The Awesome Teacher and Other Stuff

My daughter Sophie is very busy. Every morning she opens her computer, impatient to begin work. “What are you doing?” I ask. “I’m coding. I’m modifying the template on my ‘test’ blog.” Sophie shows me what she’s doing. “Are you…

Is Unconditional Love at the Heart of Unschooling?

Recently, while travelling to town with two of my daughters, we talked about unschooling and how it’s impossible to say to another family, “Unschool in the same way as us.” Each family is different. Kids have their unique needs based…

Comparing Homeschooling Styles: a Child’s View

 Sophie and I are strolling up to the village together, arm in arm. Sophie is chattering but my mind is a million miles away… until I hear her say, “Miranda does much more school work than we do.”  “What do…

How I Gave Up and Started Unschooling

A guest post by Venisa McAllister We started with high hopes. When my oldest daughter Sarah was old enough for kindergarten I enrolled her in a program called k-12. They would give us a computer, fun learning materials, and help…

Be Brave and The Unschool Challenge

Sometimes we have to be brave, don’t we? We might need to ignore people’s opinions and possible criticism and do whatever fulfils the needs of our kids. We could need courage to ignore our fears about how our work will…

Latest

Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case: [Podcast]

In this week’s podcast episode, I’m sharing a story called Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case. And I’m discussing the main points in it. Is it sensible to make all kids learn maths just in case? What if kids need maths to go to university? What if they decide they want to go to school? This is another episode in my blog post story podcast series! Show Notes Blog post Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case…

Sitting Quietly: Unschool Bits and Pieces

Kids Sitting Quietly in Church The other day, I was asked: How do you get young, unschooled children to sit quietly, without disturbing anyone, in church? This was my reply: When my kids were very small I didn’t expect them to sit quietly in church. Little children aren’t designed to sit still for long periods of time. So whenever my kids would get upset, I’d take them outside or I’d walk up and down at the back of the church…

Are You a Curious Unschooler? [Podcast]

I recorded a new podcast episode! That might surprise you because it’s been quite a while since my last episode. I’ve become a bit of an unreliable podcaster. But, hopefully, that’s about to change: I’m planning to record a new series of episodes. Each episode will be based on a blog post. I’ll be telling a story and then chatting about its main points. Sharing some unschooling thoughts and ideas and maybe a few resources as well. I hope you like…

What if Your Right is My Wrong? Unschool Bits and Pieces

What if Your Right is My Wrong? I’m always talking about how important it is that our children develop a sense of right and wrong. But what do we mean by ‘right’? Could your idea of what is right be my wrong? Could my right be your wrong? Although we are all unschoolers, we might not share the same values and beliefs. And this might worry anyone who is thinking about unschooling. What if we give our children the freedom to…

Unschooling, University and More: An Interview

How do unschoolers get into university? Does unschooling prepare kids for the university experience? How do they get on studying in an educational institution for the first time? When my son Callum was 22, we discussed these questions in a video interview. Here’s the transcript of our conversation. Sue : Callum, you were homeschooled right up until the time you went to university. Did you enjoy homeschooling? Callum: I did, yes. Sue : What in particular did you enjoy about it? Callum :…

Critical Comments: Unschool Bits and Pieces

Dealing With Unschooling Critics I know your heart is in the right place. You’re full of love. I can see that. But is that enough? Frankly, my dear, I’m worried. I’m not saying this lightly. I’m not the kind of person who likes to interfere. Everyone knows that. However…. don’t you think you’re putting your kids at risk? They need discipline. Rules. Limits. The other day, I discovered these words in my notebook and for a moment, I wondered who’d said…

Is Our Unschooling Life Rich Enough?

Some unschooling families seem to live very adventurous lives that make ours look rather ordinary. And I wonder: Is our life rich enough for our children? Are they getting all the opportunities they need to learn so that they grow into the kind of people who will change the world for the better? Perhaps it’s time for us to live differently. We could buy a farm, grow our own organic vegetables, have alpacas, spin wool, weave our own cloth, live…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

Resources for Unschoolers

Strolling towards the shopping centre, I spy an older man with three hand-reared brightly coloured parrots. A few wide-eyed kids are gathered around him, and as I watch, he transfers a parrot to one of their shoulders, where it bounces lightly upon its feet, nuzzling a little ear. The child grins, hardly daring to move. The children have questions which…

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.…

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

Is It Okay if Parents Want to Influence Their Unschooling Kids?

Is it okay if we try to influence our unschooling kids? What if we’d like them to acquire particular values? Can we expose them to our beliefs? Or should we stand back and try to keep quiet about the things we base our lives on and let our kids work out everything for themselves? Let’s say we decide it’s…
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