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Turning Unschool Learning into Homeschool Records Notes

Why would I want to turn something as unique and wonderful as unschooling into routine homeschool records notes? I wish I could take delight in my daughters’ learning without ever thinking about homeschool records. Unfortunately, that’s not possible. I always have to keep one eye on the records book so that my unschoolers can fulfil the necessary homeschool registration requirements . While my girls are busy learning, I have to do a…
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Unschooling Siblings and Other Stories

I started writing this blog post last Friday. This is all I managed to write before I was interrupted: I didn’t make a podcast last week. Some unexpected things happened and so I didn’t find time to sit in front of my mic and record one. I felt a little frustrated because I’d promised to get back on track and podcast more regularly. But perhaps we just have to accept what…
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What Do Unschoolers Do All Day?

Years ago, when we first started homeschooling, I used to wonder, “What do unschoolers do all day?” Even though I’d read a few books, I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer to my question. I needed a fly-on-the wall view into the unschooling life. This is why I decided to tell stories about our unschooling life when I began this blog. Turn unschooling theory into stories about real children. Perhaps it’s…
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Our Unschooling Story

Imagine if you visited us. You’d knock at our front door. We’d invite you in. We’d sit around our kitchen table. Sip coffee. Eat chocolate muffins. What would we talk about? Lots of things! You’d tell me about your family. I’d tell you about mine. We’d probably chat about unschooling. Maybe you’d ask about our unschooling story. In this week’s podcast, episode 93, I tell you about our unschooling story.…
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Does My Trust in Unschooling Ever Waver?

A friend asked if I’ve ever been unsure about unschooling. And I replied: Yes, there have been times when I’ve questioned what I’m doing. Even now I have an odd day when I wonder if I should be doing something different. Hard to admit because this is probably not what everyone wants to hear. But I think that it’s quite okay to have low days when we question things. Unschooling…
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How Unschooling is About Being Connected With Our Kids

Some parenting ideas seem to make a lot of sense. For example, children have far less life experience than parents, so we are in a better position than them when it comes to decision making. If we give our kids too much freedom, they might make poor choices. Some mistakes might not be significant, but what about those that affect their futures? Surely, a responsible parent will tell her kids…
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Why You Should Consider Keeping an Evernote Homeschool Records Book Even If You Don’t Have To

The other day,  our Authorised Person (AP) from the education department came to see us. It was time for our biennial homeschool registration visit. “We’re still using Evernote to record our homeschooling,” I said as the AP sat down in front of my computer. She scrolled through a few notes before catching sight of a link to one of Sophie’s videos. A click later, and she was watching and listening…
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Saying No and Other Things

I wonder why we get so afraid of saying yes to our kids. Perhaps we think they will get spoilt if we respond to their requests in a positive way too often. Perhaps they won’t appreciate the special things of life. We’d better ration them out. Every evening for the last couple of weeks, my youngest daughter Gemma-Rose has asked if she can play a computer game after dinner. “Do…
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Can We Force Kids to Exercise?

Yesterday morning, my daughter Sophie approached me with her arms outstretched. “Can I have a hug, please, Mum?” “Oh no, no!” I said backing away. “It’s far too hot to hug.” “You have to hug us, Mum,” said Gemma-Rose with a grin. “That’s what mothers do. They always have to be available to hug their children.” Yes, sometimes mothers have to do difficult things. I have to hug my children…
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Unschool Science

By Lucinda Leo My kids love science. We’ve never followed a curriculum. Instead, we’ve done experiments, been to science shows and read interesting books. Pinterest has loads of fun ideas, or you can buy or borrow books full of experiments (one of our favourites is Robert Winston’s Science Experiments). I’ve never worried about making my children write up their results or engage formally in the scientific method (as many school-based…
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The Catholic Radical Unschool Cheese and other stories

After a 2-month break, I’m back with a new podcast episode! Yes, this morning, I plugged the mic into my computer and started talking. I had lots to share! In episode 87, I answer the following questions: What is unschooling? Why is unschooling different from other methods of homeschooling? Could it not be a method at all? Should we make kids do things they don’t want to do? Would that be…
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