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…

My Maths-Magician Helps Out

We are going on holiday, our first holiday in years and the girls are very excited. I am very excited too! We have a cottage booked opposite the lake, not far from the beach.  A couple of weeks ago we…

How Ticking Off Boxes Can Be a Waste of Time

Do you ever tick off boxes? When we have a lot of things to do, making a list, and then ticking off the items as we complete them, can be very helpful. It feels satisfying to see the ticks appearing,…

What Do Unschoolers Do All Day?

Years ago, when we first started homeschooling, I used to wonder, “What do unschoolers do all day?” Even though I’d read a few books, I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer to my question. I needed a fly-on-the wall view into…

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More About Starting Unschooling

Yesterday, I was brave. When I tell you what I did, maybe many of you will think, “Is that all Sue did?” You might not be impressed. However, I did something that was difficult for me. I hosted my first Zoom meeting! Two or three weeks ago, I’d tentatively suggested to my community friends that we meet up via a Zoom call. Half of me was hoping that no one would think this was a good idea. I’d be let…

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 about unschooling and our kids. But one of the other things we touched on was the adventures we’re both having as unschooling parents. As I said, years ago, I set out on a search for the best way to educate…

Unschooling: Kippers and Other Conversations

We’re watching Masterchef. In tonight’s episode, there’s an identification challenge. Laid out on a table is an array of small, large, speckled, dark, pink, long, flat, thin, goggled-eyed, scaly fish. The contestants stand in a line waiting for their turn to choose one of the fish and identify it. When someone makes a mistake, a judge says in a regretful tone, “I’m sorry, that’s not correct. You’re moving into the elimination round.” On Sunday, some of the contestants will cook…

When in Doubt, Just Love

Last Wednesday, I pushed our living room sofa out of position, exposing a stretch of plain duck-egg blue wall. I placed a chair and a small table where the sofa had been. On top of the table, I stacked six encyclopaedias. And on top of those thick books, I balanced my laptop which was attached to an external mic and webcam. Then I guarded everything from inquisitive cats and dogs until the clock hands reached 3.30 pm. Then with my…

Unschool Love Stories

About a month ago, I wrote the following story for my unschooling community: This morning, I didn’t want to go for a run. It was cold, I was tired, and I had no one to run with. Running seemed too difficult. Each morning for the last five days, I’ve found a reason not to head out the door just after sunrise to run along the bush tracks at the end of our road. I’ve been thinking: do I still want…

Unschooling: Haircut Courage

When I asked the hairdresser to cut my hair short, I had a definite idea of what I wanted. ”I like Andrea’s hairstyle,” I said, mentioning the name of a well-known TV presenter. “Could you cut my hair like hers?” Andrea’s hair was short and bouncy. It brushed the tops of her ears. It was feminine. It also looked very easy to look after. That’s the sort of hairstyle I needed. With three young children, I wanted something that I…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

Is It Working? Wrestling with Doubt in Unschooling

A grey day arrives that completely blots out the memory of all the preceding good days. We feel overwhelmed, tired, worried and lost. We wonder why we ever decided to unschool. A puddle of doubt about unschooling forms around us. What do we do? Cecilie, Sandra and I are discussing unschooling doubts and sharing our experiences in episode 10 of…

Resources for Unschoolers

Strolling towards the shopping centre, I spy an older man with three hand-reared brightly coloured parrots. A few wide-eyed kids are gathered around him, and as I watch, he transfers a parrot to one of their shoulders, where it bounces lightly upon its feet, nuzzling a little ear. The child grins, hardly daring to move. The children have questions which…

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!…

Christian unschooling

Respecting Kids and Christmas Presents

Does having a simple Christmas sound good? It does to me. This year, like last year and the one before, I wanted to announce that I’m not buying a lot of Christmas presents. I thought about saying that I’m not buying any at all. I didn’t want to think and think until the perfect gift ideas came to mind. I…
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