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…

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…

An Education at the Museum

I have read stories about teenagers who’ve dropped out of school and into the world, in order to obtain a real education. They spent their days, not at home behind a desk, but out and about, visiting places of interest…

So How Do You Feel On a Monday Morning?

When I was a child, I’d awake on a Monday morning with a pain in my stomach. I was always reluctant to get out of bed and face the week. Five days of school stretched out ahead, and the weekend…

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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.…

Can We Force Kids to Exercise?

Yesterday morning, my daughter Sophie approached me with her arms outstretched. “Can I have a hug, please, Mum?” “Oh no, no!” I said backing away. “It’s far too hot to hug.” “You have to hug us, Mum,” said Gemma-Rose with a grin. “That’s what mothers do. They always have to be available to hug their children.” Yes, sometimes mothers have to do difficult things. I have to hug my children on a very hot and sticky Australian summer’s day. I…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

Unschooling Isn’t Freedom Gone Wild: Why Choices Matter More Than Ideals

My husband Andy returned to work today after two weeks at home. Holiday time is over. We’ve now moved into term time. A whole term of possibility days stretches before me. I’m free to do whatever I like with my time while Andy is at school. My eyes light up with delight. But then I remember there are many…

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

Dragon Mothers and Parenting Mistakes

In a previous post, I wrote: Oh my, you should see my file of ‘failed’ podcasts. Yesterday, I added another one to the pile. “How did your podcast go, Mum?” my daughter Imogen asked me, and I replied, “It wasn’t quite right. It didn’t flow.” And with a sigh, I added, “I’ll have to record it again.” Well, today, I…

A Genuine Invitation for Christian Unschoolers

Sometimes, invitations aren’t genuine invitations. They might sound like proper invitations. We say the right words, “Would you like to…?” but expect a particular response that doesn’t include the right to decline. Then, some invitations are issued without a personal touch. We wonder, “Does it matter if I accept? Will anyone notice if I’m there or not?” This happened to…
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