Sandra is a long-time unschooling mom of three—Kirby, Marty, and Holly—who are now adults. She’s also the creator of the awesome unschooling resource, sandradodd.com.

In today’s episode, I ask her ten questions about her unschooling experience.

Quote of the Week

“If your child is more important than your vision of your child, life becomes easier.” ~ Sandra Dodd

Ten Questions for Sandra

1. I’ve always loved your short essay, “Rejecting a Pre-Packaged Life.” I’ve linked to it in my intro to unschooling materials for years. I’m pretty sure I first came across it way back in 2002 and the paradigm shift you talk about was both fundamental and inspiring at the beginning of my unschooling journey. Can you talk a bit about that shift?

2. Before you began unschooling, you were a teacher. What were some of the challenges to learning that you saw in the classroom environment?

3. When you children were young, I imagine that with three at home sometimes conflicts arose. Can you share some of the ways you approached them?

4. As your children got older and spent more time in activities in the community, what were some of the differences you noticed between the schooled and unschooled kids?

5. One topic that pops up pretty regularly in unschooling groups is online safety—there’s a lot of fear wrapped up in there. How did you handle that?

6. Another essay of yours that I love is “Public School on Your Own Terms.” In it, you talk about how, even if unschooling isn’t an option for a family at the time, there are ways to lessen the power that school exerts over their lives. Can you share some of those ideas?

7. Your children have taken some college courses over the years. Can you share a couple of stories about their experiences?

8. What’s life like for you and your husband now that all your children have moved out? Can you still feel the influence of the unschooling lifestyle in your days?

9. You’ve continued volunteering your time and effort in the unschooling community—answering questions online, speaking, sending out Just Add Light And Stir blog posts every day, and maintaining your extensive and amazing website. That’s awesome for us all! I’d love to hear what has drawn you to stay involved, even after your children have become adults.

10. Looking back now, what, for you, has been the most valuable outcome from choosing unschooling?

Links to things mentioned in the show

Sandra’s extensive unschooling website: sandradodd.com

Sandra’s daily inspirational posts: Just Add Light and Stir

Sandra’s essay: Rejecting a Pre-Packaged Life

Sandra’s Marty story details: What do you say about sex?

Sandra’s essay: Public School on Your Own Terms

Sandra’s yahoo email list: Always Learning

You can find Sandra in the Facebook group: Radical Unschooling Info

Sandra’s magical unschooling search page: is here

If you’d like to submit a question for an upcoming Q&A episode, just go to livingjoyfully.ca/podcast.