Dragon Mothers and Parenting Mistakes

In a previous post, I wrote: Oh my, you should see my file of ‘failed’ podcasts. Yesterday, I added another one to the pile. “How did your podcast go, Mum?” my daughter Imogen asked me, and I replied, “It wasn’t…

Ideas, Passions, and Earning an Income

Has blogging changed? Are people no longer very interested in reading my posts? Maybe they prefer listening to my podcasts? Is it time to close up my blog and move onto other things? I pondered these questions in my last…

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…

The Saturday Unschool Examen

Every Saturday, while my husband, youngest daughter and dogs are still in bed, I sit on the living room sofa, journal on my knee, scrawny cat by my side, and by the light of a lamp in the pre-dawn dark,…

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Resisting the Temptation to Interfere

Or trusting children to learn in their own time  I have been rather busy recently, my eyes glued to the computer screen, my mind miles away.  “Please can we use the scrapbooking paper, Mum?”  “Yes, you may.”  “Please can I borrow your stapler, Mum?”  “Huh? Oh yes, it’s on my desk.”  For a couple of hours I was vaguely aware that Sophie and Gemma-Rose were very busy doing something. I wasn’t sure exactly what they were doing…  “Mum, look! We’ve…

Drawing, Geometry and a Happy Girl

Sophie is happy. She grins from ear to ear. “I’m off to do some maths, Mum!” What a change from a couple of weeks ago. Not long ago, she was battling her way through an online maths course. But no more. After some thought and reflection, and talking to myself sternly about what feels right and what makes sense, I have given Sophie permission to turn off the computer and ignore the ‘perfect’ and structured maths course we have subscribed…

I am a Pirate King!

Or the delights of Gilbert and Sullivan.  A few years ago, the Dominican nuns from Ganmain came to our homeschooling camp. They swept in, resplendent and imposing in their spotless habits with plans, not only to teach our children the catechism but also help our teenagers stage a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. Sister Augustine had the scripts and music all arranged. She’d trimmed down the original production to a manageable level: the children had only four days…

Let’s Talk Maths

My girls have been learning maths in a formal way rather than as a consequence of life. But I have been thinking…  The girls used to use workbooks, the sort that cover one school year at a time. They filled them in with correct answers and moved from book to book. And they didn’t complain. It was interesting enough. It was just something that was expected and they did it.  Then about 18 months ago, I found an online maths…

Yikes! Do They Know About Filtration?

I was chatting to a friend on the phone the other morning. She was telling me about a dialogue her daughter is writing as an English exercise. “One of the speakers is a professor and he is talking about filtration. We did that in chemistry the other day.” Filtration? I began to wonder: do any of my children know about filtration? Did we ever talk about it together? Is it something they need to know about? Perhaps there is a…

Lunch with Charles Dickens

We are sitting around the table. It is lunch time and as we eat, someone starts a lively conversation. “Do you remember that strange old lady in Great Expectations?” “The one who sat in her wedding dress, day after day after day?” “Yes, Miss Haversham. She sat there with one shoe on and one shoe off… for years.” Gemma-Rose has forgotten why Miss Haversham sat by the decaying wedding feast in her fading dress. We remind her that her fiancé…

The Photography Girls Head into the Bush

The other week while the girls and I were at the lake, we spied a track that disappeared enticingly into the bush. I promised we’d return another day and head along the path in search of adventure. So last Wednesday afternoon we packed up our exploring kit. We grabbed a basket and tossed in small bars of chocolate (bushwalking requires lots of energy), a large thermos flask of hot chocolate (it was a cool day), a packet of almond fingers for…

A Jane Austen Education

I was on my way to bed when I noticed the older girls’ bedroom light was still on. As I stood outside the door I could hear Imogen’s voice. It sounded like she was reading out loud. Pushing open the door, I saw both girls sprawled on their beds. Charlotte was listening enthralled as Imogen read from the book Pride and Prejudice. Both sisters were obviously having a wonderful time so I crept away and left them to it. This…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

Unschooling: How Do We Know They’re Learning?

There are loads of unschooling questions we could ask about learning: How do we know unschooling kids are learning? Should they be learning particular things? Is there knowledge that all kids need? Are our unschooled kids learning enough? Can they get behind? Should we just trust our kids are learning? But what if we have doubts? Or what if we…

Unschooling Isn’t Freedom Gone Wild: Why Choices Matter More Than Ideals

My husband Andy returned to work today after two weeks at home. Holiday time is over. We’ve now moved into term time. A whole term of possibility days stretches before me. I’m free to do whatever I like with my time while Andy is at school. My eyes light up with delight. But then I remember there are many…

Christian unschooling

Radical Unschool Love, Praise and Joy

Do you ever praise your kids? Do you tell them you’re proud of them? Some people say we shouldn’t praise our kids. Maybe that’s because our children might end up doing things only because they want to gain our approval. And is there a risk a child might think she is better than everyone else if we praise her too…

Respecting Kids and Christmas Presents

Does having a simple Christmas sound good? It does to me. This year, like last year and the one before, I wanted to announce that I’m not buying a lot of Christmas presents. I thought about saying that I’m not buying any at all. I didn’t want to think and think until the perfect gift ideas came to mind. I…
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