradodd.com/math/schoolmath

"Reading age in unschooled kids": Jo Isaac's 2016 survey with graphs of ages at which unschoolers learned to read
http://sandradodd.com/readingage.html

Collection of writings by Jo Isaac, and links to recorded interview and transcript "Redefining Success"
http://sandradodd.com/joisaac/

Light and Lightness, with inspiration, photos, and pretty shadows
http://sandradodd.com/light

photo (a link) by Hannah North