Unschooling: Impressing Other People
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
Getting Kids to Help with the Chores
Should parents expect kids to help with the chores? How do we encourage kids to have a generous attitude and want to be part of the family team, helping with the work? Here’s a simple suggestion that doesn’t involve chore…
Encouraging Kids to Say Thank You
How do we encourage our younger children to say thank you? Do they need only our good example to copy? Is learning good manners enough? Our kids could just repeat the polite words. But is it better if their response…
Rules, Responsible Parenting and Radical Unschooling
If you do a Google search on unschooling it won’t take you very long to find someone criticising unschoolers. The most judged unschoolers are those who have adopted a radical way of life: those who do not force a set…
Sophie’s Unschooling Holiday
On the official last day of the school term: Sophie: No more learning for two weeks! Imogen: No more learning? We learn all the time, not just in term time. Charlotte: What are you planning to do for the next two weeks? Sit in a box? That’s the only way you’ll avoid leaning anything. Imogen: And even then you’ll learn something. You’ll learn it’s very boring sitting in a cardboard box! I’m glad to report Sophie decided not to sit…
Speed Angel Joy
I am sitting by the lake watching four girls scooting along the path. They are the Speed Angel Sisters and they are fast! Every now and then the girls veer off onto the grass and come to a sudden halt: a pedestrian is approaching. Now the speedway is clear again, and strong legs start pushing, wheels are revolving, hair flies back and sounds of laughter drift towards me. Four tired girls drag themselves back to the picnic table. They…
Unschooling: The Little Way
I would like to tell you a story of Suzie Andres and St Therese and homeschooling. But first I must start with a tale of grief. Grief? Yes, it was through grief I first met St Therese and her Little Way. Thomas died as a baby and I grieved for a long time. But one day the pain lifted slightly and I felt pure joy and was glad to be suffering for God. Love overflowed my heart and I suddenly…
Mud Pies, Stews and Cakes
Gemma-Rose and Sophie are outside. They have been in the garden for hours despite the cool winter temperature. They have sand buckets and spades, and a big box of odds and ends: plates, bowls, spoons, pots, all leftovers from different tea sets. On the outdoor table there are piles of flowers, berries, weeds, grass, twigs and pebbles. And a bucket of soil. Somewhere down at the bottom of the garden is a hole, a hole that is getting bigger and…
Doing Nothing?
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Babies, Toddlers and Unschooling (Part 3)
Our 8th child, Gemma-Rose was our most needy baby of all. Unfortunately, she had silent reflux and was in pain for the first few months of her life. She screamed whenever she was awake, and never slept deeply, waking constantly to writhe and moan, and then she’d need settling again. She never fed to sleep: feeding wasn’t a pleasurable activity for her. There were many days when I was exhausted. If Gemma-Rose had been our first child I’d have fallen…
Babies, Toddlers and Unschooling (Part 2)
Felicity, our firstborn child was an excellent baby. She fed every 3 or 4 hours, I’d change her nappy, pop her in her cot and soon she’d drop off to sleep without a problem. Between naps, she was happy and contented. And at the age of 5 weeks, she started sleeping through the night… in her own cot… in her own room. I thought I was the perfect mother. Duncan was an almost excellent baby. He fed more frequently and…
Babies, Toddlers and Unschooling (Part 1)
Gemma-Rose is now seven. She is our youngest child and so it’s been a few years since we’ve had a baby or a toddler in our family. It’s been a long time since we’ve had to work our homeschooling day around the needs of a young child. For us, homeschooling is relatively easy. We have a lot of freedom to do what we want, whenever we want. But… … we no longer have a gorgeous little bundle to hold or…
I’m going to do something I shouldn’t because it’s breaking the rules. But I’m going to do it anyway. I’m breaking my blogging pact. Yes, two weeks in, and I [...]
Each evening, do you reflect on your day? Do you make a note of the blessings and delights you received? How about the difficult times? Perhaps you think about the [...]
Should people who use AI feel ashamed? Should I feel that way? While researching AI, I found a commenter saying authors who use AI to promote their work should be [...]
Adding Children’s Books to My Own Personal Reading Pile
It rained. It hailed. Lightning flashed, and then a huge ball of thunder rolled across the sky. We all looked up from our computers…
Reaching the Finish Line: Achieving Our Dreams
If we’re willing to learn new skills, persevere through any problems, put in a lot of effort, and ignore our fears, we can achieve…
Unschooling Resources: Discoveries of 2014
This week’s podcast is all about resources. I talk about some of the interesting things we discovered during 2014 and… I answer the following…