High School

Many parents say, “We unschool except for maths.” I understand why some people are reluctant to let go of maths because, years ago, we were in the same situation. For some reason, it seemed hard to let my kids learn maths naturally from being exposed ...

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 ...

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 ...

Back in February, my author daughter Imogen joined me on my podcast to talk about unschooling and writing. In episode 148, Our Writing Unrules for Unschoolers, we explored the question: Can unschoolers gain the writing skills they need without any formal instruction? We shared our ...

Some time ago, I asked: Is anyone interested in discussing the teenage unschooling years? I’m thinking of recording a podcast on this topic with my daughters Imogen and Sophie. . My girls both have a day off work tomorrow so we could sit around my ...

How do we turn our unschoolers' learning into homeschool records notes? What do we write? What educational language can we use? If we haven't got any written assignments or worksheets, what do we add to our notebooks to show what our kids have been doing? ...

Every morning, I lace up my running shoes and then grab our dog Nora's leash before sliding the kitchen door open and stepping out onto the patio. Sometimes I have to pull Nora from her kennel but usually, she is eager for a run and ...

Dealing With Unschooling Critics I know your heart is in the right place. You’re full of love. I can see that. But is that enough? Frankly, my dear, I’m worried. I’m not saying this lightly. I’m not the kind of person who likes to interfere. Everyone ...

What if unschoolers don't know how to write essays? Will they be at a disadvantage if they want to go to university? This post follows on from How an Unschooler Learns to Write. My daughter Imogen taught herself to write. After learning the basics, she ...

My daughter Sophie hasn't done any formal maths since she was about 9 or 10 years old. But she does know a lot about this subject. She's been learning maths in a different way. Several years ago, I said to Sophie, "I’m thinking about making ...

A couple of years ago, I interviewed my daughter Sophie. In the video, Self-Directed Learning: An Unschooling Interview, we talked about teenagers, friends, school and unschooling: What does it mean to be a self-directed learner? Does Sophie know everything her school friends know? If she ...

Years ago, I completed a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in botany. I did okay. I was awarded an honours degree. Eventually, I got a job in a science department of a university. But I also got nightmares. Recurring ones. They stem from the experience ...

To read this post, enter the password below. Password: If you'd like to make a small Buy Me a Coffee donation to support my blog, I'll send you the password to access all my protected posts ...

Sometimes life gets busy. Too busy. I like empty weeks: five days waiting to be filled with whatever we like. I thought last week was going to be an empty week. But unexpected things happened. We ended up having lots of appointments to attend and ...

To read this post, enter the password below. Password: If you'd like to make a small Buy Me a Coffee donation to support my blog, I'll send you the password to access all my protected posts ...

To read this post, enter the password below. Password: If you'd like to make a small Buy Me a Coffee donation to support my blog, I'll send you the password to access all my protected posts ...

To read this post, enter the password below. Password: If you'd like to make a small Buy Me a Coffee donation to support my blog, I'll send you the password to access all my protected posts ...

At Mass on Sunday, during the Prayers of the Faithful, we were asked to pray for sullen teenagers. When we returned home, Imogen was most indignant. “Why does everyone automatically think teenagers are sullen? Charlotte and I are teenagers and we’re not that way.” “It’s ...

I saw a friend the other day who asked, “When are you finishing school work for the year?” I grinned wickedly and replied, “Finishing? We haven’t even started. We haven’t done anything for a long time.” I shouldn’t joke. People will think unschoolers are lazy ...

I’ve been thinking about maths... high school maths. The other day I wrote about my unschooling high schooler. I told you how my sixteen year old daughter Charlotte feels like she is drowning in maths. The exercises for each of the maths topics in her ...

“How about we have a chat after lunch?” I ask 16 year old Charlotte. “You can tell me what you’ve been doing recently. Maybe I can help with some new resources.”  So after the lunch dishes have been cleared away, we meet in the family ...

Last week I made a video of my 18 year old daughter Imogen talking about unschooling and university. Thank you to everyone who took the time to watch it! Bernice left a question for Imogen in the combox: How did your parents make your unschooling/homeschooling ...

Today I made my first 'talkie' video. We'd been discussing ideas for the last couple of weeks, and just needed a free moment to actually start filming. "Why don't you interview me this afternoon?" suggested my daughter Imogen. "I've got some free time." So I ...

My girls come home from the library with towering stacks of books. Even as they walk through the front door, they have their noses between the pages of the first book in their piles. A couple of hours later, a sigh of contentment can be ...

On the other side of the world from us, homeschoolers are ‘going back to school’. Catalogues have been browsed, curricula, resources and books have been bought, plans have been drawn up, and hope and excitement are in the air. When I was a fairly new ...

Every week the girls and I take an overseas trip. The week before last we went to Vietnam. We flew into Hanoi, the city of rickshaws and mopeds and many people. We stood, rather bewildered, as streams of two-wheeled vehicles surged past us. Before long, ...

 I had a vision…  By the age of 18 all my children were going to be perfectly brought up and perfectly educated. I wanted them to fly off into the world without a problem. I was going to sit back and sigh with satisfaction and ...

To read this post, enter the password below. Password: If you'd like to make a small Buy Me a Coffee donation to support my blog, I'll send you the password to access all my protected posts ...

My older girls are busy introducing their younger sisters to the delights of Jane Austen. “You must watch Persuasion,” insists Imogen. “I’ll explain all the difficult bits,” she adds, as she notices the uncertain look on nine year old Gemma-Rose’s face. So we settle down on the sofa, ...

  Where were you the day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon? I am guessing a lot of people reading this weren’t even born then. But I was. I was a young primary school student at the time. Recently the girls and I were watching ...

“Hey! I’ve found an interesting website,” I said. “Do you girls want to have a look?”  “What’s it about?” asked Gemma-Rose suspiciously, and when I told her it was a maths site she groaned and didn’t look at all interested. Sophie, on the other hand, ...

Will my child write? This seems to be a fairly common worry for parents. Some children want to write and some are more reluctant.  All my children are writers and always have been. Is this because I am a writer and they are following my ...

Once again, it's Monday, the day the girls have their piano lessons. Once again, Charlotte took Les Miserables to read, while she was waiting for her turn at the piano. “So how did you get on with your book?” I asked, as the girls reappeared ...

If a child is given the freedom to choose what she wants to do every day, isn’t there a risk she will choose to be lazy and not do anything at all? Or maybe she will decide to do what is easy, rather than what ...

Imogen has started full time university work. She’s studying professional writing and publishing. She’s also having singing and piano lessons and preparing for exams. You wouldn’t think she’d have much time left over in her day, would you? But recently… Imogen has pulled on her ...

The other day I was writing about our experiences unschooling high school science. I mentioned a couple of books I thought my chemistry-loving-daughter, Charlotte, might like to read. Of course, I couldn’t help myself. After publishing the post, I just had to buy both books ...

I hop from blog to blog, sampling a homeschooling science program here, and one there, and I become alarmed and a bit unsettled. The programs all look so impressive and detailed. I creep quietly back to my own little blog and our own little way ...

One of the most common worries homeschooling parents seem to have is: Will my children be able to get into university? The answer to this question is definitely yes. But what about unschoolers? Again the answer is yes. My unschooler is all set to study ...

A couple of days ago, Imogen logged into her Open Universities account to check some details she needed for her youth allowance application. She checked her mail while online and received a nice surprise. “Hey! I got a Distinction for that last university unit I did." ...

My older children all learnt maths in a formal manner, using a text book course. All three started the advanced maths course and all three dropped out partway through, complaining they hated it and were no good at maths.“When are we ever going to use ...

Recently I found all kinds of things to strew in front of Charlotte.  I came across a website and DVD series that has an episode about a man who settled on the uninhabited Cocos Islands, later making himself king over the workers of his coconut ...

To me, unschoolers are independent learners. At least mine are. What further can I say? Because one sentence isn't much of an article, I decided to do a little research to see what other people have to say about this topic.  I did some Googling, ...

 The girls can’t wait. They’ve been planning for weeks. There’s only seven days to go…. until… NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. I heard about this yearly online event on Kari’s blog, Overflow, last year, when she announced her intention to write a ...

This morning I asked Charlotte what she was planning to do today. “I might have a look at a periodic table video,” she replied. More chemistry. My third daughter is certainly a keen unschooling chemist. “Why don’t you broaden your horizons,” I suggested. “You could ...

To read this post, enter the password below. Password: If you'd like to make a small Buy Me a Coffee donation to support my blog, I'll send you the password to access all my protected posts ...

I have read stories about teenagers who’ve dropped out of school and into the world, in order to obtain a real education. They spent their days, not at home behind a desk, but out and about, visiting places of interest such as museums and galleries… ...

“The cinema is showing Jane Eyre,” says Imogen, her voice full of longing.  “Would you and Charlotte like to see it?” I ask.  A big smile spreads across Imogen’s face as she answers, “Yes, please!”  “You could come with us!” adds Charlotte.  I look at ...

Andy is sitting hunched over his computer. He has been there on and off for the past fortnight. Only one more week until the official start to the new school year and Andy is busy writing lesson plans for his primary school class. I don’t ...

On Sunday Father S began his homily: “In Hamlet, it says, ‘To thine own self be true’.” Gemma-Rose dug me in the side and whispered loudly, her eyes wide with excitement, “Hamlet!” We are halfway through reading this Shakespeare play and Gemma-Rose couldn’t believe Father ...

Everyone thinks I homeschool my fourteen-year-old daughter, Charlotte. I don’t. She homeschools herself. I try to help her: “Charlotte, I have a new book we’re just about to start reading. What you like to join us?” “No thanks, Mum. I have something else planned.” “Charlotte ...