Younger Unschoolers: When Does Unschooling Begin?

The other day, I posted this on Instagram: Does anyone want to talk about little kids? Unschooling? Parenting? Both? I often talk and write about teenagers and young adults because my children are older. (My baby will soon be 16!)…

Unschooling: Are We Willing to Give Up Our Own Ideas?

Educating our kids can sometimes feel like a huge responsibility, can’t it? There are so many choices. We have to make lots of decisions. What is the best way to homeschool? We read books and blogs, listen to the experts,…

Enjoying an Unexpected Little Adventure

The kids pile into the car. I settle myself into the passenger seat and bang the door shut. My eldest-at-home daughter, Imogen makes sure her ‘L’ plates are attached to the front and back of the vehicle, before sliding into…

The Curriculum of Life

What curriculum are you using this year? The girls and I are going to be using the curriculum of life. Surely day-to-day life doesn’t provide many learning experiences? Most days are the same, aren’t they? And perhaps this is true…

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…

Latest

Why Do Unschoolers Do What They Do

When we first set out on our homeschooling adventure, we thought we were unschoolers because each day, I stood back and let my kids get on with learning. I thought I’d got unschooling all worked out: I recognised my kids were wired to learn, and I was careful not to interfere with their natural curiosity. So all went well for a while. But then, I got tired of keeping my distance. I yearned to leave the sidelines of homeschooling and…

Unschooling Strong

Yesterday we did lots of complaining because it felt like a very hot day. We were glad when evening arrived, and the sun went down. Hoping for a cool breeze, we ate ice cream and swapped hot stories. Here’s mine: I reminded my family of the scorching hot and bone-dry summer we experienced three years ago when a roaring and seemingly unstoppable bushfire surrounded our village for many weeks. One weekend, at the height of the crisis, we decided to…

Be Brave and The Unschool Challenge

Sometimes we have to be brave, don’t we? We might need to ignore people’s opinions and possible criticism and do whatever fulfils the needs of our kids. We could need courage to ignore our fears about how our work will be received and go out there, use our talents and fulfil our dreams. Sometimes we need to be brave and step outside our comfort zones so we don’t end up sitting on the sidelines of life, missing out on experiences…

My New Book: The Unschool Challenge

I have some big news: I’ve finished and published my third unschooling book, The Unschool Challenge, and it’s now available on Amazon! My author copies of my new book arrived the day before my daughter, Charlotte, and I set off for the coast for a special mother-daughter holiday. I packed The Unschool Challenge, with its distinctive green cover, into my bag, with my beach towels, sunscreen and swimmers! So what’s my unschooling book about? Who is it for? Here’s the Amazon description: The…

Learning from Experience and by Reading Crime Novels

Recently, I’ve immersed myself in Australian crime fiction. I’ve read novels by Chris Hammer, Jane Harper, Patricia Wolf and S.R. White. I like the ones by Jane Harper the most, but they’ve all held my attention because of their settings. Detectives solve crimes in places with endless roads leading to outback towns where visitors who don’t know how to survive in the heat stick out like beacons. Dust hangs in the air; the dirt is red; everything is dry. We…

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 school hours. Kids can learn anytime, including weekends and the long summer holidays. So can we. We don’t really need to artificially split up a year into terms and holidays or a day into school hours and free time. Every…

Why We Should Praise Our Kids

Praise is a tricky topic, isn’t it? Do we praise our kids or not? Many unschoolers and parenting experts warn us to stay well away from praise. We shouldn’t manipulate our kids with our words, should we? And will our kids think they’re better than everyone else if we heap lavish praise upon them? Years ago, I read all the expert opinions, but they didn’t match up to my experiences with my children. I wondered what I should do.…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

Unschooling: Trust, Autonomy, and The Realities of Learning

The Ladies are Fixing the World again! Cecilie, Sandra and I are discussing the words ‘self-regulation’ and ‘limits’. When we say, “I’ve let go of control, and now I’m waiting for my child to learn how to regulate his time playing video games (for example),” do we have expectations about what that regulation should look like? Do we want…

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…

Christian unschooling

Christian Unschooling: Are Desires Important?

Do you have great desires? Are there things you want to do with your life? Maybe you know in a vague kind of way that you need to do something, but you don’t know what you should do. Or perhaps your desires don’t feel important. When I was a child, I had desires, but they came to nothing. Other people…

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 quite right. It didn’t flow.” And with a sigh, I added, “I’ll have to record it again.” Well, today, I…
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