Drawing, Geometry and a Happy Girl
Sophie is happy. She grins from ear to ear. “I’m off to do some maths, Mum!” What a change from a couple of weeks ago. Not long ago, she was battling her way through an online maths course. But no…
What if Your Right is My Wrong? Unschool Bits and Pieces
What if Your Right is My Wrong? I’m always talking about how important it is that our children develop a sense of right and wrong. But what do we mean by ‘right’? Could your idea of what is right be my…
Unschool Crime Connections
Did Erin Patterson murder three people with her beef Wellington? Did she use toxic death cap mushrooms in her deadly dinner? Many people worldwide have been waiting for answers to these questions. Some media dubbed Patterson’s trial as The Mushroom…
Unschooling Children, a School Teacher Father, and Tea
“What does your husband think about you unschooling your children?” I have been asked this question quite a few times. I guess people are interested in the answer because my husband Andy is a school teacher, as well as an…
Encouraging Kids to Write (and the Youngest Child in the Family)
When my son Duncan was about six or seven years old, his head was bursting with stories he wanted to tell. Every morning he would sit in front of an old manual typewriter and hammer on the keys and his…
My Unschooling Podcast Adventure
Almost three years ago, I recorded my first podcast. For a few hours, I was very excited about what I’d produced. But then a short time later, I almost deleted the episode. I’m glad I didn’t because I know if I had, I probably wouldn’t have continued on and made 100 episodes. Yes, I have arrived at Episode 100. That feels like a huge achievement. I’ve been wondering about the future of my podcast. Is it better to stop now?…
Real Life Family Unschool Maths
A few years ago, when my daughter Sophie was 10, she started to say, “I’m no good at maths. I hate it!” At the time, Sophie was using a formal structured maths course. When she started sighing over her work, I knew that it was time to face an uncomfortable idea and unschool maths. Of course, I could have forced Sophie to keep working at her course. I could have ignored her complaints and pushed her to complete the exercises.…
A Gradual Approach to Unschooling
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Unschool Maths and Uncomfortable Ideas
Some ideas might make us feel uncomfortable. We push them to the back of our minds, not wanting to consider them. This is how I used to feel about unschooling maths. We used to be unschoolers who unschooled everything except for maths. (Should we really have called ourselves unschoolers?) There were a few reasons I didn’t want to consider the idea of letting go of control of maths. For example, having my kids do some structured maths each day was…
When New Ideas Make Us Feel Uncomfortable
I’ve had times in my life when other people have presented me with new ideas and I haven’t wanted to know about them. I hear what they’re saying, but I don’t want to consider the ideas too deeply. Why would I do that? Isn’t it good to be challenged, to learn and to grow? Sometimes being challenged makes us feel very uncomfortable. What if we decide our beliefs or our actions are wrong? We might have to change. Change pushes us…
Unschooling Imposters and Difficult Days
After a few quiet weeks – life has been busy – I’m back with a new podcast, episode 97. It’s called Unschooling Imposters and Difficult Days, but I could have called it Our Weight Loss Adventure! Here’s the podcast summary: This week, I answer the following questions: Why did I feel like an unschooling imposter? Why is unschooling the perfect way of life even though life isn’t perfect? Why should we stop and reassess what we’re doing every now and…
What Do I Think of School?
A friend asked me what I think of school. I decided to write my answer as a blog post. It’s no secret that, as a child, I hated school. It seemed like a waste of time. I had to learn things I wasn’t interested in just to pass exams, and when I’d achieved that, I instantly let all that knowledge seep out of my brain. I was kept so busy I had no time to discover who I am and…
An Unschooling Imposter
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This Time Next Year: Where Will You Be?
Do you ever play the game, ‘this time last year…’? What about ‘this time next year…’? How does it feel looking back? What do…
Nothing is More Important than Love
“What would you rather do, play that computer game or come and give me a hug?” I ask my daughters. Without a moment’s hesitation,…
How Our Unschooled Kids Need a Deep Kind of Example
Sometimes I’m asked: ‘How do I get my kids to get up early? How do I get them to exercise? And I’d like to…
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.…
Unschooling: Coping With the Unexpected
I used to think I could control my life. To achieve a perfect life, all I had to do was organise everything well, including my kids. What is a perfect life? My perfect life vision included a graduated row of good-looking and well-behaved children. I wanted people to admire my family and home, saying, “Sue is such a good mother!…
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…
Christian Unschooling: Letting God into Our Kids’ Lives
I used to tick off my spiritual boxes religiously every day. I said a lot of prayers and read my Bible. And I got extra ticks whenever I was able to get to daily Mass, so I made the effort to get there as often as life allowed. It wasn’t easy doing all that, but I did it. I had…
The Problem With Being Too Nice
Are you too nice? I am. I want to help everyone. Support and encouragement are my middle names. Send me an email and I’ll spend hours answering it. Write me a comment and I’ll always reply. Ask for some mentoring and I’ll do my best even though you tell me you can’t pay. I write a book. And another. Then…