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    theresa


    Theresa Lode or, simply “T”, had her world turned upside down and inside out when her son was diagnosed with ADHD and a few other goodies. Her choice- follow the doctor's orders....or trust her heart and delve into the world of Free Range Education. She chose the latter...

    Curious? Want to know more? Read on ...

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Starry, starry night

Posted on January 15, 2009 by therealmotherlode

I have my sister to thank for making me aware of this wonderful, bittersweet video.  Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists.  (Perhaps in part because I married into a family with a Dutch last name?)  Nah, not really.

To me Van Gogh is a man who came fully alive and did what he was born to do.  But it was a bittersweet gift as Van Gogh struggled with depression.  (How on earth could anyone capture the emotion in “The Potato Eaters” without experiencing depression first hand?)

I heard a story years ago on Paul Harvey that speculated that perhaps Van Gogh’s depression and ultimate suicide were a result of a toxic element in his paint.

I have a theory of my own.  I think anytime there is tremendous gifting, there can be tremendous challenges.  And sadly our human nature is to point at the challenges and overlook the amazing gifting that lies on the flip side.  (Hello?  Entrepreneurs with ADD/ADHD?  Dyslexic artists? Strong willed child turned amazing leader?)

I say this because Van Gogh’s dad, Theodoris,  figured that if Van Gogh didn’t “fit the mold” then it was Vincent who was defective….not the mold.  Might that attitude have played a role in Vincent’s mental torture?

Or perhaps the other theory is correct: It was a dangerous element in the beautiful paint. One can only speculate.

If your kid’s got a label, teach them how to cope with the challenges, let ‘em loose with the paint and watch their masterpiece unfold.

Filed under: ADD/ADHD, Individuality, Labels are for Soup Cans, parenting, Personal development | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

A Parent to Parent Chat on ADHD

Posted on November 15, 2008 by therealmotherlode
A Parent to Parent Chat on ADHD

A Parent to Parent Chat on ADHD

Just had to share a few comments that I’ve received from parents who read my ebook:

Pam, via email:

I read and re-read your book and gained so much peace from it I was able to put the worry behind me and just let it soak in for a while.  Thank you!  Thank youfor writing the book.  I loved it.  I have gone back and referenced certain parts again and again.  Bless you!

We are making our way through this.  She is thriving in school, has been identified as “Gifted and Talented”  and is the top reader in her class for once.  Her self esteem has returned.
Your book is a god send!

Trish from TN-

I just now read your e-book you forwarded to me.  Whew.  What a lot of information.  I loved it.

Again, thanks for all you do.  And taking a few minutes to guide me.  I feel like GOD has put certain people in my path, be it in footpaths or an e-path.

Wayne from CA:

What a resource.  And I love your humorous and breezy wit in dealing with a tense subject…

And one more, Jean from TN:

What a great read.  You’re a gifted writer.  Once I started, I couldn’t stop.

Interesting in buying a copy?  (Cost is $5.95)  Shoot me an email at theresalode81{at} yahoo {dot} com.

Filed under: ADD/ADHD, Labels are for Soup Cans | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Get out of the way!

Posted on November 13, 2008 by therealmotherlode

The longer I watch how my children learn the more I learn that the greatest thing I can do in instructing them is….are you ready for this one….Get out of the way.

Children are natural learners.  Now granted, they don’t naturally want to learn their multiplication.  (Though a PBS progam on “Fractals” a few weeks ago captured everyone’s attention.)  Let’s face it, some of the necessary things in life aren’t real thrilling to learn.  (And this is why I could never fully call myself an “unschooler.”)

If you read from a few days ago I outlined how *I* would go about getting chickens versus how Daniel goes about getting chickens.

Since that time, the chicken are doing well, much to my surprise.  And part of this is because Daniel, realizing his first chicken coop was a bit shabby, spent the entire day constructing a rock solid chicken coop, complete with braces, a hinged door and a nesting shelf.  Did I mention the porch?  This afternoon, he is getting it wired.  (“By the way, I’ll need eight-gauge wire to compensate for line loss if I wire my fort, Mom.”)

If I had it my way, we’d be waiting for the “How to Raise Chickens” guide from Amazon.  And Daniel would have long ago lost interest.

This quote is apropos:

Never tell people how to do things.  Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

George S. Patton

Filed under: homeschooling, Individuality, Labels are for Soup Cans, Personal development | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

The Box business

Posted on November 11, 2008 by therealmotherlode

My friend Dan Miller wrote a brilliant piece today entitled “Serving Customers or Making Cars?”  In it he talks about how many businesses are more focused on creating demand for their products instead of truly listening to the customers’ needs.  IE…the American auto industry that continues to pump out cars with a 5-year life span instead of high quality ones.  Gotta keep ‘em coming back, eh?

It really made me thing about The Box business.  A while ago, I wrote about how Vincent Van Gogh’s dad, Theodoris, was a man who insisted that if his son didn’t fit the mold it was his kid that was off- not the mold.

Much of our educational system is based upon The Box.  No Child Left Behind, Pre-kindergarten (and hang on to your seatbelts because it’s probably just a matter of time before pre-K becomes mandatory), Achievement tests….pity the poor child who doesn’t fit well within these things- within The Box.

The Box has a whole industry created around it.  If your child has a learning difference or any sort of difference, it is classified and deemed pathological.  Therapy and medication are needed! Whole new specialties are formed.  Perhaps before long universities will be offered PhD’s in Boxology.  Oh, wait…they already have that, it’s just known under different names.

You see, my son Daniel learns differently.  His approach to chickens differs greatly from my approach to chickens.  In my world, I could get a book….read….carefully construct a coop….select the breed….etc… Everyone knows this is how it’s done properly, right?

Actually, I lied.  Because of all those steps I just lined out, I would never get a chicken.  Too much dang work!

Daniel’s approach?  Get the chickens and then run sliding and sailing and slipping in the mud of the sheer exhilarating joy of learning.

It’s the same way he’s learned about aquariums and tropical fish and electricity and plumbing and construction and…..

My most important role is to get out of the way…not insist he learn the way I do.

You’d think I’d learn by now!

Filed under: ADD/ADHD, homeschooling, Individuality, Labels are for Soup Cans | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Is ADD/ADHD real?

Posted on August 23, 2008 by therealmotherlode

If want a sure and swift way to finish off life on planet earth as we know it, just pit the “ADD/ADHD is a real mental health affliction” crowd against the “ADD/ADHD is a fake diagnosis fabricated by a massive pharmaceutical conspiracy” crowd and watch the fun begin. (From a safe distance that is.)

ADD/ADHD’s reality…or not…is hotly contested by some pretty impressive people, many with initials after their names.  In perusing the website for CHADD (Children and Adults with ADD) I read a blog in which it was stated that Michael Savage was blasting away at the validity of ADD on one of his shows.  (I think he blasts away at whatever he talks about, actually.)

I personally don’t care for Michael Savage’s vitriolic style.  But I can sympathize to a certain extent over what I feel is a LOT of diagnosing.  But I will say this….may that man find himself in a room full of true ADHD’ers and we’ll see who comes out a believer.

So where do I stand?  Yes.  And no.  Yes….it is real.  And no….you can keep your crummy title to yourself, thank you very much.  How’s that for ambiguous?

I’m not trying to be cheeky.  I’m of the opinion that ADD/ADHD, only called that since the early 80′s when it received it’s official “it’s a disorder” certification in the land of medicine, isn’t a disorder as much as a learning style/creative genius gift.  And yes, for some, it does create some very real challenges.  Welcome to life.

And I think it’s “prevalence” is wildly on the increase as our educational models become more machine like.  Programs like the ridiculous “No Child Left Behind” only serve to further alienate and stigmatize those whose creative bent and learning styles don’t fit well in an institution.

I’m also of the opinion that boys in particular have an internal, God-given (delicate readers, look away- I’m about to use a cuss word) Bullshit meters that cause a major resistance to learning twaddle and irrelevant jibber-jabber.  We should be thanking God for this natural grounding but instead Johnny’s scolded because he’s not paying attention in school.

Do you spend your free time pursuing subjects you loathe?  Do you hang out with people that irritate you on the weekends? (Family not included, that is. ;) ) Do enjoy spending hours organizing paper clips?

Hopefully, you’ve answered “no” to those questions.  But yet for thousands of children everyday…this is their life when they trudge off to the school bus at 6:30 in the morning to spend the day studying things they hate, with people they dislike, doing irrelevant busy work.

But it’s school!  I can hear those cries of protest. That’s what children DO!

Yep.  And look where that’s gotten us.  90 some percent of Americans hate their jobs.  Our prison populations are swelling.  And for that matter…so has our girth.  We’re one of the most highly “Schooled” countries in the world…and yet we consistently lag beyond other industrialized countries.  When will the educational “experts” learn the difference between schooling and education?

Something’s wrong with this picture and my contention is—it ain’t that wiggly boy sitting in the desk.

Filed under: homeschooling | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

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