How to Make Evernote Unschool Records Look Impressive

Every two years, an Authorised Person (AP) from the Education Department comes to visit our family as part of our homeschool registration process. We have to show her what we’ve been doing. We have to prove to her that my…

How Choosing a Different Path Can Cause Conflict

When we choose to do things differently from those around us, it’s rarely simple. Although we might say that it’s okay for everyone to do what suits their own family – which is true – somehow it’s hard not to…

Everything is Educational, Even Disney Princesses

I’ve been thinking… Are some things more educational than others? And what makes something educational anyway? Can Disney Princesses be educational? Or are some things only fun things? The other evening I discovered my teenage daughters, Imogen and Charlotte, in the…

Latest

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 my daughters Imogen and Sophie. . My girls both have a day off work tomorrow so we could sit around my Yeti together and discuss such things as: What does unschooling look like in the teenage years? Is this a time to tighten up and prepare for university or other tertiary learning? How do unschoolers get…

Finding Unschooling in Unexpected Places and Other Things

A couple of weeks ago, I read C.G. Drews’ young adult novel, A Thousand Perfect Notes after hearing about it in one of my daughter Imogen’s book review videos. In the story, Maestro, a former famous pianist, forces her son Beck to use his talent for music in the way she thinks best. She pushes him to practice and practice the piano and to enter classical music competitions. And despite working as hard as he can, he never pleases his…

Taking the Unschooling Yeti for a Test Drive

Did you hear about my Yeti? My husband Andy gave it to me for Christmas. When I unwrapped my gift, I was so excited. A new mic! For more than a week, my Yeti mic stayed in its box. And then the other day, I said to my teenage daughter Sophie, “Shall we take the Yeti for a test drive? How about we record a podcast together?” Sophie set up the mic. She chose the interview setting and then we…

Reading Out Loud and a Generous Christmas

Do you like listening to stories being read out loud? I have to admit that this isn’t my favourite activity. My mind tends to wander and I miss half the words. But my kids are different from me. They love reading aloud time. Even though most of my children are grown up, they still like to gather whenever anyone opens a book and says, “Do you want to listen?” I wonder why my kids love listening and I don’t. Perhaps…

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 wanted to avoid battling my way around the shops or websites looking for everything at a good price. If I’d…

An Unschooler Talks About Life, Work and Dreams

Perhaps we worry that if we let our kids follow their interests, they won’t gain all the knowledge they will need if they decide to do some kind of tertiary study in the future. How will they get on when the time comes to study at a university or other higher education institution? I have five children who have studied at university level without a problem. Being interested in a subject and seeing its relevance gave them knowledge which was…

When a Child Is No Longer Gripped by a Passion

A friend asked: “Have your kids ever been between interests?” The short answer to that question is yes. There have indeed been times when my kids have lost their enthusiasm for their interests. Their excitement for learning, in general, disappeared. Nothing seemed to grab their attention. They were no longer gripped by a passion. At first, this worried me. But now, having experienced this situation a number of times, I think quiet seasons are a normal part of our learning lives. It…

Difficult Things

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Pam Laricchia from the Living Joyfully with Unschooling website: Would I like to be part of her Exploring Unschooling podcast? As I read the invitation, I felt excited. I’m a fan of Pam’s. I knew it would be good to chat with her. But then, my excitement was overtaken by fear. I suddenly thought of a dozen reasons why I shouldn’t do the interview. What if our Internet speed was too slow to maintain…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

What Is Unschooling?

What is unschooling? I’ve been blogging about unschooling for over 5 years now. You’d think I would already have written a post with this…

The Ladies Fixing the World

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…

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 a time when we dreamed that all our children would buy houses on the same street as our family home.…

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…

Christian unschooling

The ‘Risky’ Business of Trusting Children

Trusting children to make their own choices sounds risky enough when it applies only to education, but what if you extend this trust to other areas of life? Will children decide they don’t want to go to Mass or eat healthy food? Perhaps they will want to watch inappropriate movies or play computer games all day. Some parents decide they…
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