My Unschooling Podcast Adventure

Almost three years ago, I recorded my first podcast. For a few hours, I was very excited about what I’d produced. But then a short time later, I almost deleted the episode. I’m glad I didn’t because I know if…

Bob Blogosphere Discovers Imogen Elvis

The phone rings. “Hello?” “Sue!” A deep smooth voice from the past hits my ear. “Bob!” It’s Bob Blogosphere, the most powerful man in the blogosphere. He’s famous for his deep and probing interviews. He’s the man behind Blogosphere News. “Sue, I’ve…

Engines, Muscles, and Spending Time with Dad

I remove the engine from Callum’s old ute. It’s no longer needed. “I’m going to fit a bigger more powerful one,” my second son tells me. So he goes on a search and finds just the engine he’s looking for.…

Of Spiders and Saints and So-Much-Kindness

A Guest Blog Post by Suzie Andres My family and I are visiting my husband’s family in Florida. Yesterday my husband surprised me by getting up early (this is vacation!) and asking if I’d like to go with him to…

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Some Not-Your-Average Maths Websites for Unschool Strewing

Do you strew maths resources for your kids? I used to. I offered books, games, links to websites, and videos because I was legally required to offer maths learning opportunities to my children, and they protested when I presented them with traditional workbooks. They even rejected attractive online interactive maths programs. So, I hunted for other ways to introduce my girls to all the math concepts the education department expected them to learn. I had another reason for strewing maths…

An Unschool Challenge: Name Conversations

It seems to me that names can lead to many interesting conversations and much learning. While we’re sharing our name stories, we connect with the members of our family, present and past. We might learn more about each other, different places, historical events, books and a lot more. Sometimes choosing a name for a child can be delightful. Other times, finding the perfect name feels like an impossible task. We had trouble deciding what to call our fifth child. Here’s…

When Parents Want What Is Best for Themselves, Not Their Unschooling Kids

I stretch out my legs in front of me and immediately realise I’ve brought something back from my recent dog-walking expedition in the wet bush. I leap to my feet and scare Quinn by screaming, “Get off me!” A leech is feasting on my blood. I try flicking the leech off, but I know this won’t work: it’s firmly attached to my skin. What should I do? I remember a piece of advice given to me by a nature-loving friend:…

Unschooling and Connections: How Learning Is All About Creating a Web of Understanding

When I finished my university degree, I threw all my botany and biochemistry lecture notes and books into the garbage bin with relief. And I said, “No one will ever make me learn anything ever again!” I have a science degree, which was presented to me while I was wearing a fancy gown with a mortar board on my head. I have a piece of paper that tells the world I did the coursework, passed the exams, and was awarded…

Unschooling Maths – What Does Learning Math/s Naturally Look Like?

Many parents say, “We unschool except for maths.” I understand why some people are reluctant to let go of maths because, years ago, we were in the same situation. For some reason, it seemed hard to let my kids learn maths naturally from being exposed to it in their lives. But one day, my youngest two children began saying, “I hate maths!” like their older siblings had. As I couldn’t bear the thought of pushing two more children to do…

Unschooling: Trust, Autonomy, and The Realities of Learning

The Ladies are Fixing the World again! Cecilie, Sandra and I are discussing the words ‘self-regulation’ and ‘limits’. When we say, “I’ve let go of control, and now I’m waiting for my child to learn how to regulate his time playing video games (for example),” do we have expectations about what that regulation should look like? Do we want self-regulation to match what we think is best? Do we need our kids’ choices to resemble ours? If they don’t,…

What if Our Unschooled Kids Complain or Reject Everything We Hold Dear?

I took my blog offline to fix a few technical problems, but at the back of my mind was a question: Have I had enough of blogging? Maybe I should keep my blog hidden permanently from public view. Perhaps it’s time to become an ex-unschooling blogger. Contemplating retirement as a blogger is nothing new. I’ve done this a few times over the past 14 years or so. But this time, something was different. Previously, I wanted to abandon my blog…

Why This Unschool Mother Doesn’t Care

He who doesn’t care has more power. I heard those words somewhere, scribbled them into my journal, and then pondered them. Are they true? Should we care? Or are there some things we shouldn’t waste our time caring about? One thing I do care about is my son Callum and his passion for cars. Recently, I’ve become very interested in classic cars, not just because talking about them connects me to Callum, but because they are fascinating. The other day,…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

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…

The Math Myth: How Do Unschooled Kids Learn Math?

There are many unschool maths questions. Here are just a few of them: Can kids really learn maths without formal instruction? What does unschooling maths look like? Can we strew unschool maths? Is it possible for registered homeschoolers to unschool maths? How can we provide evidence kids are learning maths when we don’t have formal records like workbooks and test…

Christian unschooling

Is Trying to Impress Others a Waste of Time?

Strolling between the gum trees on a winter’s morning with Nora and Quinn, my fingers painful with the cold, I meet Matilda. I smile and stop. So do my dogs. They thrust their grinning heads into the undergrowth, happy to sniff up all the smells of the bush while I exchange a few words with my next-door neighbour. We talk…

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…
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