Can We Say We’re Unschoolers if We Require Maths?
Some people will tell you if you unschool everything except maths, you’re not really an unschooler. For how can we say to our kids, “I trust you will learn everything you need to know… but not maths”? We either trust or we don’t. Nothing else makes much sense. So yes, I do understand that point of view. But before I…
Learning from My Daughter and Other Unschool Stories
Once upon a time, I knew more than Sophie when it came to our shared passions. But I have to admit, these days, her knowledge far exceeds mine. Now I’m learning from my daughter. “How did you make that blog post graphic?” I ask. “I’ll show you,” offers Sophie. Then she adds, “I could make a screencast tutorial video about…
Deciding to Be Positive about Homeschool Record Keeping
“Hey, girls, come and look at my video!”“It looks wonderful, Mum!” (My daughters know exactly the right words to say!)“Do you like the slideshow? How about the pan and zoom effect? Does that work?” The girls nodded. And, of course, I smiled. I love learning new things. It’s a wonderful feeling gaining a new skill. And it’s great having people…
Starting Unschooling
Initially, I liked the idea of unschooling so we set off down the unschooling pathway. But it didn’t take me long to discover a few things I didn’t like about this way of life. We ended up moving away, travelling down various side-tracks as I explored other homeschooling philosophies. For a few years, I searched for the perfect way to…
Why Kids with Families Don’t Need Workbooks to Learn Basic Maths
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Kids and Computers
Each member of our family has a computer of her own which she is allowed to use without any restrictions. This doesn’t mean we spend all our time looking at screens. No, we like to do other things too like run and bushwalk, cook and read, sew and play music, talk to each other! But we do value our computers.…
Regaining Her Enthusiasm for Learning
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From Unschooling to University
My 17-year-old daughter, Charlotte, is now a university student. It’s hard to believe. When did she grow up? Charlotte is studying her first unit through Open Universities. It’s part of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Digital Design. She may go on to complete the whole degree. Or she may not. She’ll see. There’s no hurry. One unit at a…
Real Life Maths Resources: Some Thoughts and Links
I often go looking for real life maths resources to strew under the noses of my girls. Yes, I like to tempt them with different maths experiences, hoping they’ll think, “Wow! Maths is so interesting, and useful as well!” So when I have a few free minutes I can often be found at my computer, googling the words ‘real life…
Preparing Our Kids for an Unknown Future: Can We Do It?
The other day I bumped into Jane Fonda after not having seen her for many years. There she was in my Facebook feed, 70-something-years old and still looking rather good. Jane and I are old friends though, of course, she’s not aware of this. She doesn’t know she spent many a sweaty hour with me, years ago, as I worked…
Unschooling: Impressing Other People
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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 of the family team, helping with the work? Here’s a simple suggestion that doesn’t involve chore charts, games, rewards, punishments or…
Clock Watching, Short Lessons and Curious Questions
This morning, after a long break, I dusted off my mic, sat down and made a new podcast episode! I enjoyed doing this, but…
What to Do When Unschool Kids Have No Interest in Topics They’re Required to Learn
‘… if we’re curious people, the whole world is a source of fascinating things to investigate. But this doesn’t mean we will all enjoy…
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…
Registered Homeschoolers Who Unschool, Confidence, and Other Thoughts
I wonder if more people would unschool if there was no such thing as homeschool registration. Maybe having to fulfil registration requirements seems daunting.…
An Unschooling Way of High School Science
I hop from blog to blog, sampling a homeschooling science program here, and one there, and I become alarmed and a bit unsettled. The…
Encouraging Unschooling Kids and Mothers
In this week’s podcast, I’m talking about encouragement. I have two encouragement stories to share with you which I’m hoping you haven’t heard before.…
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.…
Is It Time to Have an Unschool Adventure?
Have you been on an unschooling adventure recently? Perhaps an adventure arrived unexpectedly? Maybe you dropped everything, climbed into your vehicle with your excited…
Wednesday Adventures
One evening last week we were all sitting together in the lounge of our holiday cottage. The older girls were drawing, the younger ones…
When You’re Tempted to Leave Unschooling and Try Something Else
Every evening of our recent holiday, Imogen and I swished through the warm waves as we walked along the beach, waiting for the sun…
Facing the Fact We Are an Introverted Family
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