Pushing Ourselves Instead of Our Kids
Often, we push our kids to try new things, don’t we? We want them to be adventurous. We say, “If you give it a go, you might discover you like it. You might be good at it.’ But what about…
Would You Like the Key to the Secret Unschooling Garden?
The other day, I stumbled across a ‘hilarious’ radical unschooling collection on someone’s blog, and there was the graphic for my post When Rules for Teenagers Aren’t Necessary. People online were laughing at me. Now, I’m not surprised when others…
Dreams, Talents, Working and Unworking
In a few months’ time, my daughter Imogen will finish her university degree. She’s started thinking about what she would like to do next. “I have three lofty dreams,” she says. One of them involves a piano, a microphone and…
Forcing Kids to Learn and to Eat, and Should We Test Them?
“What shall I speak about in this week’s podcast?” I ask my daughters. “What are you thinking about at the moment?” asks Imogen. “Next week’s homeschool registration visit. Perhaps I’ll start with that and see where it leads.” And this…
Some Thoughts on Unschooling and Experts
I’m browsing the Internet, hopping from one unschooling site to another. And I notice that some authors sound more expert than others. They write with authority. They use language such as, “You should do this or that or the other.”…
How an Unschooling Life isn’t Perfect and Why That’s Okay
I take a look at my drafts file. I have SEVENTY half-written blog posts! Can I finish any of them? How about this one? I began writing this post some time ago when I was enthusiastically working on my unschooling book. If I publish it, will I feel motivated to continue writing my book? I’m writing an unschooling book. I’ve been thinking about the main message I want to share. What do I really want to say? Of course, I want…
Turning Unschool Learning into Homeschool Records Notes
Why would I want to turn something as unique and wonderful as unschooling into routine homeschool records notes? I wish I could take delight in my daughters’ learning without ever thinking about homeschool records. Unfortunately, that’s not possible. I always have to keep one eye on the records book so that my unschoolers can fulfil the necessary homeschool registration requirements . While my girls are busy learning, I have to do a lot of behind-the-scenes work. I have to translate all their…
Unschooling Siblings and Other Stories
I started writing this blog post last Friday. This is all I managed to write before I was interrupted: I didn’t make a podcast last week. Some unexpected things happened and so I didn’t find time to sit in front of my mic and record one. I felt a little frustrated because I’d promised to get back on track and podcast more regularly. But perhaps we just have to accept what life brings, go with the flow, just do our best…
What Do Unschoolers Do All Day?
Years ago, when we first started homeschooling, I used to wonder, “What do unschoolers do all day?” Even though I’d read a few books, I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer to my question. I needed a fly-on-the wall view into the unschooling life. This is why I decided to tell stories about our unschooling life when I began this blog. Turn unschooling theory into stories about real children. Perhaps it’s helpful to see unschooling in action? In this week’s podcast,…
Our Unschooling Story
Imagine if you visited us. You’d knock at our front door. We’d invite you in. We’d sit around our kitchen table. Sip coffee. Eat chocolate muffins. What would we talk about? Lots of things! You’d tell me about your family. I’d tell you about mine. We’d probably chat about unschooling. Maybe you’d ask about our unschooling story. In this week’s podcast, episode 93, I tell you about our unschooling story. I share stories about how we started as unschoolers but drifted…
Does My Trust in Unschooling Ever Waver?
A friend asked if I’ve ever been unsure about unschooling. And I replied: Yes, there have been times when I’ve questioned what I’m doing. Even now I have an odd day when I wonder if I should be doing something different. Hard to admit because this is probably not what everyone wants to hear. But I think that it’s quite okay to have low days when we question things. Unschooling isn’t a magic solution. It’s life and life can be…
How Unschooling is About Being Connected With Our Kids
Some parenting ideas seem to make a lot of sense. For example, children have far less life experience than parents, so we are in a better position than them when it comes to decision making. If we give our kids too much freedom, they might make poor choices. Some mistakes might not be significant, but what about those that affect their futures? Surely, a responsible parent will tell her kids what they should be doing? And many parents do exactly…
Imogen and Andy Elvis Presley
My husband Andy and my daughter Imogen both have singing lessons on Saturday mornings. Andy has the first lesson, and while he is busy, Imogen sits in the car, drinks coffee, and works on her computer until it’s time for her own lesson. But yesterday, Imogen did something different: She recorded a vlog for her Facebook page. In the video, Imogen mentions that someone has asked her to sing an Elvis song. Imogen Elvis singing Elvis. Wouldn’t that be fun?…
Babies, Toddlers and Unschooling (Part 3)
Our 8th child, Gemma-Rose was our most needy baby of all. Unfortunately, she had silent reflux and was in pain for the first few…
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…
A Big Chat About Unschooling Teenagers
Some time ago, I asked: Is anyone interested in discussing the teenage unschooling years? I’m thinking of recording a podcast on this topic with…
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…
Unschooling Is Carried by Conversations
Dinner tables, car rides, bedtime chats, and café corners are the real places where unschooling lives and grows. Conversations—often unscheduled, informal, and unplanned—can become the central structure of a learning life. Gathering at the Dinner Table In our house, we never met for breakfast or lunch. Those were meals where people ate what, where and when they liked. But we…
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.…
Is It Wrong to Love Without Limits?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
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…