Anytime I go to Smart and Final, I buy a bag of dry ice. It is so much fun to play with.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Fun in the Sun
We live close to the Venice Beach Boardwalk. A place that is full of different types of people. Homeless, drug addicts, skateboarders, surfers, musicians, chess players, kids, artists, tarot card readers, etc. I love going there with the kids for people watching and pupusa eating.
Anytime I go to Smart and Final, I buy a bag of dry ice. It is so much fun to play with.
Anytime I go to Smart and Final, I buy a bag of dry ice. It is so much fun to play with.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
We've Made It!
I've actually made it through our first "official" year of not going to school. Summer is almost here and I have made it! It is only getting better and free-er. This year has been the most transformative year of my life. Nothing has changed me more than starting unschooling. As I continue to let go, I find myself happier, more confident, creative and my life feels like it has a meaning that I was really missing before. When we started unschooling I thought it was mostly about the kids and as we have gotten deeper & deeper into it it is clearly about us. Me and Erick. We are constantly learning and reflecting on ourselves.
The hardest part continues to be dealing with loved ones who quietly disapprove. I hate quiet disapproval. I've talked to some other unschoolers who say "They just smile and let others have their illusions". Whatever that means. I don't know but I look forward to the day where I don't care about this anymore.
I wonder what summer will be like. It's our first summer where having the kids around will not "feel" different. We will be enjoying each other, the hot weather, swimming, beaches, etc without the concept of having time off. We will continue to learn of course because that is what unschooling is all about. Life = Learning :-)
The hardest part continues to be dealing with loved ones who quietly disapprove. I hate quiet disapproval. I've talked to some other unschoolers who say "They just smile and let others have their illusions". Whatever that means. I don't know but I look forward to the day where I don't care about this anymore.
I wonder what summer will be like. It's our first summer where having the kids around will not "feel" different. We will be enjoying each other, the hot weather, swimming, beaches, etc without the concept of having time off. We will continue to learn of course because that is what unschooling is all about. Life = Learning :-)
Friday, May 22, 2009
Frank Z
I never knew that Frank Zappa and I had so much in common. Why didn't I know this earlier?
One of my favorite quotes thus far:
"Drop out of school before your mind rots from exposure to our
mediocre educational system. Forget about the Senior Prom and
go to the library and educate yourself if you've got any guts.
Some of you like pep rallies and plastic robots who tell you what
to read. Forget I mentioned it... Rise for the flag salute."
Frank Zappa
One of my favorite quotes thus far:
"Drop out of school before your mind rots from exposure to our
mediocre educational system. Forget about the Senior Prom and
go to the library and educate yourself if you've got any guts.
Some of you like pep rallies and plastic robots who tell you what
to read. Forget I mentioned it... Rise for the flag salute."
Frank Zappa
Monday, May 18, 2009
On being the only one...
I feel like I am changing quite a bit right now. All of this blogging and twittering and reading is finally sinking in. I am starting to notice how different I am becoming compared to my traditionally minded friends. I was visiting a good pal Saturday night and there were a few tense moments regarding things like giving choices (when do you want to sit down and eat?)*yikes* (there are no choices!) and basic childlike behavior (get me a drink!). I could tell she was kind of appalled by how I respond to my kids. I think it confused her. Maybe she has just become aware of this or she started reading my blog. Who knows! Or...I am actually becoming more of the parent that I would like to be! (yay!!) I used to act differently around certain social situations and would put my adult friends comfort levels ahead of my own children. Now I am much less inclined to do this and instead I try to communicate why I have chosen not to treat and talk to my kids in certain ways. For instance, My friend said to one of the kids,"It would be nice if you said you were sorry"...I could tell she was bummed that I was not backing her up. I explained that I would like for them to actually feel what it's like to be authentically sorry. That I thought putting words and feelings onto my kids was actually doing a disservice. I see that she is concerned with politeness and manners, don't get me wrong, I love a person with polite manners (if they are real)! I think that in the long run my kids will become nicer, kinder and more thoughtful people if given the chance to have authentic feelings and be able to respond to others in their own personal, real way. I model manners for my boys and I think this is the single best way for them to learn how and when to say things like "I am sorry" instead of being taught and saying things without actually meaning it. I have been a bit sad about all of this. I hope that my relationships with my "traditional" friends do not get upended by my non traditional ways, like we are bad influences! LOL. I guess this is the chance I am taking. I have been thinking a lot about this and at the end of the day I have to ask myself why would I want a friend who did not support me in this life path. This path that is so very important to me and has become one of my life's biggest passions.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Spider Zoo Spider Babies!
Jules has been into catching spiders. We caught a black widow last week and kept it for a few days, watched it, learned about it and then let it go free down the alley near a tree. This week we have caught several spiders in a jar. To my utter amazement, last night one of the spiders had babies! I cannot believe how much they have grown in just one day. Amazing, truly amazing!!
In the picture above you can see 2 more egg sacks under the rock to the bottom left!
I just think this is the coolest!
In the picture above you can see 2 more egg sacks under the rock to the bottom left!
I just think this is the coolest!Monday, May 11, 2009
Indigos
I am copying this very informative report regarding the phenomenon of indigo children. I think all 3 of my children exhibit a lot of these qualities but mostly my middle guy. He is my child who has given me the gift of searching outside of the mainstream to find what will serve him best in his upbringing. I would answer "yes" to about 80% of the attributes for him. Luckily he has not been in an academic situation where he is being told "what" to do therefore no damage has been done as far as him getting any negative messages from teachers, etc. He is extremely focused when something interests him, unusually active and he gets angry when he is treated unequally. The second half of this document gives ideas on how parents can change to benefit the child.
The Challenge of the Indigo Children
by David A. Hill
Come mothers and fathers throughout the land
And don’t criticize what you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin’.
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend a hand,
For the times they are a-changin’.
(Bob Dylan: The times they are a-changin’ (1967))
The Issue:
Contemporary children are different.They display
• a new and unusual set of psychological attributes
• patterns of behaviour which have not been documented before
Are there children in your class(es) who display (some of) these characteristics?
• Much less likely than the other children in class to pay attention to school work and make seemingly inexplicable mistakes.
• Appear to have substantially more difficulty sustaining concentration when engaged in practical or play activities.
• Seem unable to listen even when spoken to directly.
• Do not complete tasks which they have been given.
• Unable to get hold of themselves and the set task sufficiently to organize their thoughts and plan a reasonable course of action, yet they do understand what is expected of them when questioned.
• Actively avoid and clearly dislike tasks and activities that demand sustained concentration and thought.
• Regularly manage to lose things – school items such as pens ans pencils, but also precious personal things like toys.
• Easily distracted, turning towards movement and noise. ‘Over-alert’.
• Forget routine tasks.
• Appear restless in all situations.
• Show a clear pattern of wandering around the room when the task demands that they are seated.
• Take any opportunity for running around or climbing.
• Do not engage in quiet play.
• Seem persistently active, with little need for rest periods.
• Say things which are not thought out; talk for the sake of it.
• Raise hands and blurt out answers before the question is finished, and the real answer can be known.
• Have real problems turn-taking.
• Have weak social skills; unable to join conversations and play other than by barging in.
• This behaviour in not a recent phenomenon.
Such children are described as exhibiting the three behaviours of:
• Attention difficulties
• Hyperactivity
• Impulsivity.
At best, they are labelled as being a nuisance, uncooperative, hyperactive, antisocial, negative, out of control……
In the worst case, they are labelled as having ADD (Attention Deficiency Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder)
The major answer to such behaviour by the authorities (Educational, Social and Medical) is to prescribe psychotropic drugs based on amphetamines:
Ritalin (Methylphenidate), Dexedrine (Dexamphetamine), Cylert, Tofranil, Norpamin, Prozac, Paxil….
There has been a significant increase in the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD and subsequent prescription of Ritalin etc. in the past 20 years:
USA
• In 1990 900, 000 children were on Ritalin
• In 2000 5 million children were on Ritalin
AUSTRALIA
• 1 in every 36 boys in New South Wales, Australia takes Ritalin
UK
• In 1992 2,000 prescriptions for Ritalin were written
• In 1999 158, 000 prescriptions for Ritalin were written
• In 2001 254, 000 prescriptions for Ritalin were written
• 73, 200 6-16 year-olds in England & Wales have been diagnosed with severe ADHD
• 1.7% of the population/6-8% of the child population has been diagnosed as having ADHD
The system has tried to ascribe the increase in ADD/ADHD to a range of causes, from poor parenting, to inadequate (junk food) diet, to environmental issues (TV/Computer abuse), to changes in parts of the brain that control impulses and concentration, and which are genetic.
However, what actually seems to be happening is that we are in the middle of a visible stage of human evolution, with new generations moving onto another plane of which the establishment is completely unaware and unable to cope with.
THE INDIGO CHILDREN HAVE ARRIVED
Why ‘Indigo’ Children?
In 1982, Nancy Ann Tappe published Understanding Your Life through Colour in which she classified certain types of human attributes which seemed to correlate to the colours of the electromagnetic field surrounding all living things – in the case of humans, the auric field. She found that a deep blue colour was being seen in about 80% of children born after 1980. She called this colour ‘indigo’.
The term was then coined by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober for their ground-breaking book 1999 on the new children.
It is no coincidence that ‘indigo’ is also the colour at which the 6th chakra – the so-called ‘third eye’ - primarily spins. This is the chakra which regulates psychic phenomena.
The ten most common traits of Indigo Children are:
• they have a feeling of royalty
• they feel they deserve to be here
• self-worth is not very important to them
• they have difficulty with absolute authority
• they simply won’t do certain things
• they get frustrated with ritual-oriented systems
• they often see better ways of doing things
• they often seem antisocial
• they do not respond to ‘guilt’ discipline
• they tell you what they need
They respond best when treated like a respected adult.
They are also usually:
• headstrong and strong-willed
• isolationist
• easily bored
• seek real, deep and lasting friendships
• bond easily with plants and animals
The Indigo Child at School
At school this means they behave differently in important areas of classroom activity:
Knowledge
They can suck up knowledge like a sponge, especially if they like or are drawn to a subject, which makes them very advanced in their areas of interest
Experience
They know that experiencing life helps them learn best, so they create the experiences they need to help them with their current problem or area where they need to grow.
Relationships
They respond best when treated like a respected adult/equal. If you’re not playing your part of the relationship properly, they feel justified in challenging you about it.
Learning
They have an inherent strong determination to work things through for themselves and only want outside guidance if it’s presented to them with respect and within a format of true choice. They prefer to work things out for themselves.
Indigo Children live instinctively.
Education systems require research-based proof.
Indigo Children have self-esteem and a positive self-image.
Education systems require a socially acceptable ‘self’.
Indigo Children need discipline which is logical and realistic.
Educational systems have rigid and fixed rules of punishment.
Indigo Children need choices and the opportunity for experience.
Educational systems give orders and limit choice and experience.
Working with Indigo Children
• Treat them with respect
• Help them create their own disciplinary solutions
• Give them choices about everything
• Never belittle them
• Always explain why you give them instructions
• Make them partners in bringing them up
• Explain everything you are doing to them
• Let them decide what they are interested in
• Avoid negative criticism. Offer support and encouragement.
SOME RESOURCES
Books:
Carroll L/Tober J (1999) The Indigo Children.
Carlsbad, Ca: Hay House
Carroll L/Tober J (2001) An Indigo Celebration.
Carlsbad, Ca: Hay House
Lancaster D (2002) Anger and the Indigo Child.
Boulder, co: Wellness Press
Virtue D (2001) The Care and Feeding of Indigo Children.
Carlsbad, Ca: Hay House
IndigoWebsites:
www.indigo.com
www.metagifted.org/topics/metagifted/indigo (Wendy H. Chapman)
The Challenge of the Indigo Children
by David A. Hill
Come mothers and fathers throughout the land
And don’t criticize what you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin’.
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend a hand,
For the times they are a-changin’.
(Bob Dylan: The times they are a-changin’ (1967))
The Issue:
Contemporary children are different.They display
• a new and unusual set of psychological attributes
• patterns of behaviour which have not been documented before
Are there children in your class(es) who display (some of) these characteristics?
• Much less likely than the other children in class to pay attention to school work and make seemingly inexplicable mistakes.
• Appear to have substantially more difficulty sustaining concentration when engaged in practical or play activities.
• Seem unable to listen even when spoken to directly.
• Do not complete tasks which they have been given.
• Unable to get hold of themselves and the set task sufficiently to organize their thoughts and plan a reasonable course of action, yet they do understand what is expected of them when questioned.
• Actively avoid and clearly dislike tasks and activities that demand sustained concentration and thought.
• Regularly manage to lose things – school items such as pens ans pencils, but also precious personal things like toys.
• Easily distracted, turning towards movement and noise. ‘Over-alert’.
• Forget routine tasks.
• Appear restless in all situations.
• Show a clear pattern of wandering around the room when the task demands that they are seated.
• Take any opportunity for running around or climbing.
• Do not engage in quiet play.
• Seem persistently active, with little need for rest periods.
• Say things which are not thought out; talk for the sake of it.
• Raise hands and blurt out answers before the question is finished, and the real answer can be known.
• Have real problems turn-taking.
• Have weak social skills; unable to join conversations and play other than by barging in.
• This behaviour in not a recent phenomenon.
Such children are described as exhibiting the three behaviours of:
• Attention difficulties
• Hyperactivity
• Impulsivity.
At best, they are labelled as being a nuisance, uncooperative, hyperactive, antisocial, negative, out of control……
In the worst case, they are labelled as having ADD (Attention Deficiency Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder)
The major answer to such behaviour by the authorities (Educational, Social and Medical) is to prescribe psychotropic drugs based on amphetamines:
Ritalin (Methylphenidate), Dexedrine (Dexamphetamine), Cylert, Tofranil, Norpamin, Prozac, Paxil….
There has been a significant increase in the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD and subsequent prescription of Ritalin etc. in the past 20 years:
USA
• In 1990 900, 000 children were on Ritalin
• In 2000 5 million children were on Ritalin
AUSTRALIA
• 1 in every 36 boys in New South Wales, Australia takes Ritalin
UK
• In 1992 2,000 prescriptions for Ritalin were written
• In 1999 158, 000 prescriptions for Ritalin were written
• In 2001 254, 000 prescriptions for Ritalin were written
• 73, 200 6-16 year-olds in England & Wales have been diagnosed with severe ADHD
• 1.7% of the population/6-8% of the child population has been diagnosed as having ADHD
The system has tried to ascribe the increase in ADD/ADHD to a range of causes, from poor parenting, to inadequate (junk food) diet, to environmental issues (TV/Computer abuse), to changes in parts of the brain that control impulses and concentration, and which are genetic.
However, what actually seems to be happening is that we are in the middle of a visible stage of human evolution, with new generations moving onto another plane of which the establishment is completely unaware and unable to cope with.
THE INDIGO CHILDREN HAVE ARRIVED
Why ‘Indigo’ Children?
In 1982, Nancy Ann Tappe published Understanding Your Life through Colour in which she classified certain types of human attributes which seemed to correlate to the colours of the electromagnetic field surrounding all living things – in the case of humans, the auric field. She found that a deep blue colour was being seen in about 80% of children born after 1980. She called this colour ‘indigo’.
The term was then coined by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober for their ground-breaking book 1999 on the new children.
It is no coincidence that ‘indigo’ is also the colour at which the 6th chakra – the so-called ‘third eye’ - primarily spins. This is the chakra which regulates psychic phenomena.
The ten most common traits of Indigo Children are:
• they have a feeling of royalty
• they feel they deserve to be here
• self-worth is not very important to them
• they have difficulty with absolute authority
• they simply won’t do certain things
• they get frustrated with ritual-oriented systems
• they often see better ways of doing things
• they often seem antisocial
• they do not respond to ‘guilt’ discipline
• they tell you what they need
They respond best when treated like a respected adult.
They are also usually:
• headstrong and strong-willed
• isolationist
• easily bored
• seek real, deep and lasting friendships
• bond easily with plants and animals
The Indigo Child at School
At school this means they behave differently in important areas of classroom activity:
Knowledge
They can suck up knowledge like a sponge, especially if they like or are drawn to a subject, which makes them very advanced in their areas of interest
Experience
They know that experiencing life helps them learn best, so they create the experiences they need to help them with their current problem or area where they need to grow.
Relationships
They respond best when treated like a respected adult/equal. If you’re not playing your part of the relationship properly, they feel justified in challenging you about it.
Learning
They have an inherent strong determination to work things through for themselves and only want outside guidance if it’s presented to them with respect and within a format of true choice. They prefer to work things out for themselves.
Indigo Children live instinctively.
Education systems require research-based proof.
Indigo Children have self-esteem and a positive self-image.
Education systems require a socially acceptable ‘self’.
Indigo Children need discipline which is logical and realistic.
Educational systems have rigid and fixed rules of punishment.
Indigo Children need choices and the opportunity for experience.
Educational systems give orders and limit choice and experience.
Working with Indigo Children
• Treat them with respect
• Help them create their own disciplinary solutions
• Give them choices about everything
• Never belittle them
• Always explain why you give them instructions
• Make them partners in bringing them up
• Explain everything you are doing to them
• Let them decide what they are interested in
• Avoid negative criticism. Offer support and encouragement.
SOME RESOURCES
Books:
Carroll L/Tober J (1999) The Indigo Children.
Carlsbad, Ca: Hay House
Carroll L/Tober J (2001) An Indigo Celebration.
Carlsbad, Ca: Hay House
Lancaster D (2002) Anger and the Indigo Child.
Boulder, co: Wellness Press
Virtue D (2001) The Care and Feeding of Indigo Children.
Carlsbad, Ca: Hay House
IndigoWebsites:
www.indigo.com
www.metagifted.org/topics/metagifted/indigo (Wendy H. Chapman)
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