There Has Never Been a Better Time to Start Unschooling

Have you ever thought about unschooling but have hesitated? Maybe you haven’t quite been able to do it. What if things don’t go well? What if your kids get ‘behind’ while you’re experimenting? Will you regret your decision to give…

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…

Do Unschoolers Drift Aimlessly Through Each Day?

Years ago, when I was researching homeschooling methods, I thought unschooling sounded good because weā€™d be free to do whatever we liked. And if we didnā€™t want to do anything, that would be okay. There would be no rules, no…

Babies, Toddlers and Unschooling (Part 2)

Felicity, our firstborn child was an excellent baby. She fed every 3 or 4 hours, Iā€™d change her nappy, pop her in her cot and soon she’d drop off to sleep without a problem. Between naps, she was happy and…

Latest

Unschooling: Trusting the Process and Letting Go of Control

ā€œI kind of love my title for this podcast. It’s very ambitious. Let’s fix it all!ā€ 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. Ā  Want to know more about this episode? Show Notes Traditional education is built on judgmentā€”constantly measuring childrenā€™s progress against rigid standards. Unschooling offers 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 weā€™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. Hereā€™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 Iā€™ve brought something back from my recent dog-walking expedition in the wet bush. I leap to my feet and scare Quinn by screaming, ā€œGet off me!ā€ A leech is feasting on my blood. I try flicking the leech off, but I know this wonā€™t work: itā€™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, ā€œNo one will ever make me learn anything ever again!ā€ 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, ā€œWe unschool except for maths.ā€ 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, ā€œI hate maths!ā€ like their older siblings had. As I couldnā€™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 ā€˜self-regulationā€™ and ā€˜limitsā€™. When we say, ā€œIā€™ve let go of control, and now Iā€™m waiting for my child to learn how to regulate his time playing video games (for example),ā€ 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 kidsā€™ choices to resemble ours? If they donā€™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 itā€™s time to become an ex-unschooling blogger. Contemplating retirement as a blogger is nothing new. Iā€™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…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

Unschool Love Stories

About a month ago, I wrote the following story for my unschooling community: This morning, I didnā€™t want to go for a run. It…

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…

Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Curiosity, Flexibility, and Trust

Iā€™m a Lady Fixing the World! Cecilie Conrad kindly invited me to join her and Sandra Dodd for Season 2 of her podcastThe Ladies Fixing the World. We recorded our first unschooling conversation together in November 2024 before life got extra-busy with Christmas, and it has just gone live! The audio version. Hereā€™s the audio version: You can also listen…

Learning to Read and Trusting Unschooling

It is absolutely essential that we are curious people who are excited about the possibilities in life. The atmosphere in our homes gets picked up by our kids so they think it’s normal to learn, to be curious, to follow thoughts and ideas and try things outā€¦ I was battling with my kids for a while. They kept saying, ā€˜Why…

Christian unschooling

Bringing God into the Unschooling Picture

A few months ago, I wrote a post called Why This is the End of the Line for Me. I decided that I’d explored unschooling from every possible angle. What more could I write about? It was time for me to move onto other things. Let my kids tell their own unschooling stories and find something else of my own…
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