Making a Music Video in the Australian Bush

On a hot summer’s evening, we head into the beautiful Australian bush: Imogen, Sophie, Gemma-Rose and me. We follow a narrow stone-strewn track that winds between gum trees until we arrive at a cave-like rock on the edge of a…

Unschooling: Dishes

This evening, after dinner, I didn’t want to help with the dishes. I just wanted to relax on the sofa and leave everyone else to clean the kitchen. I could have done that. I could have taken advantage of my…

Reluctant Spouse: Unschool Bits and Pieces

Reluctant Spouse What does my husband Andy think of unschooling? Was he always in favour of it? Or did I have to convince him that unschooling is the right thing to do? Parents frequently ask me these questions especially when…

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Unschool: Experiencing Energy and Gravity

Do parents need to teach kids about such things as forces, gravity, density, heat conduction, friction, the seasons, energy, and life cycles? Or will children learn a lot about these things by experiencing them while engaged in play and other activities?…

Unschool: Disco Boots and Old Stories

Family stories bind us together. They tell us who we are. We have a shared history and belong together. Our stories also teach us a lot about such things as history, geography, science, and how the world changes quickly. We learn about our faith and relationships and how we’re not alone when we struggle, grieve, get upset or feel pain. There’s a wealth of learning experiences wrapped up in our family stories.…

Unschool: Aqua Waves and Awe

Be Curious The aqua waves rise high and then fall, rolling towards the shore as we watch with awe and wonder: why is the ocean so blue? Do you view the world with wonder and awe? Are you a curious person who asks questions and searches for answers? Does your curiosity encourage your kids to be curious too? Awe, Wonder, Curiosity While my daughter, Charlotte, and I were on holiday at the beach, we spent hours watching the rolling…

Questioning the Wisdom of Unconditional Love

Do you ever have doubts about your parenting? Do you ever wonder if your ideas are wrong? The other day, I wrote something about unconditional love, and later, rereading my words, I began to doubt what I’d said. While sharing my thoughts in blog posts and Instagram captions, perhaps I’m passing on false ideas and leading people astray. Here’s what I wrote: We often talk about accepting our kids just as they are. But can we really do that? Surely…

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 packed with maths! Numbers: 17 and 20 Temperature: degrees C Comparison: cooler than Time: today and yesterday There could also be addition if my friend is tempted to add the temperatures together – which she probably will – to find…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

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…

The Ladies Fixing the World

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!…

How Unschoolers Can Deal with Questions and Sceptics

My mother-in-law visited us for the birth of our son, Thomas. After he died and we’d buried him in his tiny white casket, Andy’s mother asked me if we wanted more children. As I replied, “Oh, yes!”, my mother-in-law’s face dropped into a disapproving frown. “She thinks we already have enough kids,” I thought as my defence hackles rose. But…

Christian unschooling

Does Christian Unschooling Interest You?

I’ve written three unschooling books: I focused on the educational side of unschooling in Curious Unschoolers. I extended the unschooling story in Radical Unschool Love by sharing parenting thoughts and stories. And I offered practical suggestions for turning all those interesting unschooling ideas into something real in families’ lives in The Unschool Challenge. Three books. A trilogy. Everything I can…

When We Can’t Decide What’s the Best Way to Bring Up and Educate Our Kids

Do you ever swap between the various methods of homeschooling looking for the perfect way to bring up and educate your kids? I used to do that. I’d try one thing after another, confusing myself and my kids, while never finding what I was searching for. As I said in my book Curious Unschoolers: … I pondered lots of questions:…
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