Stories of an Unschooling Family

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…

Rules, Responsible Parenting and Radical Unschooling

If you do a Google search on unschooling it won’t take you very long to find someone criticising unschoolers. The most judged unschoolers are those who have adopted a radical way of life: those who do not force a set…

Unschooling: Impressing Other People

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…

Getting Kids to Help with the Chores

Should parents expect kids to help with the chores? How do we encourage kids to have a generous attitude and want to be part of the family team, helping with the work? Here’s a simple suggestion that doesn’t involve chore…

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Christian Unschooling: Should Parents Demand Obedience from Their Children?

Not so long ago, I was reading a spiritual book that mentioned monks and their life of poverty, chastity and obedience. And this got me thinking about obedience. Monks are obedient to their superiors and the rule of their order. They are imitating Jesus who was obedient to God the Father even until death. Obedience is obviously good so perhaps Christian parents should demand obedience from their children. Yes, our kids should obey us. We are their superiors. We know…

Younger Unschoolers: Our Learning Adventure Rules

If we’re willing to seize the moment, we can have some fabulous spur-of-the-moment learning adventures. We could find ourselves unexpectedly sitting on a beach watching breaching whales. But can we also have planned adventures with our unschooling kids? Oh yes! When my kids were younger, they loved exploring new places and experiencing new things. (They still do!) They were ready at any moment to head out the door on an adventure. But sometimes I wasn’t ready. Other things claimed my…

Younger Unschoolers: Spur-of-the-Moment Adventures

One of the best learning days that I can remember happened many years ago when my eldest child was about six or seven. I was listening to the radio while doing some chores and heard that a whale and her calf had been spotted off a local beach. I told my kids (I had three at the time), and they got very excited. Could we go to the beach? Could we see the whales? Of course! We abandoned the chores,…

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!) But I have also written a number of stories about younger kids. I could probably write a few new ones too because, of course, I have lots of younger-children memories! I could introduce a few topics, share some thoughts, link…

Fighting on the Front Line

A couple of days ago, we had some good news: the status of our bushfire has changed from ‘out of control’ to ‘being controlled’. Isn’t that wonderful? The fire is huge so the fight to put it out is far from over. But the change in status is very encouraging. So far this week, the weather has been mild. I’m sure the RFS (Rural Fire Service) is grateful for the lower temperatures and the lack of strong winds. They’ve been…

Giggling at Shocking Things

On the first day of 2020, I lost my sense of humour. Usually, I’m a positive person, but the current bushfire situation pushed me over the edge. “I’m tired of breathing smoky air,” I complained. “I’m fed up of watching fire updates and wondering if the fire is coming our way. I want life to return to normal.” My husband Andy tried to make me feel better. “It will all be over soon.” But that’s not true. The fire has…

Mother on Duty

At 10:15 am, my youngest daughter Gemma-Rose appears in the living room where I’m keeping track of the bushfire activity near us. (Through the window, I can see the fire trucks and other vehicles arriving and leaving our road.) ”You slept in for a long time,” I say. “You must have been tired.” Gemma-Rose nods. I understand. Living with a bushfire in our village is exhausting. ”I didn’t get much sleep last night,” I say. “While everyone was asleep, I…

When Life Gets a Bit Too Interesting!

Life is certainly interesting at the moment. A little bit too interesting! You might remember how a week or so ago, we prepared our house just in case the out-of-control bushfire that was burning not very far away arrived in our village. Well, the other day, the fire did arrive. Life hasn’t been normal since we received an emergency warning about the fire. It’s become full of bushfires, fire trucks, evacuation centres, water-bombing aircraft, containment lines and bulldozers. There has…

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My Unschooling Books

Wholy Souly

Belong

On a mid-spring day that feels like summer, I walk through the bush with Nora and Quinn, scanning the sandy track ahead for snakes among the fallen tree branches. The [...]

The Premature End

I’m going to do something I shouldn’t because it’s breaking the rules. But I’m going to do it anyway. I’m breaking my blogging pact. Yes, two weeks in, and I [...]

Rereading the Day

Each evening, do you reflect on your day? Do you make a note of the blessings and delights you received? How about the difficult times? Perhaps you think about the [...]

Shame About AI

Should people who use AI feel ashamed? Should I feel that way? While researching AI, I found a commenter saying authors who use AI to promote their work should be [...]