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…

Unschooling Book Two Is Done Too!

Would you like to hear my latest unschooling book news? As you might know, I finished writing Curious Unschoolers a few weeks ago. Now I’ve finished my second book, Radical Unschool Love! I don’t know if that’s good news for…

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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?…

Do You Know Who You Are?

Do you know who you are? That might seem like a silly question. We’ve lived with ourselves for years. Surely we know ourselves better than anyone else in the world? But just recently, I’ve been wondering if there are things about myself that I haven’t been able to see. One thing that has occurred to me is that I’m a perfectionist. It really is quite obvious when I think about it. It’s the reason that I have notebooks full of…

Why You Should Consider Keeping an Evernote Homeschool Records Book Even If You Don’t Have To

The other day,  our Authorised Person (AP) from the education department came to see us. It was time for our biennial homeschool registration visit. “We’re still using Evernote to record our homeschooling,” I said as the AP sat down in front of my computer. She scrolled through a few notes before catching sight of a link to one of Sophie’s videos. A click later, and she was watching and listening to my fifteen-year-old daughter talk about motivation and exercise. “Sophie…

If it’s Not on Facebook, Did it Really Happen?

If it’s not on Facebook, did it really happen? This strange thought has been going around and around inside my head. What do these words mean? Well, this is what I’m thinking: Do we have to turn every thought, idea, conversation and event into a post in order to make it valuable? If we don’t share something, will it slide out of our memories, leaving no significant mark? If it had never happened, would it matter? There is no doubt that…

Wanting to be the Star and Other Stories

So I’m sitting here on a Monday afternoon thinking about my recent lack of blog posts. Should I write something? Have I got anything worth sharing? I could tell you about the new free PDF ebook I’m putting together. (I might make it into a Kindle book too.) It’s going to be on the topic of unschool reading. I’m going to include a few articles I’ve written about learning to read, reading out loud, listening, enjoying books together… I’m also hoping…

Saying No and Other Things

I wonder why we get so afraid of saying yes to our kids. Perhaps we think they will get spoilt if we respond to their requests in a positive way too often. Perhaps they won’t appreciate the special things of life. We’d better ration them out. Every evening for the last couple of weeks, my youngest daughter Gemma-Rose has asked if she can play a computer game after dinner. “Do you think I should let you rot your brain with…

An Answer to the Chores Problem

We’d all like our children to be considerate, hard working and happy to help others. We’d especially like them to be willing to help out with the chores. Maybe we also hope they’ll be generous, to go beyond what they have to do, to be self-giving without counting the cost. But this doesn’t just happen because we desire it. Most of us have got frustrated at one time or another because our kids don’t want to help around the house.…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

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…

How Unschoolers Can Deal with Questions and Sceptics

My mother-in-law visited us for the birth of our son, Thomas. After he died and we’d buried him in his tiny white casket, Andy’s mother asked me if we wanted more children. As I replied, “Oh, yes!”, my mother-in-law’s face dropped into a disapproving frown. “She thinks we already have enough kids,” I thought as my defence hackles rose. But…

Christian unschooling

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…

Sharing the Catholic Faith With Our Kids

Maybe you’re thinking about unschooling. Letting children follow their own interests, and trusting they will learn all they need to know sounds great. But stop! Wait! What about religion? This is important. You think: “Can I just stand back and hope my children will want to learn about their faith? Doesn’t that sound a bit risky? What if they don’t…
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