Now my blog and my new gorgeous website have merged. Kind of. I may continue to post about family on this blog. But if you're looking for more writing about learning, unschooling, or my coaching practice, it will be at SuePatterson.com/blog. Also, I've been really into making graphics. So I may be sharing them here … Continue reading MY BLOG MOVED!
If you're creating a new gratitude project, don't overlook your own five senses: sight smell hearing touch taste Sometimes we're in our own heads too much, list-making and over-thinking. I invite you to take a deep breath – oh, go wild, and take three! Breathe in and hold for a few seconds, then release. Continue … Continue reading Gratitude & Your 5 Senses
Here we are in the holiday season celebrating with friends and family, some of whom we haven't seen in a while. While that's exciting, it can also be a little nerve-wracking. No one can push our buttons like family, right? When your sister asks why your 9-year-old isn't reading yet or your uncle wants to … Continue reading Naysayers at the Holidays
The world can bombard us with negatives: frightening news events, inconsiderate people, disappointing interactions. But research is showing that cultivating a sense of gratitude can help us switch our focus and remind us of the good things happening in our life right now. Establishing a daily practice of identifying “What Went Right Today,” and feeling … Continue reading Gratitude and Journals
Studies are showing the importance of playing. We've read Peter Gray's fabulous work on the topic. Research is indicating that not only will play lead to more creativity, but it also will help with problem-solving and critical thinking skills. When Michael, now 25, was forced to sit in a classroom all day for Kindergarten and 1st … Continue reading Your Brain on Play
"Buy this, and your kids will be smarter!" "Use this, you'll be more organized!" "Get this series and you will unleash their inner genius!" Or something like that. Ahh... the lure of curriculum. Marketing has targeted our community for some time now. Advertisers realize that while we are an independent lot, we still harbor a lot … Continue reading The Curriculum Crutch
Back in the '90's when the internet was still young... We had loaded up our car and we were moving to Alaska. Really. We were. My husband was in the Air Force and we had decided that on this move, we'd make the break with the school system and set out on our homeschooling adventure! An … Continue reading Our Own Curriculum Wars
Sometimes it helps to hear from those a little further down the path. When unschooled teens and young adults were surveyed in Homeschooled Teens (over 60% of the survey respondents were unschoolers!), they shared candidly about what their lives were like during their teenage years. Instead of seeing their family's educational choice as putting them at any … Continue reading Listening to the Teens
We don't live in an unschooling bubble, do we? Our kiddos have to get out there in the community and brush up with people who have no idea what we're trying to do. And while that's a good thing, in general, it can be tough when you're new to unschooling or feeling like you're on … Continue reading When People Quiz Your Kids
Someone asked me, "How does a parent who is fairly mainstream, transition to something as fringe as unschooling?"` I told her that that's our story! 😉 I shared how Michael went to school for Kindergarten and 1st grade, Katie went for Kindergarten only, and Alyssa did a little time in part-time preschool, then later, high school … Continue reading Are You Looking for A Sign?
This time of year, the whole country is focused on giving up playtime and getting kids ready to go back to school. Some unschoolers take advantage of the sales, others plan their own NOT-Back-to-School parties, and others head off on adventures with no nod toward society's preoccupation whatsoever. Regardless which camp you fall into, I'd … Continue reading Back to School is A-OK!
Three weeks ago, I was online with friends and we were talking about how many questions we have from people about unschooling. Since it was nearly time for school to start back up, many moms were struggling (and lots of kids were panicking) about the prospect of returning to school. I had spoken to a … Continue reading Unschooling Mom2Mom Facebook Group
Normally, I don't write anti-school blogposts. Many wonderful families who love their children use the school system and many more see school as their ticket to the American Dream. That's fine. I'm usually perfectly okay with people making decisions that differ from mine.But this time of year, I have twinge that doesn't want to go away. It … Continue reading Don’t Do It!
As I prep for the Texas Unschoolers' conference this weekend, I find myself reading a lot more Facebook posts. Parents write desperately about wanting their kids to learn more, show more initiative, stop playing computer games. They have this image of what they think learning looks like - and their children are not fitting that … Continue reading Swim with the Tide
We are in the final month of having a teen in our family. It's really hard to believe that "the baby" is turning 20 next month. I mention this, because when they were younger, I never would have thought that "Parenting Tips" would even BE a necessity when kids are grown. Not so. They are … Continue reading Parenting… It Ain’t What It Used to Be!
Unschooling is one of those terms that people love or hate. Or at least, the vocal people seem to shout from the far ends of the continuum, and then everyone reacts. It's been the same arguments for years now. I don't mind the term at all anymore. I used to avoid it, because I wasn't … Continue reading What Really Matters…
Today, Katie graduated from the New York Film Academy. Her first time in a cap and gown. After studying in New York and then taking her second year in Los Angeles, she finished with an associate degree in fine arts. For a lot of people, the college degree is the big deal. But for Katie, … Continue reading Endings and Beginnings
Before May is over, I wanted to share another "mom" post. I wrote this for my Teen Time column in The Homeschooler, the new national magazine for homeschoolers! When people are uncomfortable, they tend to rely on axioms and phrases that may or may not have any validity at all. Raising teenagers can sometimes put … Continue reading “I’m not your Friend, I’m your Mother!”
When I first stumbled upon Pinterest, I had no idea what I was playing with. Initially, it seemed like a fairly simple bookmarking system for those more visually inclined. This worked for me, because I am. But as word of Pinterest spread and I became more adept at using it, I felt like something new … Continue reading The Unschooling Pinterest Connection
Why are those two words never paired together? I've been reading about families who try to create environments that might coax their sons to write more. So I think it's time to share how we dealt with writing, when my son was growing up. I never really paid a lot of attention to Michael's penmanship … Continue reading Boys & Writing: Our Journey
A very simple video to show how always looking forward to something, prevents you from realizing that NOW matters. Don't waste your life always hoping for that next best thing! This video was written by Alan Watts, a British philosopher, writer, and speaker of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. The illustrations might look familiar … Continue reading Music and Life
On Valentine's weekend in 2005, Alyssa took on a project for Girl Scouts. I think she would have been happy to do this project regardless of the Bronze Award, but that was her catalyst. Alyssa had two dogs at the time: Hank, our People Pleaser, and Tasha, our Polar Bear. Because of her involvement with … Continue reading My Little Dog Lover
What an interesting man. It's been fascinating reading what he was like as a person, since his death last week. Evidently, his real life was very similar to his public persona: witty, smart, passionate about his work. In a speaking engagement, Roger Ebert talked about how movies are the best vehicle of all the … Continue reading Roger Ebert, Movies, & Unschooling
What would you like to do with your life if money didn't matter? How would you REALLY enjoy spending your life? Don't waste your life! Don't be miserable! How many times have we shelved what we really wanted to do, and opted for the safer route? Speaking for myself...plenty! Considering that we have a … Continue reading What If You Could Do What You REALLY Wanted?
I logged onto Facebook this morning to discover, thanks to the Peace Corps group, that TODAY is International Volunteer Day! They asked for anyone to share a story about their favorite volunteer. Well. That's easy for me! My favorite International Volunteer is my son, Michael Patterson. He is in his second year with the Peace … Continue reading Happy International Volunteer Day!
Unschooling is simply living a full rich life, offering opportunities to your child to learn and grow. For unschooling to work at its optimal level, the parent must be engaged with the child, probably more than if they chose another learning modality. Children are natural learners. They want information. But they do not necessarily know … Continue reading Explaining Unschooling…
Let me just start by saying that I love to throw a party. And when the kids were little, Halloween was such a fun excuse to host another party! We moved around with the military, so we had new places to explore all the time. And so many friends to hang out with! But it … Continue reading Reminiscing Halloween
I'm having a hard time coming up with the single Best Thing about being an unschooling family for the Unschooling Blog Carnival. For the longest time, The Best Thing was when I was reading to all 3 kids in my bed. Being able to touch all three at one time, was simply The Best Thing. But … Continue reading The Best Thing? As in ONE Best Thing??
This quote has been circulating through the unschooling community for years. Lately, it recurred on Facebook and several people shared some great links. Some question whether Albert Einstein actually said the quote. But that doesn't really matter. The quote itself has been a huge inspiration to me - possibly one of the reasons why we … Continue reading The Antidote for Animal School: Unschooling
Lifelong Learning 