My List of Brilliant Unschooling Blogs

Remember when blogging was the thing to do? We all created blogs instead of social media accounts. We shared our lives, writing our stories, filling our sidebars with photos of our kids, sometimes naming them, frequently hiding their identities under pseudonyms like Princess and Tiger.

We followed each other’s blogs. When a new name and face appeared in our followers widget, we grinned. Someone new wanted to read our posts!

We rushed to read each other’s offerings before leaving lively comments. Or maybe we just said, “Great post!” because sometimes it was challenging to keep up with everything that was going on. We were prolific writers and commenters.

Long or short comments, we always got lots of responses to our posts. As soon as we’d hit the publish button, we waited for the first comment to appear. Usually, we didn’t have to wait long.

Some of us had multiple blogs. Ad-free Blogspot blogs were free, and it only took a minute to create a new blog. So that’s what I did when I had a new blogging idea. I made at least 6 blogs, contributed to 2 or 3 other ones, and then there were my kids’ blogs. Unfortunately, finding content for more than one blog was difficult. We ended up abandoning many of our blogs. Some we deleted, others we made private, and we left some unattended. Abandoned, they’re still floating online. To find them, you just need to know where to look.

Do you remember linky parties or blog hops? We’d all write posts on the same topic. Then each week, we’d hurry to add our links to a widget on the host’s blog. Would we be first, at the top of the list? The list grew. We’d scroll through it, choosing links to follow, posts to read.

Sometimes we’d visit a friend’s blog and discover they’d redecorated their online home, perhaps turning it from country cosy to modern chic. They might have added a brand new header. Maybe they’d spent hours browsing blog background websites, looking for the perfect new look.

The blogging world, or blogosphere, was a community of friends. We shared our lives and encouraged each other. We were sure we’d be best buddies in real life. Imagine if we could live next door to each other!

Often we said, “One day we shall meet!”

Very occasionally, we actually did meet a blogging friend. Such excitement! Hugs and long conversations. “Do I look like my profile photo?” Not really? Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to post only beautiful, younger-looking photos of myself.

Or maybe when we saw each other for the first time, we soon realised that we weren’t kindred spirits after all. That happened to me. Online friends who couldn’t wait to meet me in real life discovered I’m rather ordinary, not interesting at all. They drifted away. That’s okay. I still have J. I’ve met up with her a few times over the years. We really are best buddies.

Most of the time, we never met our blogging friends, but dreaming about ‘one day’ was fun.

It happened gradually. One by one, my fellow bloggers disappeared, abandoning their sites crammed full of their stories and photos. They moved to social media.

Those who lingered a bit longer eventually put up signs: I’ve moved to Substack.

Wanting to maintain connections, I followed everyone else. I tried social media. It didn’t work out. I considered Substack. If I moved there, I wouldn’t have to pay for my hosting and other website costs. I wouldn’t have to maintain my blog. But I like my independence. My blog is my place. I’m not exchanging it for Substack, which belongs to someone else.

So, I’m still here, a dinosaur blogger. I think this is my 15th year.

At the beginning of every year, there’s a new batch of blog posts with titles like, Is Blogging Dead? or Should You Create a Blog in 2024… 2025… 2026?

The writers of these posts tell us blogging is still alive and you should join us.

And I agree.

I love how blogs are individual, unique. The blogger’s personality marks each one. It’s their online home and tells us a lot about who they are. People do their best to be themselves on social media, but it’s more difficult when everyone uses the same template and has to conform their posts to the algorithm.

I enjoy hunting through a blog, following links, scrolling through the archive, deep-diving into the blogger’s work, and getting to know them and their thoughts and ideas. I save links, make notes, ponder stories, and enjoy reading about someone else’s experiences.

Despite the big exodus to social media, there are still a few brilliant unschooling blogs that are active. I have a list of them on My Big Page of Unschooling Resources.

Every now and then, I go through this list, checking links, making sure everyone is still there online. Sadly, I recently had to cross a few blogs off my list. A few more bloggers have disappeared.

My List of Brilliant Unschooling Blogs

Here’s my updated list:

Stories of an Unschooling Family: My blog, of course! Unschooling, parenting, and family life. Most importantly, it’s all about unconditional love.

Sandra Dodd: Learning for fun is the best way to learn, and to live. I have gathered much and written some to inspire you to revel in your own learning, in your children’s learning, and in your friends’ curiosity and happiness in the face of a world of information!

Just Add Light and Stir: Inspiration and encouragement for unschooling parents.

Ever Learning: Eclectic homeschooling and beyond.

Cecilie Conrad: It is all about life, our moments, our freedom, our love.

The Conrad Family: We live an absolutely brilliant life. Really. We are out of the Matrix, out of the box, happy and free. Ready for transformations even bigger, ready to bask on hot rocks and hike in mountains, ready for passion fruits and friendships, ready to be ready.

Taking a Kinder Path: I want to take a kinder path for myself and for those I love and surely that’s got to be good for everyone.

The Educating Parent: Children learning and living naturally at home and in the community.

Laura Grace Weldon: Free-range learning, creative living, gentle encouragement, big questions, poetry. occasional drollery.

Unschooling Mom2Mom: Your children. Their learning. Your relationship with them. Things that really matter.

Living Joyfully With Unschooling: An online home for engaged parents choosing to live joyfully with their children through unschooling.

Happiness is Here: I share about our life of living and learning together, and my passion for natural learning and respectful parenting.

All About Being Brilliant

Here’s a blog post that I wrote in 2012. It captures some of the excitement of those old blogging days, when I thought I was brilliant and funny. Probably no one agreed, but it didn’t matter. Everyone was kind, and I had fun as I explored words and found my voice.

I have this brilliant idea. I run to my computer and start typing. My fingers fly over the keys, and every now and then, I smile. I can’t help it. This post is going to be so good. Eventually, my fingers come to a halt, and I read what’s appeared on the screen. I change a word here and there, reread my post, and change some more words until I’m satisfied. Yes, my idea was brilliant. My post is brilliant. I am brilliant. Look at how skilfully I have expressed myself. The words are just right. Perfect. Wait until everyone reads this. I can’t wait to share.

I hit ‘publish’. There! Done! Have I got time to make some coffee before the comments come flooding in? I decide I can risk a few minutes away from my computer. I fill the kettle and wait impatiently while the water boils. Then I rush back to my seat.

I head straight to my dashboard to read the comments. And there aren’t any. And I think, “Where is everyone? Why isn’t everyone at their computers waiting for my post to be published? It’s brilliant.”

A vague thought enters my mind: Could there be more important things than my post? Families, work, chores, crying babies, homeschooling. No. It’s more likely everyone is away from their computers, making coffee.

So five minutes pass. Surely everyone has returned by now. They’ll all have read my post. They will think it is wonderful. My dashboard will soon be overflowing with comments. But when I look, there still aren’t any.

By the time bedtime arrives, I am sighing deeply. No one has commented on my brilliant post. It hasn’t even had many page views. Should I sit up and wait for everyone to discover it? Or should I go to bed? I decide to go to bed. I smile because I’ve had a new thought. I will be away from my computer for 8 whole hours. By the time I get up tomorrow, I will need to publish comment after comment after comment.

So I lie in bed, but I can’t sleep. Words from my post keep running through my head. Finally, I drift off.

The next morning, I wake instantly. I can’t wait to go online. But first, I make myself shower, have breakfast, say my prayers and do the chores. I am putting off that moment of pleasure, enjoying the anticipation. Finally, I let myself turn on the computer. And I am disappointed.

A vague thought enters my head: Perhaps my post wasn’t that brilliant after all. No. It’s more likely that everyone is on holiday away from their computers.

By lunch time, I am fed up. I am never going to write another post. No one appreciates me. What’s the point of writing such brilliant stuff if no one reads it? I might as well talk to myself. So I resolve to give up blogging. That’s it. That’s the end of my writing career. I have no more to say.

So I close my computer. I make some coffee and think about what I’m going to do now that I’m an ex-blogger. Five minutes pass, then ten and then this brilliant idea pops into my head.

Where did it come from? No one has ever had such a great idea before. I am sure of it. I must write it down, share it with the world. Everyone is going to be astounded. They are going to say, “Sue, we have never read such a brilliant post as this.”

So I run to my computer and start typing. I’ve forgotten the last post. I am chasing a new idea.

But then I remember I’m an ex-blogger. I’ve given up writing. I pause, my hands on the keyboard. After a moment, I think, “Give up writing? What a stupid idea that was!” What a stupid woman I am.

I can’t help myself. I have to write. My fingers fly over the keyboard, and I smile as the words appear. This post will be brilliant!

Then a vague thought appears in my head. What if my post isn’t brilliant? What if no one likes it? I think about this some more. I finally admit to myself that it probably won’t be as brilliant as I hope. Does that matter? You know, I don’t think it does.

The thrill is in the writing, not in the applause.

I finish my post. I hit ‘publish’, and before I know it, to my surprise, there’s a comment: “Just saw your last two posts, Sue. I’ve been away from my computer. Brilliant! Love from your sister.”

Sister? I smile. Mine is brilliant.

A Big Thank You…

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PDF Blog List

If you’d like a PDF copy of my brilliant unschooling blogs list, please download a copy. It has clickable links.

So, are you a blogger? Maybe you know the thrill of creating your own online space where you can tell your story? Did you use to blog?

I know you read blogs because you’re reading mine! Do you have any favourite unschooling ones? Why not stop by and share them? Another reader may enjoy your recommendations. And by sharing, you’ll be helping the bloggers who spend a lot of time writing about their experiences, passing on ideas and letting us know about wonderful resources. We always appreciate links to our blogs!

If you let me know about your favourite unschooling blogs, I could put together another post: My Readers’ List of Brilliant Unschooling Blogs!