Passion of the American Girl

Tiff and Ivy have best friends who are sisters. They live in Florida, and we live in New Hampshire. They manage to talk every single day and Skype regularly and have maintained an amazingly close relationship despite their distance.

A passion that keeps them all close are their mutual love for American Girl Dolls. It is the topic of most of their discussions and they connect deeply through this love for their dolls.

The girls best friends, who are also Unschooled, came for a visit. I decided to take them all for a day trip to the American Girl Doll store in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a three hour drive each way, but it was so worth it! We had a special best friends lunch together in honor of the girls friendship and they all brought their dolls along. It was a very sweet, touching experience as a grown woman to witness the love that they all shared. I surprised them with a special best friends cake and the dolls even had a piece!

Sometimes our children's passions are costly. American Girl Dolls cost $100 each and the accessories are hundreds of dollars. Over the last two years of my daughters passion, we have found ways to bring as much of these treasured dolls into their lives as possible. Craig's List has been a great source for gently used items, as well as eBay. More recently, I helped Tiff sell some old toys on eBay and at our local pawn shop to purchase the "Doll of the Year", Kanani. (We are anxiously awaiting her arrival in the mail.)

Connecting with our children and their interests is something very important to us as Radical Unschooling parents. Celebrating what they love is a pleasure and so important for our relationship. Whatever they are interested in at the time is the nucleus of their learning, and they have grown and learned so much through their interest in American Girl Dolls.

Although we do not break life down into subjects, if we were to, we would see that they have learned about history (many of the dolls are historical figures), reading,(AG Magazine) spelling/writing (communicating with other AG fans and learning all about them online), math (calculating costs of dolls and accessories) Woodworking, )The girls have each made many pieces of furniture by hand and used measurements/math, to do so) Art, (they have made play foods out of polymer clay and used every craft material known to man to make fun accessories). Music, (each of them have made stop-animation videos, which uses so many skills). The list of all they that have learned, spanning all of the "subjects", is immense. All stemming from the nucleus - their passion, American Girl Dolls. The more I support and nurture their interest, the more they learn.

I will never forget nurturing not only my daughters passion, but their best friends passion also. It was a time that they will never forget and I know that I will someday look back on this time in our lives fondly and sweetly. I am so grateful to be walking this path with my children and to be fortunate enough to be surrounded by loving families who are doing the same so we can co-facilitate our children's passions and learning together as a growing community.

Heal Thyself

In the last five years I have learned so much about the power of the mind. I have read hundreds of books on self improvement, positive thinking, and the law of attraction. I have done things that I never knew were possible. I'd love to share a story of my healing.

I have worn glasses since I was a child. A few years ago, I learned that it was possible to cure poor eyesight through the power of intention. I began telling myself that I could see clearly and I threw my glasses away. I began noticing my eyesight getting better as the days went on. What was once fuzzy for me to read, I could see as clearly as I did with glasses a week before!

I really trusted that my body could heal itself. I think that was the most important aspect of being able to truly heal my eyes. I *knew* that I could do it. I believed in my own ability and never doubted so a moment that it couldn't be done.

I told myself that I could see perfectly. I ate well, took vitamins and Krill Oil, both of which I learned was helpful in healing yourself of any illness. I began exercising regularly and eating well. So much of being able to do this was my trust in my own ability and combining it with a holistic way of living.

It only took me a couple of weeks to completely get my eyes at 20/20! I visited the eye doctor to confirm my healing. He was *floored* when I told him that I healed myself and gave me an eye exam and confirmed that I had perfect eyesight! He said that in all of his years of being an eye doctor he has never seen anyone heal their eyes before without surgery.

Your beliefs are very powerful! If you believe you can heal yourself, you will take actions and make decisions based on this belief and create the outcome you desire. You can then do things you never knew were possible!

If I had only listened to my eye doctor who said the only way to fix my eyes was with surgery, I would have never attempted to do it myself. I am so glad that I was introduced to another way to view my own power in my personal health. My doctor wanted to know my secret. I told him it was about believing in your inner ability and never expecting anything less than seeing perfectly. I turned him onto a more holistic perspective to eye care that he now may use in his own practice!

I am so grateful to have been able to heal myself over a year ago. My eyes grow stronger everyday and I now see better than I ever have! My inner and outer vision are now in perfect alignment and life just keeps getting better and better!

Ask - Believe - Receive!

The Life Rocks! Radical Unschooling Conference

I am so excited to share that we have organized a Radical Unschooling Conference to take place this April! There are so many events, Joyshops and inspiring speakers! It is at an amazing resort with an indoor water park.

We also have a yahoo group to join where you can ask questions and connect with others who are attending. You can join the group here.

We hope to see you there rockin' the Revolution with us!