Homeschooling Heidi
“Can we have another chapter of Heidi, please Mum?” begs Sophie. It’s the third time I’ve been asked that question today. “If you make me a cup of coffee and get the book ready, I’ll be there in a minute.” The girls…
Unschoolers Talk About Freedom to Choose
“If children are given the freedom to do whatever they want, will they choose to do nothing at all?” I ask my daughters. Sophie smiles and says, “It’s not possible to do nothing.” “But I’ve heard parents say to their…
How Introverts Aren’t Necessarily Shy
Introverts aren’t shy. At least we’re not. Yes, we’re an introverted family. The whole lot of us. This is rather nice because we understand each other perfectly. Outsiders often don’t. When we’re at a gathering, especially if there’s a crowd,…
Encouraging Each Other
Sue Elvis is a mother of 8 with stacks of stories to tell. She generously shares her Stories of an Unschooling Family on her blog, YouTube channel, podcast, Instagram and most recently in her books, Curious Unschoolers and Radical Unschool…
How to Beat Time Who Jolts Us Forward Without Permission
Time moves us forward without our permission. If we don’t want to look back with regret, we should stop worrying about the future and focus on the present moment, extracting joy from each unschool day before it disappears.…
Are You an Unschooling Troublemaker Like Me?
ome years ago, the education laws in Australia changed. The minimum school leaving age was raised from 15 to 17 to ensure that every child receives a better education. Well, that was the official reason for the change, but I suspect money was at the heart of the decision. But that’s another story! Today, I want to tell you about how I was labelled a troublemaker because of the changes. All homeschoolers in our state were invited to meet with…
Christian Unschooling: Are Desires Important?
Do you have great desires? Are there things you want to do with your life? Maybe you know in a vague kind of way that you need to do something, but you don’t know what you should do. Or perhaps your desires don’t feel important. When I was a child, I had desires, but they came to nothing. Other people said that they knew what was best for me, and so I left my dreams behind. Yes, my desires felt…
Letting Go of Our Own Ideas About Our Kids’ Education
Many years ago, I set out on a big search for the perfect method of homeschooling. I was looking for something that would ensure that my kids learnt all the essentials of a good education. (These basics varied depending on what books I was reading.) The perfect method also had to suit me. What did I want to do each day as far as homeschooling went? What did I enjoy learning about that I wanted to pass on to my…
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, doesn’t it? Yes, ticking off boxes is good. Well, it usually is. It just depends on what’s on our lists. Years ago, I used to have long lists of things I wanted my kids to do: complete maths problems, memorise…
When We Reach Crisis Point
The other day, I heard some words to this effect: Only when the pain that it takes to remain the same outweighs the pain that it takes to change are we finally willing to make some decisions and act. We might be aware that things aren’t right. We know we should make some changes, but we put off doing this. Maybe we’re hoping things will get better. We’ll cope. We don’t want to give in. Perhaps change will involve facing…
Focusing on the Smaller But More Important Things in Life
In my last post I said: What am I going to do next? What are my plans? What’s ahead for me? Someone at the Canberra unschooling meeting wanted to know what I’d like to do now that I’ve published my unschooling books. Will I write more books? Perhaps I’ll take up a new challenge? I now know the answer: I’m going to finish editing my third children’s novel, The Angels of Convict Way. You might have heard me talking about…
How Both Unschooling Parents and Kids Can Do Amazing Things
What am I going to do next? What are my plans? What’s ahead for me? Someone at the Canberra unschooling meeting wanted to know what I’d like to do now that I’ve published my unschooling books. Will I write more books? Perhaps I’ll take up a new challenge? I was happily surprised by the questions. Normally, when I get together with other parents, the conversation revolves solely around our children. But it shouldn’t. Parents’ hopes and dreams and interests are…
Unschool Writing: What About Grammar and Punctuation?
How do unschoolers learn to write? This was one of the questions we were asked when we spoke at the recent Canberra unschooling talk. First, I think kids need something to say before they want to write. Lots of different things inspire us to write. Here are just a few: books, movies, games, events, and lively discussions that lead to thoughts and opinions. When my kids were little, they acted out what they wanted to say while they played. They also…
A Big Chat About Unschooling Teenagers
Some time ago, I asked: Is anyone interested in discussing the teenage unschooling years? I’m thinking of recording a podcast on this topic with…
Junk Food and Poor Hygiene: Is Radical Unschooling Wrong?
Have you heard the stories? The ones about the radically unschooled kids who refuse to eat healthy food and never brush their teeth? Perhaps…
Is it Really Okay to Give Unschooling Kids Unlimited Access to Screens and the Internet?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Curiosity, Flexibility, and Trust
I’m a Lady Fixing the World! Cecilie Conrad kindly invited me to join her and Sandra Dodd for Season 2 of her podcastThe Ladies Fixing the World. We recorded our first unschooling conversation together in November 2024 before life got extra-busy with Christmas, and it has just gone live! The audio version. Here’s the audio version: You can also listen…
Learning to Read and Trusting Unschooling
It is absolutely essential that we are curious people who are excited about the possibilities in life. The atmosphere in our homes gets picked up by our kids so they think it’s normal to learn, to be curious, to follow thoughts and ideas and try things out… I was battling with my kids for a while. They kept saying, ‘Why…
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: Should We Encourage Our Kids to Seek Security?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
How Unschooling Saved the Dragon Mother
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…