childhood *is* life…

When we adults think of children there is a simple truth that we ignore: childhood is not preparation for life; childhood is life. A child isn’t getting ready to live; a child is living. No child will miss the zest and joy of living unless these are denied by adults who have convinced themselves that [...]

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The Disadvantages of Time-Out

I periodically need this article for our local AP group.  Don’t get me started on why I should have to defend children from people who supposedly practice “gentle discipline.”  It’s inconceivable to me why people think it is acceptable to treat others this way.  The last time I needed it, I couldn’t find it.  So, in order [...]

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Dayna Martin: What is Radical Unschooling?

More on Alfie Kohn’s pendulum explanation:

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punished by rewards

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Alfie Kohn on why time-outs are ineffective

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Song for a Fifth Child

….because children aren’t children for long….
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
Mother, oh Mother,
come shake out your cloth,
empty the dustpan,
poison the moth,
hang out the washing
and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house
is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery,
blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little
Boy Blue (lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are [...]

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