Listening
Gemma-Rose’s turn to read. My turn to listen. When I was an eleven-year-old student, our teacher got out her tape recorder and played us a current affairs radio program. It was a hot summer’s afternoon, late in the day, and I…
Words Packed with Unschool Maths
‘Today will be 17 degrees cooler than yesterday: 20 degrees.’ This morning, I wrote those words in an email to a friend. And then I added this: ‘That sentence reminds me of unschool maths.’ Oh yes, those ten words are…
Losing Time
I’ve been reading a book called A Time to Die by Nicholas Diat, who visited eight monasteries to talk to the monks about the experience of death. Here’s something that caught my attention: One monk described how he cares for…
Are There Times When You Should Never Give Up Unschooling?
Are there times when you should never give up unschooling? Are there circumstances that could cloud your judgement and lead to poor decisions? Life might not be going well, and you could blame unschooling. You decide everything will be better…
A New Series of Unschooling Videos
Have you subscribed to my Youtube channel? Perhaps you’re one of my recent subscribers? (If you are, thank you!) Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a few good news emails: Frodo has subscribed to you on Youtube! These…
Do You Need a Happy List?
I’m at a cafe with my pretend friend Amina, who places her mug of coffee on the table between us, sighs and says, “Unschooling doesn’t guarantee our kids won’t have challenges in life, does it?” “I wish it did,” I reply. “Oh, yes, wouldn’t it be good if our kids sailed through life feeling happy all the time?” “We’ve all got to face difficulties,” I say, “including our kids.” It’s my turn to sigh. Amina nods. “Yes, that’s the way…
Put on Your Real-Life Maths Eyes
Lying awake in bed last night, I did some real-life maths: how long was it before I had to get up for Mass? As the sleepless hours ticked by, the answer to that question became smaller and smaller. After I emerged from the bathroom after this morning’s shower, I said, “Andy, we forgot to pick up some money for the collection.” My husband yawned, despite a good night’s sleep, and slid back the bed quilt, saying, “We really should organise…
A Perfect Curriculum or Unschooling?
During our early years of homeschooling, a friend, her eyes alight with excitement, told me about a curriculum she’d just purchased for her children. She described the neatly packaged units of beauty, truth and goodness, which included famous works of art and music and great literature, as well as the basics of a thorough education. My friend’s enthusiasm was contagious. I wondered: do we need this curriculum too? Perhaps my kids would miss out on something essential if we continued…
Is It Time to Have an Unschool Adventure?
Have you been on an unschooling adventure recently? Perhaps an adventure arrived unexpectedly? Maybe you dropped everything, climbed into your vehicle with your excited kids, and set off on a spur-of-the-moment adventure? Spur-of-the-Moment Adventures Years ago, we had an unexpected whale adventure. It was so good, we’re still talking about it today. I wrote about our memorable day at the beach in my post, Younger Unschoolers: Spur-of-the Moment Adventures. Here’s how it begins: One of the best learning days that…
Helping Kids When Their Interests Are Different to Ours
Occasionally, parents ask me: "How do we help our kids with their interests when we don't share them?" Here are some thoughts and suggestions for both younger and older unschoolers.…
The Unschool Challenge: Writing an End-of-the-Year Review
The changeover of the years is an excellent time to examine our lives, isn't it? As Socrates said, An unexamined life is not worth living. Yes, we should think about the year that's just ended. What did we learn? How did we grow? Is our family going in the right direction? Do we need to make some changes? And what will we take forward with us into the year that's about to begin? What are our hopes?…
Do You Have an Anti-Library?
There are two untidy, unread book towers balanced on my desk. Every now and then, I add another book to one of the piles. And occasionally, I remove a book, settle somewhere comfortable and read it. Standing in front of the book display in our local department store, Big W, I used to say to my daughter, Imogen, “I’d love to buy this book, but I shouldn’t. I’ve got lots of unread books at home.” I thought collecting more books…
Santa, Books, and Expectations
Desires and Expectations Are desires good? What about expectations? Are these about control? Can our expectations lead to disappointment and spoil our family celebrations? Should we burden our kids with our expectations? Do our worries and concerns affect our kids’ confidence? Should the only expectation we have is that they’ll be okay? Challenges Should we set our kids’ challenges to ensure they work hard? Or is better to give them space to set their own? Do we need to challenge…
Is It Ever Too Late to Start Unschooling?
Is it ever too late to start unschooling? I’ve been asked this question a lot and my answer is always “No!” Even if a…
We Should Say What’s in Our Hearts (While We Can)
Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my teenage daughter Sophie. I’m enjoying her company while I can. At the weekend, she’ll…
Parenting: Doing Our Inadequate Best
Do you ever look back - a few years, months or even days - at your younger self and wish you could have done…
Unschooling: Coping With the Unexpected
I used to think I could control my life. To achieve a perfect life, all I had to do was organise everything well, including my kids. What is a perfect life? My perfect life vision included a graduated row of good-looking and well-behaved children. I wanted people to admire my family and home, saying, “Sue is such a good mother!…
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…
Unschooling: Trusting the Process and Letting Go of Control
“I kind of love my title for this podcast. It’s very ambitious. Let’s fix it all!” And so begins another Ladies Fixing the World conversation in which Cecilie Conrad, Sandra Dodd and I dive deep into unschooling, sharing our thoughts and experiences. In S2E4, we discuss Unschooling: Trusting the Process and Letting Go. Want to know more…
When Mothering Is Not Enough
Should our kids be our whole world? Should we dedicate all our time and effort to raising the most precious people in our lives? Or is it okay to combine motherhood with our own interests? Could there be advantages in using our gifts and pursuing the things that bring us joy not only for us but also for our kids?…
A Genuine Invitation for Christian Unschoolers
Sometimes, invitations aren’t genuine invitations. They might sound like proper invitations. We say the right words, “Would you like to…?” but expect a particular response that doesn’t include the right to decline. Then, some invitations are issued without a personal touch. We wonder, “Does it matter if I accept? Will anyone notice if I’m there or not?” This happened to…