My New Book!
Quinn barks loudly at a man in a mask who’s walking up our driveway. I open the front door, holding back the dog, and the man thrusts a box at me. No need to sign for it. No one does…
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…
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.…
Sophie’s Basket
Or Imogen and Charlotte’s book recommendations for their younger sisters We are sitting around the table munching our lunch and chatting. Sophie tells us she wants to learn more about horses and Charlotte mentions brumbies. “Brumbies?” “The wild horses…
Why it’s Not a Good Idea to Read Slowly and Carefully
My girls come home from the library with towering stacks of books. Even as they walk through the front door, they have their noses between the pages of the first book in their piles. A couple of hours later, a…
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,…
Misconceptions: Unschooling Children are Self-Centred and Inconsiderate
Imagine giving children the freedom to choose. What if they are allowed to follow their own interests, and do whatever they like? What if…
Does Love Keep You Awake While Others Sleep?
Lying in bed, trying to conquer insomnia, I noticed bright intermittent flashes of light illuminating the night sky. I slid from under the quilt,…
Trying to Be a Fun Mum
When my first two children were very small I had a best friend called Mellie. We got on extremely well despite being very different.…
Unschooling, Attachment, and the Art of Letting Go: Building Trust Instead of Rules
We don’t make rules in our family, so how do my children know what is right and what is wrong, if they aren’t guided by clearly stated limits? Do I believe my own quiet example of appropriate behaviour is all that is needed in order to influence my children? Perhaps I stand back, hands-off, and let my children behave as…
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…
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…
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…
Speed Angel Joy
I am sitting by the lake watching four girls scooting along the path. They are the Speed Angel Sisters and they are fast! Every now and then the girls veer off onto the grass and come to a sudden halt: a pedestrian is approaching. Now the speedway is clear again, and strong legs start pushing, wheels are revolving, hair…