My Number One Unschooling Fan
I’m my kids’ number one fan. I cheer my children on from the sidelines, encouraging them to develop their talents and become the people they are meant to be. I tell them I’m proud of them. I share in the…
Encouraging Children So They Get Excited About Learning
We never made a conscious decision to unschool. I didn’t wake up one morning and say, “Hey kids, let’s give unschooling a go.” No, over a long period of time I gradually threw out all that wasn’t working for us…
What Unschoolers Miss Out On
Have you ever started the school term with loads of enthusiasm and excitement? Perhaps you’ve thought, “This term is going to be perfect!” Even though last term wasn’t. And the one before that also ended with a fizzle instead of…
Encouraging Kids’ Ideas
The other day, I was telling you about my plans to transcribe parts of my podcasts. I want to make them into blog posts. I found some software called Transcribe to help me, and this afternoon, I tried it out.…
An Irresistible Invitation to an Unschooling Voyage of Discovery
Isn’t it wonderful to receive an invitation? Someone has chosen us! There are all kinds of invitations, from coffee dates to weddings. I love hearing, “Mum, would you like to meet up for lunch with me?” Sometimes, we eagerly accept…
Our Writing Unrules for Unschoolers
How do unschoolers learn to write? Can they gain the necessary writing skills without any formal instruction? I think they can. Actually, I know they can because that’s what my daughter Imogen did! She’s an unschooler who went to university to study writing. Now she has a Bachelor of Arts degree in professional writing and publishing. She’s also written and published her first YA novel and is well on her way to finishing its sequel. So Imogen is an unschooler…
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…
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…
Reflecting Badly On Our Family
Andy and I take Nora and Quinn to the vet for their annual checkups. We wonder if our dogs are the correct weight for…
Connecting Unschooling and Ageing
I’m lying on my bed thinking about ageing when my daughter Sophie appears. “I thought I’d come and have a chat with you before…
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 Is Carried by Conversations
Dinner tables, car rides, bedtime chats, and café corners are the real places where unschooling lives and grows. Conversations—often unscheduled, informal, and unplanned—can become the central structure of a learning life. Gathering at the Dinner Table In our house, we never met for breakfast or lunch. Those were meals where people ate what, where and when they liked. But we…
Unschooling: How Do We Know They’re Learning?
There are loads of unschooling questions we could ask about learning: How do we know unschooling kids are learning? Should they be learning particular things? Is there knowledge that all kids need? Are our unschooled kids learning enough? Can they get behind? Should we just trust our kids are learning? But what if we have doubts? Or what if we…
Kids, Needs, and Church
Should unschooled kids be forced to go to church? I wonder if this is the wrong question to ask when our kids protest about coming with us. Would it be better to ask, Why doesn’t my child want to go to church? In this week’s podcast, I talk about this question as well as : The importance of trying to see…
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…