Why Unschoolers Are the Real Cool Kids
I was once a cool kid. And then I wasn’t. When I was nine, I was clever and lively, one of the kids who got noticed. Best of all, I was part of a girl band that performed on…
Unschooling: Living Lives Unimagined
This morning, my photo appeared on the Homeschooling Global Summit website. There I am in the section, Homeschooling and Unschooling Leaders speaking at HGS 2020! Last week, I was interviewed by Daniel Prince from the HGS. Of course, we spoke…
Unschooling: Clock Watching
I used to watch the clock a lot. Many years ago, when I was at school, every classroom had a clock on the wall. And each of those clocks had leaden hands that moved so slowly that I often thought…
Reluctant to Persuade or Engage
I create a Friends Club, write and publish an exclusive members-only story, and then display a preview of it – an excerpt and an image – on my blog. I look at the red-tufted, painted cow staring back at me…
Resolutions, Reading, Writing, and Coarse Language
I have a lot of questions… What happens when we remain open to new experiences? Do I have any good tips for anyone who has resolved to get fit? What has running got to do with encouraging children to write?…
What if Unschooling is Wrong?
Today, I’m sharing an incomplete thought. Some thoughts are like that. They sit at the edge of our minds, refusing to enter completely. We could dismiss them, but they might hold something of value. If only we could grasp them properly and put them into the right words. Do you ever wonder: “What if unschooling is wrong?” We could be quite happy, and then one day, out of the blue, doubt descends. Our trust begins to waver. We think: “What…
How Do We Encourage Our Kids to Be Independent Learners?
I’m still podcasting while I’m writing this unschooling book series. Here’s this week’s episode! This week, I’m sharing and discussing the story Independent Learners, Toast and Heavy Washing Baskets. Show Notes Leonie’s blog: Living Without School podcast music: Twombly by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)…
Today I Saw Thomas
it’s our son Thomas’ birthday. This morning, the girls and I visited the cemetery. When we arrived, we saw people preparing for a burial. A grave was open. There were chairs arranged in the shade ready for the bereaved who hadn’t yet arrived. Thomas is buried at the back of the cemetery in the children’s section. As we got closer, we could see two bunches of flowers in the bowl that sits on top of his grave. Someone placed them there…
Critics, Unschooling, and Independent Learners
A New Podcast Series Do you listen to my podcasts? I’ll still be making new episodes while I’m working on my book. These episodes will be shorter than my usual ones. Each one will be based on a blog post from my archive. Today, I published the first episode in this new series: Critics, Unschooling, and Independent Learners. If you’d like to listen to it, you can find episode 111 here on my blog, on iTunes (or should that be…
It Begins with a Question
Gemma-Rose and I gaze upon the flowers. They’re pretty, bright, colourful, showy. A gorgeous backdrop for a photo. We raise our cameras. Cameras down. We look around. There’s a Chinese gentleman. He’s standing in a garden bed erecting a parasol. We ask a question: Why? The man smiles. His eyes sparkle. Words tumble from his mouth: I’m sheltering the peonies – the imperial flower of China – from the warm Australian sun. There’s more. We lean closer and listen. The man…
Perfect
I raise my camera to my eye and frame my daughter Sophie within the viewfinder. She grins before raising her own camera. I almost protest and say, “Hey, I look terrible! Don’t take any photos of me!” But I don’t. A mother and a daughter out on a picnic, enjoying each other’s company. Joy rises up within me. It chases away any thoughts of my appearance. I don’t care what I look like. I just want Sophie to capture this…
Why it’s Dangerous to Insist Our Kids Have the Same Opinions as Us
Why do many teenagers act differently in front of their parents and their friends? Do they adopt the cool behaviour of their friends, which might involve doing and saying things parents don’t agree with because they don’t have the confidence to be themselves? Maybe most teenagers don’t even know who they are. Could parents prevent their children from discovering who they are by insisting they have the same opinions as them? Is it dangerous to do this? I was discussing…
An Interview with a Teenage Radical Unschooler
Last week, in episode 109 of my unschooling podcast, I was chatting about radical unschooling. This week, I’m interviewing Sophie (16) who is a radical unschooler. If you’re unsure about this way of life, perhaps our conversation will reassure you that radical unschoolers aren’t wild and irresponsible! This is a very lively interview. I hope you enjoy it! In this episode, Sophie and I are chatting about: her unschooling week her part-time job her passions and interests and where she hopes…
Unschooling Teenagers: What They Think and What They Do
Have you ever wondered what unschooling teenagers are like? What kind of people are they? What do they think? What do they do? Have you…
When Unschooling Spills Over into Parenting
Some random thoughts about unschooling and parenting… Sometimes I get the feeling most of the world thinks I’m a little strange. Whenever I post…
Healthy Eating and Unschooling Kids
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
How Unschooling Doesn’t Guarantee a Fairytale Life
Yesterday evening, like all Sunday evenings, my kids who live locally came to dinner. Six of us gathered around our dining room table, savouring a meal cooked by my husband while enjoying the usual end-of-the-week lively catch-up conversation. There was a time when we dreamed that all our children would buy houses on the same street as our family home.…
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…
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 out… I was battling with my kids for a while. They kept saying, ‘Why…
Unschool: Greater Things
She was tempted to aim low, afraid to risk failure, but she knew she shouldn’t settle for ordinary. More was expected. So she gathered her courage, did what she should, and life got exciting. And she changed. How often do we aim low because we’re too afraid to risk disappointment or failure? We want to stay where it’s comfortable and…
Radical Unschool Love, Praise and Joy
Do you ever praise your kids? Do you tell them you’re proud of them? Some people say we shouldn’t praise our kids. Maybe that’s because our children might end up doing things only because they want to gain our approval. And is there a risk a child might think she is better than everyone else if we praise her too…