How Do Kids Learn to Be Generous?

On Monday, my daughter Imogen and I were the filling in a truck sandwich as we drove from our quiet village, along the busy motorway, through the heavy rain, to the city shops. I wanted to buy some white sneakers,…

How to Write a Million Unschool Love Stories

I used to think the defining word of unschooling was freedom. Freedom attracted me. I wanted to be free to do whatever I liked. I wanted to get up each day and do anything or nothing at all. But I…

A Beginning of the Year Unschooling Challenge

Hey friends, here’s a challenge that’s from my upcoming new book, The Unschool Challenge! Maybe doing the challenge is a good way to begin a new year of learning adventures! We all know learning doesn’t just happen during the official…

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,…

Examining An Unschooling Life

I drop a peppermint teabag into my favourite glass mug, add boiling water, and carry it to the living room. Opening the blinds so I can see the sun as soon as it rises, I settle on the sofa with…

Latest

Wanted: Passionate Unschoolers

Wanted: Parents who are passionate about sharing unschooling with the world. Do you like writing and speaking? Are you willing to tell some family stories? Do you enjoy pondering new ideas? Are you continually learning and growing? Is unconditional love important to you? Do you enjoy my blog and podcast? Are we kindred spirits? Would you like to work together? For the past year or more, I’ve been wondering if I need to move in a new direction. Now that…

Preventing Childhood Trauma with Unconditional Love

Childhood trauma can follow us into adulthood, affecting what we do, how we feel about ourselves and how we relate to others. We can trace many of our adult problems back to something that happened as we were growing up. If we understand this, we’ll protect our kids, the best we can, from anything that might affect them adversely. But what about the trauma that's disguised as ‘good’ parenting techniques? Can we unintentionally harm our kids by doing what we…

Could Unschooling Be Exactly What Teens Need to Do?

When unschooling children reach the teenage years, is it time for them to stop following their interests and do some serious structured work instead? If they continue to unschool, will they fail to gain enough knowledge to get into university? Do they need to learn how to write essays, complete assignments, meet deadlines and deal with exams? Do parents need to tighten the rules for teens? Perhaps they should restrict their teenagers’ freedom to keep them safe because their worlds…

Who Should Be Responsible for a Child’s Education, the Parent or the Child?

Who should be responsible for a child's education, the parent or the child? Is learning an active activity that needs the learner’s cooperation? Is it impossible to force knowledge into a child without resorting to teaching methods that ultimately destroy their natural love of learning? Is forced learning real learning? Is it better to unschool and let children learn what’s important to them? But if we choose unschooling, will our kids, one day, accuse us of side-stepping our duty and…

What Do Unschoolers Do Each Day?

Is unschooling about staying in bed late, spending lazy days in the forest, and baking cookies?  Or is there more to unschooling than that? What does a typical unschooling day look like? Will it be different in different families? Will it change over time?Whatever it looks like, will it always be packed with deep learning?…

Unschoolers, Chores and Rosters

How do parents encourage kids to help with the chores? Is the example of parents important? Do parents have to be willing to do everything they want their kids to do? Do they need to have a generous and loving attitude? And what about chore rosters? Do they discourage children from freely offering their help? Or does it depend on how they’re used? Can families live by the principles of a radical unschooling life, trusting kids to do what’s right,…

Should We Push Kids to Use Their Talents, Aim High and Impress?

Do you ever wonder if you should push your kids? Make them do hard things even if they complain. Drill them. Give them a rigorous education. I’ve heard of kids who, after receiving that kind of education, are now surgeons and lawyers or have some other kind of high-status career. Wouldn’t it be good to say, “My daughter is a doctor!”? We wouldn’t have to prove we did an excellent job homeschooling our kids. It would be obvious. People would…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

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…

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…

Learning to Read and Trusting Unschooling

It is absolutely essential that we are curious people who are excited about the possibilities in life. The atmosphere in our homes gets picked up by our kids so they think it’s normal to learn, to be curious, to follow thoughts and ideas and try things out… I was battling with my kids for a while. They kept saying, ‘Why…
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