Unschooling: Learning the Important Things Before Time Runs Out
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
What if We’d Like Our Kids to Be Early Risers?
Sometimes when I write a post about our typical unschooling days, a reader stops by and says, “Oh, Sue, your mornings sound delightful! I wish my family would get up early so we could get a good start on the…
I Need Your Help. Do You Need Mine?
I decide to abandon my unschooling blog, leaving it online to look after itself while I move on. But then I discover I can’t actually do that. Blogs need attention, whether we’re writing on them or not. If I don’t…
Comparing Homeschooling Styles: a Child’s View
Sophie and I are strolling up to the village together, arm in arm. Sophie is chattering but my mind is a million miles away… until I hear her say, “Miranda does much more school work than we do.” “What do…
Unschool Crime Connections
Did Erin Patterson murder three people with her beef Wellington? Did she use toxic death cap mushrooms in her deadly dinner? Many people worldwide have been waiting for answers to these questions. Some media dubbed Patterson’s trial as The Mushroom…
Unschooling: Elephant Education
The last time we went to the zoo, we stood shoulder to shoulder along the fence of the elephant enclosure, waiting for an educational presentation to begin. At the advertised hour, a young man dressed in khaki shorts and shirt, holding a mic, strode into the open space in front of us. He treated us to a huge zoo-welcoming smile and shouted, “I’m Noah! I’m your host for today’s elephant talk!” And then he gave a slick word-perfect lecture that…
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 position as parent. Or I could have mentioned how tired I am. I’m sure my kids would have said, “Mum, you sit down. We’ll do the work.” Someone would have made me a cup of tea. They wouldn’t have made…
Unschooling: Clock Watching
I used to watch the clock a lot. Many years ago, when I was at school, every classroom had a clock on the wall. And each of those clocks had leaden hands that moved so slowly that I often thought I’d go crazy before they reached the half-hour or hour position. At those magical points on the circle, a bell would ring, releasing us, sending us into a flurry of activity. We’d thrust our books into our bags and race…
Unschooling: Boring or Maybe Not
Do you find certain things boring? Do your kids? I used to tell everyone I disliked science. I found it boring. This was sad because I did a Bachelor of Science degree. On paper, I’m a scientist. In real life, I’m a writer. The other day, I set out across the Internet, hopping from link to link and ended up having a wonderful adventure. It all started when I found an image of some Great Barrier Reef corals that I…
Unschooling: Absorbed
Many of us have a hard time focusing on the things we really want to do. We are easily distracted. We check emails or our social media notifications because that’s easier than getting down to some serious work. I had a distraction problem when I was writing my unschooling books, Curious Unschoolers and Radical Unschool Love. I used to get frustrated with myself because I seemed unable to spend time doing deep work. I read Cal Newport’s book Deep Work…
How Our Unschooled Kids Need a Deep Kind of Example
Sometimes I’m asked: ‘How do I get my kids to get up early? How do I get them to exercise? And I’d like to get the chores done as a family at the start of each day. Then there are prayers and other things I’d like to fit into our day. How do I establish a rhythm in our home that looks like yours?’ So what do I say? Well, all families are different, aren’t they? Our days are never…
Discussing Books and Writing Stories
Not so long ago, I posted the following words, about the current pandemic and control, in the Stories of an Unschooling Family community: One of the things that I’m finding hard to deal with at the moment is the lack of control I have over my life. Someone else is making decisions that affect me. I can’t do anything about that. I know that these are extraordinary times. Decisions are made with safety in mind. (Though a few of the…
The Problem With Being Too Nice
Are you too nice? I am. I want to help everyone. Support and encouragement are my middle names. Send me an email and I’ll spend hours answering it. Write me a comment and I’ll always reply. Ask for some mentoring and I’ll do my best even though you tell me you can’t pay. I write a book. And another. Then I decide I need to offer something extra. How about a book club? I pay for blog and podcast hosting…
An Answer to the Chores Problem
We’d all like our children to be considerate, hard working and happy to help others. We’d especially like them to be willing to help…
Accepting, Respecting, and Loving Unconditionally: An Unschooler’s Thoughts
In episode 70 of my podcast, Trust, Respect, and Love Unconditionally. my daughter Sophie shared some very insightful thoughts about respecting kids, accepting them…
Parenting Teenagers: Why I Don’t Make Rules
Every now and then, I stumble across a blog post containing a long list of rules for keeping teenagers safe from the dangers of…
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…
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…
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…
Should We Encourage Our Kids to Follow Their Dreams?
What did you want to be when you were a child? I wanted to be a writer. I had a cardboard box inside my wardrobe where I stored my scribbled stories about princesses, dragons and faraway kingdoms. At night, in bed, before dropping off to sleep, I’d think up stories about large happy families who were a lot like the…
How to Write a Million Unschool Love Stories
I used to think the defining word of unschooling was freedom. Freedom attracted me. I wanted to be free to do whatever I liked. I wanted to get up each day and do anything or nothing at all. But I soon realised there’s a problem with freedom. If we always do whatever we like, won’t we become self-centred? Thinking only…