A Homeschooler’s Thoughts on Her First University Exam

Yesterday, I spent over two hours sitting in the car outside the Flight Centre at Goulburn Airport. Inside this building, Imogen was doing her very first university exam. She has spent the last semester studying the unit Introduction to University…

Why We Don’t Have to Push Kids to Work Hard

This morning, my husband Andy watched as our girls and I got ready to go for a run. As we laced up our shoes, he grinned and said: “What a mean mother you are making everyone run before breakfast!” Although…

A Gradual Approach to Unschooling and More

Perhaps you’ve already tried unschooling and it didn’t work out for your family.  You might have ended up in a situation you didn’t feel comfortable with. Maybe unschooling didn’t look as you’d imagined? Or maybe you haven’t yet dived in…

Latest

How Will You Know if Unschooling Works?

How will you know if unschooling works? Will you know it works if your children get into good universities, earn degrees, and then get high status jobs, ones that are well paying, safe and secure? Will you grin with delight and say to those who criticised your way of life, “Look, unschooling works!” Will your friends and family be impressed? Will your children’s achievements change their opinion about unschooling? Will you feel relieved that it all worked out?  Or will…

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 child is a teenager or older, there’s still plenty of time because unschooling isn’t a method of homeschooling that ends at the usual school-leaving age. It’s something that’s life-long. And it’s not just about life-long learning. The most important aspect of unschooling involves relationships. Unschooling leads to close bonds between parent and child. These connections tell…

What Kind of Home Do Kids Need?

The other day, while walking our dogs through the bush close to home, I met a neighbour who warned me to watch out for snakes. He’d almost stepped on one and had sighted others that had slithered away. Years ago, one of my kids yelled, ‘Mum, there’s a snake outside!’ I dashed to the window and saw a snake coiled up on the path between our garage and the back door. What were we to do? Until the snake disappeared,…

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, and Imogen suggested we visit the Converse shop. I protested: “Converse sneakers are too expensive!” but Imogen pushed me through the door, and soon I was trying on some All-Star low tops. They were perfect. Imogen told me to take…

The Dangers of Distraction

We often let ourselves be distracted, don’t we? But while we’re enjoying the excitement of pursuing something new and sparkly, there’s a danger we’ll lose the important things we already have. I dart from one project to another as they catch my attention. And then I have a brand new idea and get extra excited. This is it! I drop everything to explore this fabulously delicious fresh idea. I work out how to make reels and shorts and wonder if…
1 … 18 19 20 21 22 … 109

My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

How Unschooling Doesn’t Guarantee a Fairytale Life

Yesterday evening, like all Sunday evenings, my kids who live locally came to dinner. Six of us gathered around our dining room table, savouring a meal cooked by my husband while enjoying the usual end-of-the-week lively catch-up conversation. There was a time when we dreamed that all our children would buy houses on the same street as our family home.…

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!…

The Math Myth: How Do Unschooled Kids Learn Math?

There are many unschool maths questions. Here are just a few of them: Can kids really learn maths without formal instruction? What does unschooling maths look like? Can we strew unschool maths? Is it possible for registered homeschoolers to unschool maths? How can we provide evidence kids are learning maths when we don’t have formal records like workbooks and test…

Christian unschooling

Unschooling and Trust

I have been struggling with this post for a while now, and wondering why I’m having so much trouble finding the right words. And I have decided it’s the language. I want to write a story from a personal point of view like I normally do. And I can’t. We had such a gradual transition to unschooling, I didn’t really…

Unschooling, Homemaking, and a Mother’s Role

Erin wrote: What does the idea of homemaking mean to you? Is it a certain skill set or talent? Does it need to look or happen a certain way, or is it a flexible term? What role does homemaking play for you in home ed life? Do the two need to go together? Are there aspects of homemaking that you…
Go toTop