New interview (me)

A little interview, different from others!
http://naturalparentingcenter.typepad.com/natural_parenting_center/2010/08/interview-with-sandra-dodd.html

My favorite part is the last section which begins:

5. How have you created such a successful presence/business while pouring your heart into family?

Gradually. It's not "a business" so much as it's a self-supporting mission. (...and I include Keith and the kids in the description and "credits.")

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This photo doesn't go with the interview. I took it this morning, because Brenna made the cup. It was given to me for speaking at the Good Vibrations Conference in San Diego last year. And today is Brenna McBroom's twenty-first birthday. Here she is seven years ago: http://sandradodd.com/teen/brenna. I think I'll request an update. :-)

Words, connections, dads

Clean-up and a video added at Words, Words, Words
http://sandradodd.com/words/words.html

Connections: an example (new page)
http://sandradodd.com/connections/example

Dads, by dads, for dads (link to something new by Phil Biegler, up top)
http://sandradodd.com/dads

(I could use pictures of unschooling dads, to add to that dads page, please.)

"Just Add Light and Stir" (new blog and e-mail service)

Alison Potter, of Glastonbury, Somerset, wrote:

We came to the London Unschooling conference in 2009. I loved listening to you, you were my favourite—you made so much sense to me and left me with a lovely warm glow. Thank you for your website full of amazing tales of wonder and discovery and for your love of life and children. Sometimes i need a paper reminder... Do you do daily email reminders too?

And so in response to Alison Potter, who already has both my books and who wants more input, I'm launching a series of frequent (perhaps daily) notes.

It is September 2, 2010, and I've been a mother since 1986. My three children are safely and happily grown, without school, and there are things I can share with others.

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To subscribe to (maybe) brief daily e-mails:
.... [yahoogroups info removed, because there's a better way to subscribe, at the blog itself]
or
at the related new blog, subscribe by RSS feed.
http://justaddlightandstir.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Alison, for the kind words and inspiration.

Gratuitous cat photo by Holly Dodd

Coins, video games, phrases to avoid

New Page: Learning about values and coins in and around games
http://sandradodd.com/coins

From 2002, an article by Kathy Ward, newly transcribed and available again after some years.
http://sandradodd.com/people/kathyward/videogames

An addition to the page on Phrases to Hear and Avoid:
http://sandradodd.com/phrases

Dishes; gradual change; partnership

New page on owning and washing dishes: http://sandradodd.com/dishes Additions to the valuable "gradual change" page, nearly halfway down http://sandradodd.com/gradualchange Pam Sorooshian and Leah Rose "The leaps I've tried to take always seem to leave me feeling shaky and uncertain that I'm on the right track. When I inch forward in baby steps the ground feels solid and I know I'm heading in the right direction." ~Leah Rose Partnership with children http://sandradodd.com/partners/child Lyla Wolfenstein and Pam Sorooshian, second section

"responsibility"; abundance; breathing

Added another good new story, at the bottom, by Pam Sorooshian.
http://sandradodd.com/chores/tales

Jenny Cyphers, on finding abundance in simple ways
http://SandraDodd.com/abundance

Breathing (and abundance), right side halfway down, Glenda and Leah Rose:
http://sandradodd.com/breathing

A quote from that:

I took a deep breath, and as I inhaled I felt my whole being kind of slide into place—it was weird, almost a tangible sensation—and suddenly I felt completely peaceful.

The bunny image is a link to a site with lots of bubble-blowing recipes and ideas.
(I'd ignore the one about bubble blowing and early language,
unless you turn it around...)

"chores," TV-watching and health, some more Yes

Several new accounts of kids helping with housework, for fun, to be nice! http://sandradodd.com/chores/tales "House" fan gets mom a new diagnosis:
http://sandradodd.com/t/learning

New writing about saying yes, by Jenny Cyphers. http://sandradodd.com/yes.html

And below that is a story of when Kirby was little and "cross pollinated" some piles of armor, and tripped over a string. The story builds up to other things. The nice young man about 30 who is mentioned in that writing was my friend Leif Ivarson (Bill Hammond) who died last week and so for my friends who knew him, I'm noting that.
(an SCA memorial page for him—on my site, but not about unschooling)

The photo is a link to Jenny Cyphers' blog.

Sacramento conference, teens, "same and different"

HSC advance-registration time has been extended (JULY 18! Do it today if you've been stalling), and there's a cute video preview/advertisement for the conference. I have it here, with a list of my own presentations:
http://sandradodd.blogspot.com/2010/07/kirby-and-i-will-be-here.html

Teens who came later to unschooling
http://sandradodd.com/teen/latertounschooling
Not new, but spruced up.

Same and Different: Easy answers and second looks
A HREF="http://thinkingsticks.blogspot.com/2010/07/same-and-different-easy-answers-and.html
Many answers that seemed obvious to us in childhood look different in the light of years and experience.

HSC schedule, Kids KNOWing, and TV in Spain

These things are not "on my site" directly, thought what's quoted below will be at some point.

The schedule for the HSC conference in Sacramento is online. Kirby and have been added in to a discussion on video games (Rose Sorooshian is the organizer; her boyfriend Daniel is the assistant organizer, and then Kirby, Pam Sorooshian and I have been invited as add-ons. That's at 4:00 Friday afternoon.

My 2:00 Friday talk is "Partnerships" (in case the typo confused you).

I'm presenting something every day, sometimes two or three things.

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There was a piece on TV in Spain on the evening of July 4, and it's linked here:
http://unschooling.blogspot.com/2010/07/spanish-tv-coverage-of-homeschooling.html

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Renee Cabatic is the mother of nine-year-old twins and has two new stories about their bodily awareness:

2 sweet stories about sweets

First one:

We were at a bar-b-q party and a 5 yr old friend dug into the cooler, pulled out a coke-a-cola and asked his Ma could he have it.
She said, "Heavens no, especially with that chocolate cake on your plate."
She then looked at me asking, "How do you do it?"
I told her, "I don't restrict what my kids eat," and pointed to their plates. XuMei had watermelon, strawberries, green beans and chocolate cake on her plate. Xander had chosen salmon, corn on the cob, watermelon, strawberries and a root beer to drink.
Later I was telling Chris (my spouse) the story and Xander, who I thought was asleep in the back of the van, perked up and said, "The trick is, there is no trick."

Second one:
At a second party the next day a Mom friend was having an upset tummy and she asked XuMei what she might do to feel better. XuMei said whenever her tummy hurts it's one of two things: either she is hungry or she needs to poop. The Mom friend was impressed because she felt the cause of her upset tummy was having over eaten the desserts at the potluck. She commented to me how great it was that XuMei had such a healthy relationship to food. XuMei has no need to over eat.

Renee Cabatic
Ma to Xander and XuMei (9)

That was sent to the Always Learning list, and I'll quote it on my pages about eating, later, sometime. I thought it was too valuable to risk losing though, so I'm putting it here.

Dads, Getting Appreciation, monkey platter, cake

a new link on the dads page:
http://sandradodd.com/dads
Living and Learning as a Father in an Unschooling Family
Drew, unschooling father of three, writes about unschooling from the point of view of a teacher (and more).

"Getting kids (and spouses!) to appreciate what you do," by Joyce Fetteroll
http://sandradodd.com/chores/appreciation
(Originally on Family RUNning; link is on the page there.)

Image and text in the area of Monkey Platters ("We call it a rat plate.")
http://sandradodd.com/eating/ratplate

Another beautiful image added to the Cake page, from Melinda Gates (top righthand column):
http://sandradodd.com/cake

Notes on my planned events and activities:
http://sandradodd.blogspot.com/2010/06/back-home-back-to-business.html

Movies, teens, service, ACE Festival

More movies that remind an unschooler of unschooling:
http://sandradodd.com/t/movies
Anne Mills list, at the bottom (and other lists you might not have seen lately, or ever)

Something by Lyla Wolfenstein:
"a message to parents of teens: the illusion of control - a fairy tale of truthful proportions"
http://sandradodd.com/teen/control

This isn't new, but it is obscure and still interesting. When I put Lyla's piece up, I cleaned up a few corners and bits of the teen pages. What I did mention in a discussion at the time, but didn't mention on the page, is that someone who professionally worked with teenaged employees through a school program was very impressed with Kirby (not knowing he hadn't ever gone to school; that would have made a difference to her opinion, I think, but I don't know what kind of difference).
http://sandradodd.com/kirbyatdions

Something about service, by Vanessa, right-hand column here:
http://sandradodd.com/service

In early 2011, January 7-10, a home-ed family with a five year old boy will be visiting in Albuquerque, and others are invited to come and hang out. The first of the details are here:
http://sandradodd.com/ace
It won't be a conference with a site and speakers, but an opportunity to meet others informally.

Teens helping, physicality, Big Book review

Alysia woke up to several clean rooms "as if the cleaning fairies had come last night."
http://sandradodd.com/chores/tales
(second item)

Physicality; when kids need more activity
A collection of ideas from Pat Robinson (aka wuweimama)
http://sandradodd.com/physicality

Review of The Big Book of Unschooling (with comments on the web page, as well)
http://kelly.halldorson.com/blog/?p=678