skoodlekids

Hi all,
I have been lurking here for a few months now. We have been
homeschooling for three years, starting as what one might call,
relaxed homeschoolers, and quickly discovering that unschooling made
everyone happier (before we really even came to the
term 'unschooling'). Once we discovered the term for it, we came to
more information on radical unschooling and are currently devouring
everything we can read on the topic and making gradual yet important
changes each day! We hope to attend the NEU conference too.

That said, as far as 'school' we are great at unschooling and
strewing, we also have easily relaxed our limits on bedtimes, tv,
food and chores and are seeing the positive results. We have an 8
month old ds, 6 and 8 year old dd, and a 14 year old (my step son,
although we have custody, his mom will not allow us to homeschool
him...on a side note, he received a detention the other day for
being "non productive in studyhall" - he was reading a skateboarding
magazine, aarrgghh - but that is another topic for another place!)
Our challenge is really more the smaller, yet important, daily
frustrations: sibling squabbles, meltdowns, and more importantly -
my frustration point being lower than I would like.

Long post, so sorry, but I am getting to my question - really! I am
finding it useful to have some internal dialogue to help me to think
before I speak and to choose my words and actions
carefully. 'Breathe', 'How can I help?', 'What if this were the
last day with my beautiful babies?'...these are helping me. I am
working on putting reminders all over (I am very visual) and would
love to hear other things you have said to yourself while in the
heat of the moment, as well as any daily mantras, to help remind me
to stop and think and make better choices.

Thanks so much!
Bonnie

Kelly Lovejoy

-----Original Message-----
From: skoodlekids <becummings@...>



I am finding it useful to have some internal dialogue to help me to think

before I speak and to choose my words and actions
carefully. 'Breathe', 'How can I help?', 'What if this were the
last day with my beautiful babies?'...these are helping me. I am
working on putting reminders all over (I am very visual) and would
love to hear other things you have said to yourself while in the
heat of the moment, as well as any daily mantras, to help remind me
to stop and think and make better choices.


-=-=-=-=-

"Don't be stupid!"

"Don't be mean!"

"It's not the unschooling, it's the _________!"

"He's only four (or nine or twelve or 16)!"

"How important IS this?"

"STOP!"

"What if he were dead?"

"What if I died in an hour? Is THIS how I'd want to be remembered?"

and finally: "WWJD?"---"What would Joyce do?" <g>







~Kelly












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raisingexplorers

I like to remember my favorite quote.. "Always changing, everything
for good.. nothing for nothing." by Flying Hawk a Sioux.

The "nothing," in the quote reminds me of "the nothing" in the
Neverending Story.. :D

--- In [email protected], "skoodlekids"
<becummings@...> wrote:
I am
> finding it useful to have some internal dialogue to help me to think
> before I speak and to choose my words and actions
> carefully. 'Breathe', 'How can I help?', 'What if this were the
> last day with my beautiful babies?'...these are helping me. I am
> working on putting reminders all over (I am very visual) and would
> love to hear other things you have said to yourself while in the
> heat of the moment, as well as any daily mantras, to help remind me
> to stop and think and make better choices.
>
> Thanks so much!
> Bonnie
>

Kelly Lovejoy

-----Original Message-----
From: raisingexplorers <raisingexplorers@...>







I like to remember my favorite quote.. "Always changing, everything
for good.. nothing for nothing." by Flying Hawk a Sioux.



-=-=-=-=-




Oh---another two for me:

"This too shall pass. Better carve it on your forehead or tattoo it on your ass." <G>

"Enjoy it while you've got it: you're going to miss it when it's gone!"




~Kelly








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Jodi Bezzola

My favourite in-the-moment tool is to remind myself to breeeeeaaaaaathe!!!  My other one is to give *myself* at time out :).
 
Jodi




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