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Unschooling Cats and Rats and Trust

Did you hear that we’ve had lots of rain recently? It’s brought everything back to life after the bushfires. The burnt bush is regenerating. We’ve got grass, instead of stubble, in our back garden. It’s lush and green and knee-deep. We have new life inside our home as well. There are rats living upstairs in our roof space. They are huge. Yesterday, Gemma-Rose asked me, “Why did God create rats?”…
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Unschooling Sausages and Other History Stories

A couple of days ago, I posted the following words on Instagram: Friends, I need some feedback! We’re almost at the end of February and I haven’t made a single podcast so far this year. (Did you notice?!) Why haven’t I sat down in front of my mic and made some new episodes? Well, I’ve been having lots of problems with my equipment. After spending another afternoon trying to get…
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What if We’d Like Our Kids to Be Early Risers?

Sometimes when I write a post about our typical unschooling days, a reader stops by and says, “Oh, Sue, your mornings sound delightful! I wish my family would get up early so we could get a good start on the day. I can’t get my kids out of bed. They just grumble and roll over and go back to sleep. What can I do?” Now, this might not be you,…
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Encouraging Each Other

Sue Elvis is a mother of 8 with stacks of stories to tell. She generously shares her Stories of an Unschooling Family on her blog, YouTube channel, podcast, Instagram and most recently in her books, Curious Unschoolers and Radical Unschool Love. And these stories are epic. Not in their length, most of them are short reads. And certainly not fantasy. Sue’s stories are epic in the best possible way. True…
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Books That Make Us Cry

On the last day of the last school term for 2019, I sent a text message to my husband, Andy: We just got a bushfire emergency warning. A few minutes later, Andy phoned me and I said, “The fire isn’t far away.” It was burning in our neighbouring village. My voice wobbled as I added, “Everyone has been told it’s too late to leave. The only option is to take…
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Younger Unschoolers: Including the Baby in the Adventure

We’re going on an adventure. We’re going to have a wonderful time. But wait! What about the baby? We can’t just rush out the door ready to explore when we have little ones in our family. At least that’s what I used to believe. My first child was not an adventurer. Her sleep habits wouldn’t allow it. Felicity slept at regular times. I’d lay her down at the first sign…
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Christian Unschooling: Should Parents Demand Obedience from Their Children?

Not so long ago, I was reading a spiritual book that mentioned monks and their life of poverty, chastity and obedience. And this got me thinking about obedience. Monks are obedient to their superiors and the rule of their order. They are imitating Jesus who was obedient to God the Father even until death. Obedience is obviously good so perhaps Christian parents should demand obedience from their children. Yes, our…
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Younger Unschoolers: Our Learning Adventure Rules

If we’re willing to seize the moment, we can have some fabulous spur-of-the-moment learning adventures. We could find ourselves unexpectedly sitting on a beach watching breaching whales. But can we also have planned adventures with our unschooling kids? Oh yes! When my kids were younger, they loved exploring new places and experiencing new things. (They still do!) They were ready at any moment to head out the door on an…
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Younger Unschoolers: Spur-of-the-Moment Adventures

One of the best learning days that I can remember happened many years ago when my eldest child was about six or seven. I was listening to the radio while doing some chores and heard that a whale and her calf had been spotted off a local beach. I told my kids (I had three at the time), and they got very excited. Could we go to the beach? Could…
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Younger Unschoolers: When Does Unschooling Begin?

The other day, I posted this on Instagram: Does anyone want to talk about little kids? Unschooling? Parenting? Both? I often talk and write about teenagers and young adults because my children are older. (My baby will soon be 16!) But I have also written a number of stories about younger kids. I could probably write a few new ones too because, of course, I have lots of younger-children memories!…
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