How My Daughters Are Organising My Education

Once again, it’s Monday, the day the girls have their piano lessons. Once again, Charlotte took Les Miserables to read, while she was waiting for her turn at the piano. “So how did you get on with your book?” I…

It’s Not a Periscope: Introduction

I’ve been thinking about periscopes. It seems to be the latest thing. Loads of people are making them. They head over to Twitter and announce they’ll be speaking live at a certain hour. Hopefully, a few viewers tune in at…

Unschooling: Living Lives Unimagined

This morning, my photo appeared on the Homeschooling Global Summit website. There I am in the section, Homeschooling and Unschooling Leaders speaking at HGS 2020! Last week, I was interviewed by Daniel Prince from the HGS. Of course, we spoke…

What is it Like to Be an Unschooling Parent?

Ten Minutes on Thursday I have to admit I failed: Five Minutes on Friday has turned into Ten Minutes on Thursday. I just couldn’t say all I wanted about this week’s topic, in only 5 minutes. Well, maybe I could…

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Embracing Gaming: An Unschooling Challenge

What do we do if our kids want to play games for hours, and we’re not happy about that? We could limit their screen time. Make some rules about when and what and where children can play games. We could try ignoring our worries, remind ourselves of the benefits of gaming, and then let our kids get on with it (until our doubts overwhelm us once again). Or we could embrace our kids’ passion for gaming. Instead of just tolerating…

Giving Our Kids Time to Discover Who They Are

Did you go to school? Were your teenage years crammed full of lessons, homework and preparation for exams? Perhaps, like me, you had very little free time for yourself. And when you did have a few quiet hours, were you encouraged to do something useful with them rather than rest or think or dream or chat? Many parents get concerned about time. It seems to pass too quickly, doesn’t it? Should we try to make every moment count by cramming…

This Time Next Year: Where Will You Be?

Do you ever play the game, ‘this time last year…’? What about ‘this time next year…’? How does it feel looking back? What do you hope for the future? Several days ago, my very thoughtful phone made me a video using some of the many photos in my camera roll. It titled it: This Day 2018. On that day, four years ago, my daughters Imogen and Sophie accompanied me to Canberra where we gave a talk about unschooling to a…

Clock Watching, Short Lessons and Curious Questions

This morning, after a long break, I dusted off my mic, sat down and made a new podcast episode! I enjoyed doing this, but I don’t know if I’m back permanently. Can I afford to keep podcasting? Can I afford to keep blogging? (I recently received some huge hosting bills.) Do I still have enough stories to share? Does anyone still want to listen? I talk about these questions in episode 190. In my latest podcast, I also read one…

Can Video Games Be Safe Places For Our Kids (And Us)?

Do kids who are denied their freedom want to spend a lot of time on their devices? Do they retreat into their games because, unlike the real world, they’re in control of these virtual ones? Do kids use games as a safe refuge from a sometimes difficult real world? Are devices and video games and the reason kids want to spend so much time in front of their screens more complicated than we first imagine? Last year, during our almost-six-month…

Sharing the Ice Cream and Rejecting Tough Love

There’s a woman on YouTube who sips wine from a large glass while digging into a family-sized bucket of ice cream. She has some advice for parents. Her message goes something like this: Parents take back the reins. Forget all this being friends stuff. Show some tough love. It doesn’t matter if our kids protest and say such things as, “I don’t like you!” Hey, parenting isn’t a popularity contest. Take control. The battle is on, and we’re going to…

Can Christians Unschool?

Can Christians unschool? We’re Christian unschoolers. Maybe you’re Christian unschoolers too? There are lots of us living this way of life. But are we doing the right thing? Or are we side-stepping our responsibilities when we choose to unschool? Are we choosing the easy, lazy path? I often hear of parents who are struggling with homeschooling. Their kids aren’t doing their required school work. They’re protesting and battling with their parents. Life is hard. Despite the difficulties, these parents often…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

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…

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

Christian Unschooling and Other Things

I made a new podcast episode! Yes, after an absence of a few weeks, I’m back. So where did I go? Nowhere in particular. I was just at home enjoying lots of slow summer days. Maybe I was feeling lazy. But yesterday, that changed. I suddenly felt like getting back to work. And so I thought I’d record a catch-up…
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