How to Get Children to Do Their ‘School Work’

I often hear parents chatting together about how they can’t get their kids to do their school work. What do they do? Keep pushing their kids because that’s what parents are expected to do? Is this part of their duty?…

Unschooling: Elephant Education

The last time we went to the zoo, we stood shoulder to shoulder along the fence of the elephant enclosure, waiting for an educational presentation to begin. At the advertised hour, a young man dressed in khaki shorts and shirt,…

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The Catholic Radical Unschool Cheese and other stories

After a 2-month break, I’m back with a new podcast episode! Yes, this morning, I plugged the mic into my computer and started talking. I had lots to share! In episode 87, I answer the following questions: What is unschooling? Why is unschooling different from other methods of homeschooling? Could it not be a method at all? Should we make kids do things they don’t want to do? Would that be good for them? Is there such a thing as providing…

Why Unschooling Isn’t Just Another Method of Homeschooling

In my last post, An Unschooling Experiment, I urged anyone who’s unhappy with their present method of homeschooling to give unschooling a go. So as we get into the new year… I’d like to say: Try unschooling. Be courageous. Try and trust, especially if your way of doing things isn’t working for you. What have you to lose? Yes, you might not have anything to lose, but will you gain anything? Why should unschooling work when Charlotte Mason or unit…

An Unschooling Experiment

Do you listen to my podcasts? Normally, I don’t. I make an episode and that’s that. I hope everyone enjoys it, but I don’t really want to go back and listen to my own voice talking about unschooling. But this afternoon, I did listen to an old episode. I was searching for some ideas that I can include in the unschooling book I’m writing. I decided to start with episode 56, Fan Mail and Lots of Unschooling Thoughts. I grabbed…

What Is Unschooling?

What is unschooling? I’ve been blogging about unschooling for over 5 years now. You’d think I would already have written a post with this title, wouldn’t you? But somehow I haven’t. Maybe that’s because unschooling is hard to define. Everyone seems to have a slightly different way of describing it. Some aspects of unschooling are more important to some people than they are to others. So why have I suddenly decided to backtrack and write an unschooling definition post? Well,…

What Unschoolers Miss Out On

Have you ever started the school term with loads of enthusiasm and excitement? Perhaps you’ve thought, “This term is going to be perfect!” Even though last term wasn’t. And the one before that also ended with a fizzle instead of a bang. I remember many school terms that began with hope and ended with relief. Oh yes, during the holidays between school terms, I’d make elaborate and what I thought were exciting plans. I’d read books, buy resources, and write…

Unschool Christmas Card Maths

“It’s just as well Dad’s a school teacher,” observes my daughter, Imogen, “because if he wasn’t, our Christmas card display would be very small.” Yes, Andy has a nice stack of Christmas cards that he brought home from school. But the rest of us have only three cards between us. “I suppose we got crossed off everyone’s Christmas card list,” I say. I didn’t send cards to anyone last year. I haven’t sent any this year either. I don’t suppose we…

Are You a Curious Unschooler?

Do you ever follow rabbit trails, going from one thing to other until your head is spinning with new knowledge? My head is constantly spinning. I guess my girls’ heads are too. You see, I don’t keep my discoveries to myself. I’m always saying things like: “Hey, girls, listen to this…” “Did you know…?” “Can I tell you about…?” “Would you like me to read…?” “What do you think about this?” “Want to watch this video with me?” “Wow, you won’t…

My Perfect Christmas Present Secret

Have you got piles of presents hidden in your bedroom waiting for Christmas Day? I have. Except they’re not really hidden. They’re scattered around my room in the most inconvenient of places. I keep tripping over them. It took me a long time to buy all my gifts. And a lot of effort. To be honest, I don’t like Christmas shopping. I’m tempted to say, “Let’s not have presents this year. It’s all a commercial trick to make us part…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

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…

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…

Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Curiosity, Flexibility, and Trust

I’m a Lady Fixing the World! Cecilie Conrad kindly invited me to join her and Sandra Dodd for Season 2 of her podcastThe Ladies Fixing the World. We recorded our first unschooling conversation together in November 2024 before life got extra-busy with Christmas, and it has just gone live! The audio version. Here’s the audio version: You can also listen…

Christian unschooling

Christian Unschooling and Other Things

I made a new podcast episode! Yes, after an absence of a few weeks, I’m back. So where did I go? Nowhere in particular. I was just at home enjoying lots of slow summer days. Maybe I was feeling lazy. But yesterday, that changed. I suddenly felt like getting back to work. And so I thought I’d record a catch-up…

Can Christians Unschool?

Can Christians unschool? We’re Christian unschoolers. Maybe you’re Christian unschoolers too? There are lots of us living this way of life. But are we doing the right thing? Or are we side-stepping our responsibilities when we choose to unschool? Are we choosing the easy, lazy path? I often hear of parents who are struggling with homeschooling. Their kids aren’t doing…
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