boredom, single parent, babies, yes, Big Book

The photos were taken by Holly at the Teen/Young Adult panel at the Good Vibrations conference earlier this month. At the left, Kirby Dodd has the mic. In the other photo, Marty Dodd is handing it off.

Some new ideas on dealing with boredom, at the bottom of the "Bored No More" page: http://sandradodd.com/BoredNoMore Can a single parent unschool? Katy Jenning's experience: http://sandradodd.com/singleparent Good comments on why to think of it as unschooling even when the child is very young: http://sandradodd.com/babies Something new about "Yes," near the top: http://sandradodd.com/yes.html

I have some other things to add, sent to me when I was out of town and then laid up. I'm working forward and backward both to try to keep up with the great things being written yesterday, and getting them where others can read them for the benefit of their own families! Also the Big Book of Unschooling is ready, and its short list of typos and errors follows the order page. The cover Holly did is beautiful in person, all glossy and yellow. http://sandradodd.com/bigbook/order http://sandradodd.com/typo There is a deletion noted in the post below this one.

Positive and negative feedback

To recent bits added, without names, to http://sandradodd.com/feedback

On the plus side... Sandra, I'm writing because I always wanted to write a fan letter :). I saw you in San Diego, and I saw you in Albuquerque. I have your books, and I've read a lot of what you've written online. I rarely read any list but Always Learning. And honest to God, I am grateful every day for you for sharing your life. I have three daughters... and none of them ever had to go to school. One of the reasons they've been spared is because of you. Thank you. But I really wanted to tell you that everyone in my family came in contact with at least one of your kids in some way in San Diego, and all of us were impressed. My oldest... told me that Marty was so funny, and Holly impressed my husband when she showed up at baby dolls and played with the littles, and Kirby knocked my socks off when he heard me talking about facebook. He said (and I'm paraphrasing), "I'll be your friend. Not on facebook. I'll just be your friend." Your children are so warm and sweet. And I loved seeing what my children have in store for them. Thank you for making a difference....

...and the minus: Note added September 28: A paragraph has been removed, following seven e-mails by its author, whose name I had neither saved nor remembered, demanding that I remove it. I won't name her name, but I'll save a few words from the post, not in order, not in phrases [lest she want to publish it someday, as she said she might (to help persuade me that I was violating her copyright)]. whackjobs (unschoolers), condescending, narrowminded, snobby, arrogant (of my website and the Always Learning list) I hope it was a change of mind, remorse and contrition that caused the writer to want those words removed. I hope her child has a happy life, at least as happy as those "narrowminded whackjobs" pictured below. As to arrogance, it's confidence. http://sandradodd.com/confidence

Some new pages are coming in a day or two. Here are all the Dodds and the Sorooshians, in a photo by Dan Vilter, from the Good Vibrations Conference last weekend. Click it for another one (both enlargeable from that other site).

Certificado de Apoderamiento / Certificate of Empowerment

Joanette Aponte Yunqué has translated the Certificate of Empowerment into Spanish.
http://sandradodd.com/empowerment/certificado
http://sandradodd.com/certificado

The original, with notes and links and Chevy-on-a-Stick:
http://sandradodd.com/empowerment

Socialization? and more video coming

What about socialization? Finally, a page about that oft-asked question:
http://sandradodd.com/socialization/

The movie is still being finished, but those who contributed to the startup funding will receive their advance bonus DVDs soon. When the final movie is done, it will definitely be announced here! And I'm hoping to get a chance to put the raw interviews up where can see them at the Good Vibrations Conference in a couple of weeks, too!

Spanking and lying and yelling! (NOT)

Spanking Makes Kids Lie
(and has been known to make parents lie, too)
http://sandradodd.com/s/lying
(an older page, refurbished because it's one of the links in the book)

New piece on "Change," by Shan Burton
http://sandradodd.com/change

Similar accounts to those about the changing effect unschooling has on lives are at the "getting it" link at the bottom of that page.

That's a Holly-self-portrait at the right. It's all one image.

Words, Italian curriculum for unschoolers

The beginnings of a new index page on Words. When I have the art done, I'll bring that too, but I'm working on a book this week, not on art.
http://SandraDodd.com/words
(the photo is not the word art I plan to do; click it to see me in Wales)

Melissa Dietrick's curriculum, in Italian
http://sandradodd.com/curriculum/italy
Melissa is living in Italy, and has Italian-speaking children, and has shared what she created and translated for use there.

Mathematik (article in German)

This is a new announcement of something a year old, but that's fine. I only just knew about it recently.

I had a request to write about mathematics for a German magazine, and sent it off and didn't hear about it for a while. Apparently the paper copy went astray, that they sent, and I was waiting patiently. Or rather I was busily distracted and forgot about it.

http://sandradodd.com/math (upper right)
http://sandradodd.com/math/unerzogen
Those lead to links to the publication's website, and the German version in PDF. It was translated by Niki Lambrianidou.

I also have the book cover complete, and the book almost so, with help thusfar from Keith and Holly Dodd, Jill Parmer and Robin Bentley. Holly has done the cover layout. I took some of the photos, did some of the hand art, and she did the photoshop magic to make it whole.

Schuyler's talk on TV, responses from London Conference

Follow-up on the London Unschooling Conference:

Schuyler's presentation on The Wonderful World of Television
http://sandradodd.com/schuyler/tv

A clarification of a story I didn't finish telling, and responses to questions on 3x5 cards from conference attendees:
http://sandradodd.com/musicroom








Schuyler took the photo, outside of a water mill we visited last week near Holt, in Norfolk.

clear to "Yes", chat, The Big Book Back Cover

Amy Kidwell let me quote her on my yes page, but there wasn't a good place for her quote where it couldn't get lost, and so this is what the Yes page looks like now:
http://sandradodd.com/yes

CHATS, and I'll list today's as a sample, but there are two a week, and could be more if there were enough interest.
The chatroom password is goodidea
and the chatroom itself is SandraDodd.com/room

MONDAY CHAT
also known as "too early Tuesday chat" in some parts of the world, and as ten-to-midnight-chat in the U.K.

Maybe this time if there aren't pressing needs, I'd like to talk about the more serious core of unschooling—how it works, and what the principles are.

Two hours, beginning:

Pacific: 2:00 pm Monday
Mountain: 3:00 pm
Central: 4:00 pm
Eastern: 5:00 pm
England: 10:00 pm Monday

Pune, India: 2:30 am Tuesday

Naranara, NSW: 7:00 am Tuesday

New Zealand: 9:00 am Tuesday

The back cover of the book is finished; Holly made it and sent it to me.
http://sandradodd.blogspot.com/2009/07/holly-sent-back-cover-for-book.html

More Random Opportunities

I've added over 20 pages to the random page generator, and then I broke it two different ways, so if you tried it and it didn't work, I think it's working again.
http://sandradodd.com/random

I'm in England staying with Schuyler Waynforth and her family. I'm collecting photographic trivia here:
http://sandradodd.blogspot.com
(If you come across this and it's not July 2009 anymore, check there in the blog archives.)

"Special programs"; Kelly L. defines unschooling; LND

Being your child's partner even in the face of special education programs
http://sandradodd.com/special/program

"What exactly is unschooling? I thought it was another name for homeschooling."
http://sandradodd.com/kellylovejoy/whatisunschooling

Learn Nothing Day has been criticized again.
http://sandradodd.com/learnnothingday/critics
I love when that happens. I didn't mean for it to be a trap for outsiders. I meant for it to be a fun trap for INsiders!

If any of you see any natural, candid criticism out there of Learn Nothing Day, please leave a link below or e-mail me. Thanks!
If you'd like to put a link to that page on your blog or site, you can lift the code with logo here:
http://sandradodd.com/learnnothingday/images

Toddlers, a good "No," Terminology

More on Piaget and what toddlers can't yet learn by Pam Sorooshian:
http://sandradodd.com/piaget
(bottom left)

Alex Polikowsky and the huge manure pit (down at the bottom)
http://sandradodd.com/no
(the bottom of the page, not of the huge manure pit—eeyew)

So I'm workin' on this book, and generally I'm summarizing or quoting from a page and then putting the page address in case the readers want to put down the book and go to the website for more information. It turns out I didn't have a page on particular unschooling terminology. There's not much of it! But whereas most of the book will be the website in book form, this page is the book in website form. (One small part of it, anyway.)
http://sandradodd.com/terminology