The Joy and Love of Living an Unschooling Way of Life

Last Friday, my girls and I had a wonderful morning filming Imogen’s latest music video on the banks of a local river. On our way home, we couldn’t help expressing our gratitude for the life we lead. While other people…

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…

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 I’m Not a Good Homeschooling Teacher

Everyone thinks I homeschool my fourteen-year-old daughter, Charlotte. I don’t. She homeschools herself. I try to help her: “Charlotte, I have a new book we’re just about to start reading. What you like to join us?” “No thanks, Mum. I…

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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 joy of their achievements. Now some people might not approve of all this cheering. Maybe they worry that with all this positive attention, a child might start to think she’s someone special, someone better than everyone else.  However, my daughter…

Confident to Be Me

8Love and acceptance are so very important. They give our kids the confidence to go out into the world and be themselves. This post was written by my daughter Imogen. It’s easy to recognize the Elvis Gang when we’re on the move. There’s us four (at-home) girls and Mum, tunic dresses fluttering over denim leggings, striking a ridiculous pose for a photo by a classical statue in a garden, striding through the Australian bush, or maybe just taking an epic…

What Do Children Need to Learn?

Here’s another younger unschooler story. My daughter Gemma-Rose was 8 when I wrote this post. Being the youngest child in the family, Gemma-Rose often slipped under my radar as far as teaching her the essential skills of life goes. But did that matter? Regardless of me, did she learn what she needs to know?  A couple of weeks ago, Gemma-Rose thrust her feet towards me and said, “Please can you lace up my shoes for me, Mum?” I was busy…

Challenging Parents to Get Involved with Kids’ Passions

A while ago, Sophie challenged me to do a 100 squat challenge. And recently, I challenged Sophie. “I have a new idea,” I told my teenage daughter. Sophie waited patiently while I explained. (She’s used to me and my ideas.) “How about you become a regular contributor to my blog? I’d love you to make some unschooling videos for me.  Do you think you could do that?” “I could give it a go.” I liked Sophie’s answer. I smiled and got…

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 I go to bed,” she says as she curls up alongside me. “I’ve been mulling over an idea for a podcast,” I say. “Can I tell you about it?” Sophie nods so I continue: “I’m going to talk about ageing. It seems like an appropriate topic because my birthday isn’t far away.” I tell Sophie how…

Does Unschooling Work?

Does unschooling work? I guess the answer to that question depends on what we mean by the word ‘work’. Where do we hope unschooling will lead? When parents are investigating unschooling, they probably want to know if unschooling works. This is sensible. We can’t set out on along a pathway, especially an alternative one if we haven’t got any idea of what’s ahead. So what questions will a parent ask? What will reassure them that unschooling is the right thing to…

Do Our Kids Know Themselves Better Than We Know Them?

As parents, we might think we know what’s best for our kids. We’re the adults. We’re older. We have experience. But my daughter Sophie disagrees. She says, “I think sometimes parents forget that a child knows herself better than the parent does.” Children know what’s important to them. They know what they need. A couple of years ago, when she was 14, I made an interview video with Sophie. We chatted about how important it is to listen to kids.…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

Christian unschooling

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…

Could Ebooks Save My Unschool Blog?

The other day, I logged into my blog hosting account to find out when my next payment is due and how much it will be. When I saw the bill due later this year, I gulped and said to my husband, “Do we want to spend so much money on a site that’s often slow or offline because of a…
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