Disentangling Myself from the Internet
I’m lying in bed. Thoughts are running laps inside my head. Of course, I can’t sleep. I wonder if I should get up and write down what I’m thinking. Write the blog post that wants to be written. But I…
Five Minutes on Friday: What is Unschooling?
I had an idea. Another one. Is it a good idea? I don’t know! Maybe I can tell you about it… I’ve been pondering the idea of recording a series of videos on basic unschooling topics, each one lasting about…
Stories from ‘Curious Unschoolers’
I wrote an unschooling book called Curious Unschoolers. I published it. Then I told everyone about my book. I received many wonderfully supportive comments. A few days ago, I posted the following words on Instagram: I was telling my husband…
Being Unschool Superheroes Who Save the World
A few days ago, it was my husband Andy’s birthday and our children gave him a lot of superhero-themed gifts: an Iron Man t-shirt, the original Hulk DVD and matching socks, a Captain America shirt and a Superman towel. Perfect…
How to Get Children to Do Their ‘School Work’
I often hear parents chatting together about how they can’t get their kids to do their school work. What do they do? Keep pushing their kids because that’s what parents are expected to do? Is this part of their duty?…
Does the World Need Unschooling?
Kids won’t work hard if you don’t make them. I was thinking about these words as I was getting ready for bed last night. Why do some parents insist their kids won’t do anything unless they are forced to? Are kids naturally lazy? Can’t they be trusted to work hard and achieve goals without being pushed? Before I hopped into bed, I jotted down a few of my thoughts: We all need something worthwhile to do. Some way of using…
Teenagers, Friends, School and Unschooling: An Interview
A couple of years ago, I interviewed my daughter Sophie. In the video, Self-Directed Learning: An Unschooling Interview, we talked about teenagers, friends, school and unschooling: What does it mean to be a self-directed learner? Does Sophie know everything her school friends know? If she doesn’t, is this a problem? How will she get into university (if this is what she decides to do) if she doesn’t cover all her bases by learning everything in the school syllabus? What if…
My Unschooling Teenagers’ Typical Days
On a typical day, my daughter Sophie (16) gets out of bed soon after 5 am. By 6.10 am, she’s heading out the door with sister Imogen who drives her to work. A few minutes later, Gemma-Rose (14) and I also leave the house. We’re on our way to the bush tracks at the end of our road for our morning run. This is how my unschooling teenagers’ typical days begin. A typical day doesn’t stay typical for very long.…
Kids, Needs, and Church
Should unschooled kids be forced to go to church? I wonder if this is the wrong question to ask when our kids protest about coming with us. Would it be better to ask, Why doesn’t my child want to go to church? In this week’s podcast, I talk about this question as well as : The importance of trying to see the world through our kids’ eyes How we’re not giving in to our kids when we respond to their needs…
The Wobbly Moments of Life
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Unschooling and University: Learning from Our Own Experiences
Years ago, I completed a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in botany. I did okay. I was awarded an honours degree. Eventually, I got a job in a science department of a university. But I also got nightmares. Recurring ones. They stem from the experience of having little control over my education. I went off to university because it was the next expected stage of my life. I studied science because I was told this was a good choice. I…
When Rules for Teenagers Aren’t Necessary
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What to Do When Unschooling Kids Reach the Teenage Years
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The ‘Risky’ Business of Trusting Children
Trusting children to make their own choices sounds risky enough when it applies only to education, but what if you extend this trust to…
Getting Kids to Help with the Chores
Should parents expect kids to help with the chores? How do we encourage kids to have a generous attitude and want to be part…
Sibling Rivalry: An Unschooling Interview
Sometimes people ask me if my children get on with each other. Have I ever had to deal with sibling rivalry? I think back…
The Role of Repetition in Learning, Unschooling, and Shaping Identity
What if kids want to watch the same movies, read the same stories, or play the same games again and again? Should we try to move them on to other activities? Or is there value in repetition? Does repetition have an important role in our lives?…
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 and experiences. In S2E4, we discuss Unschooling: Trusting the Process and Letting Go. Want to know more…
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…
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…
Christian Unschooling: Disciplining With Unconditional Love
If our children misbehave, what do we do? Make them sit on the time-out chair? Punish them? Perhaps we should withdraw our love. Be cold and distant. Make things unpleasant for our kids because they need to know how upset we are, don’t they? We want them to feel bad because then, maybe, they’ll remember to act in the right…