Unschooling, Strewing and Unplanning
The other night I turned off my computer for the day, and settled down with my family to watch a movie… at least I tried to watch. My mind kept straying from Beauty and the Beast to Evernote. Then just…
A Jane Austen Education
I was on my way to bed when I noticed the older girls’ bedroom light was still on. As I stood outside the door I could hear Imogen’s voice. It sounded like she was reading out loud. Pushing open the…
Reluctant to Persuade or Engage
I create a Friends Club, write and publish an exclusive members-only story, and then display a preview of it – an excerpt and an image – on my blog. I look at the red-tufted, painted cow staring back at me…
Do You Know Who You Are?
Do you know who you are? That might seem like a silly question. We’ve lived with ourselves for years. Surely we know ourselves better than anyone else in the world? But just recently, I’ve been wondering if there are things…
Misconceptions: Unschooling Children Will Choose Not to Do Difficult Things
I often run down the main fire trail that winds its way through our local bush. The track descends gently at first, but then drops away so steeply I have to take care not to lose my footing. After I…
Opening Myself Up to Criticism
I’m It’s inevitable: someone is going to criticise my unschooling books. No one has yet, but someone will. How do I know this? Well, even though we would like to think everyone agrees with our ideas and likes our work, that’s just not true. It’s impossible to please everyone in this world. A week or so ago, I finished listening to the audio version of Trent Dalton’s, Boy Swallows Universe. Maybe my family was glad when I came to the…
Stories from My Closet
Yesterday, I sat inside my walk-in-wardrobe (closet) for an hour. Do you know what I was doing in there? I wasn’t sorting out my clothes. I was recording a podcast! Why was I podcasting in my closet? Well, in podcast episode 151, I was pondering the possibility of making an audio version of my book Curious Unschoolers. Do I have the necessary speaking skills? Could I make my recording sound good? A listener -James – stopped by to say, “You…
Stories from ‘Curious Unschoolers’
I wrote an unschooling book called Curious Unschoolers. I published it. Then I told everyone about my book. I received many wonderfully supportive comments. A few days ago, I posted the following words on Instagram: I was telling my husband Andy about my brilliant friends: “It was wonderful how everyone got excited when they heard I was about to publish my unschooling book. Then I announced the book is available and they ordered copies and couldn’t wait for them to…
My Book ‘Curious Unschoolers’ is Now Available!
My book Curious Unschoolers is now available for purchase. I’ve been wanting to say those words for a very long time. Yes, it has taken me years to write and publish this book! You might know that I received a proof copy of Curious Unschoolers in the mail about a week ago. Since then, my daughter Imogen and I have been adjusting the formatting of the book so that it looks as good as possible. Last night, we finally got…
The Best Time and Place for Things to Go Wrong
On Sunday morning, Sophie and I headed into town for Mass. Earlier, I’d said, “Let’s take our cameras with us. After Mass, we can do some street photography, and we could have coffee in that cafe down the far end of town, the one we’ve never visited before.” So that was the plan. A morning out with my teenager daughter. We travelled along the back road to town, up hills and down. When we reached the final hill, I noticed…
Unschooling Books and Bedtimes
Knock! Knock! My husband Andy looked at me and I looked at him. We both looked at the clock. Who could that be at our front door, at 8 o’clock on a weekday evening? Andy heaved himself out of his armchair and plodded off to find out. “Hello!” Our new friends Tony and Ellie appeared in the doorway of our living room. “I hope you don’t mind us dropping by.” They smiled, their eyes meeting mine. Then their eyes wandered downwards…
Unschooling Book Two Is Done Too!
Would you like to hear my latest unschooling book news? As you might know, I finished writing Curious Unschoolers a few weeks ago. Now I’ve finished my second book, Radical Unschool Love! I don’t know if that’s good news for my daughter, Imogen, because I’m about to give her more work to do. Soon she’ll be formatting the manuscript ready for publication! . I feel like I’ve been writing my unschooling books forever. Many, many times I’ve wanted to walk…
My Unschooler’s Homeschool Registration Visit
It seems like a very long time since I last wrote a blog post. Maybe you were beginning to think I’d abandoned my blog. Could I have gone off to do something completely different? No, I still here! I’ve just been spending a lot of time working on my unschooling books instead of blogging. So how are my books coming along? The first book Curious Unschoolers is finished. But even though all the words are written, there are still other…
Discouraged
I’m feeling discouraged. I wonder: why am I doing this? Why am I blogging and podcasting? I know the answer: I want to spread…
Will Our Kids Include Us in Their Lives Once They’ve Left Home?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
How to Unschool During the Baby Seasons of Life: The Magic Answer
Maybe most people think of me as an older unschooler blogger because, at the moment, I'm surrounded by unschooling teens and young adults. I'm…
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…
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…
When Mothering Is Not Enough
Should our kids be our whole world? Should we dedicate all our time and effort to raising the most precious people in our lives? Or is it okay to combine motherhood with our own interests? Could there be advantages in using our gifts and pursuing the things that bring us joy not only for us but also for our kids?…
Christian Unschooling: Do Kids Need Silence and Space to Hear God?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…