A Fresh Perspective

One of the huge delights of my unschooling life is sitting quietly with my children while chatting together. I’m good friends with my kids. We’re always sharing our thoughts, ideas, stories, dreams, problems, and moments of joy. We don’t talk…

Gemma-Rose (9) Talks about Novel Writing

The other evening Gemma-Rose asked me if I’d like to listen to another chapter of the NaNoWriMo novel she is currently writing. I settled back on the sofa. She opened her computer and started reading.  “Do you like writing novels?”…

Time to Unschool (Part 2)

Perhaps you’re thinking about unschooling. You could be wondering: Should we give it a go? Is unschooling right for our family? Yes? No? Maybe something is attracting you to unschooling? Do you imagine children following their own interests, being passionate…

When a Child Is No Longer Gripped by a Passion

A friend asked: “Have your kids ever been between interests?” The short answer to that question is yes. There have indeed been times when my kids have lost their enthusiasm for their interests. Their excitement for learning, in general, disappeared.…

Latest

Unschool Science

By Lucinda Leo My kids love science. We’ve never followed a curriculum. Instead, we’ve done experiments, been to science shows and read interesting books. Pinterest has loads of fun ideas, or you can buy or borrow books full of experiments (one of our favourites is Robert Winston’s Science Experiments). I’ve never worried about making my children write up their results or engage formally in the scientific method (as many school-based curricula do) – some children might enjoy that, but it…

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…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

Radical Unschooling

Are you thinking about radical unschooling? Maybe you see the benefits of educational unschooling and now you’re thinking about letting unschooling spill over into…

The Ladies Fixing the World

Unschooling: How Do We Know They’re Learning?

There are loads of unschooling questions we could ask about learning: How do we know unschooling kids are learning? Should they be learning particular things? Is there knowledge that all kids need? Are our unschooled kids learning enough? Can they get behind? Should we just trust our kids are learning? But what if we have doubts? Or what if we…

The Math Myth: How Do Unschooled Kids Learn Math?

There are many unschool maths questions. Here are just a few of them: Can kids really learn maths without formal instruction? What does unschooling maths look like? Can we strew unschool maths? Is it possible for registered homeschoolers to unschool maths? How can we provide evidence kids are learning maths when we don’t have formal records like workbooks and test…

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…

Christian unschooling

Christian Unschooling: Should Parents Demand Obedience from Their Children?

Not so long ago, I was reading a spiritual book that mentioned monks and their life of poverty, chastity and obedience. And this got me thinking about obedience. Monks are obedient to their superiors and the rule of their order. They are imitating Jesus who was obedient to God the Father even until death. Obedience is obviously good so perhaps…

Does Christian Unschooling Interest You?

I’ve written three unschooling books: I focused on the educational side of unschooling in Curious Unschoolers. I extended the unschooling story in Radical Unschool Love by sharing parenting thoughts and stories. And I offered practical suggestions for turning all those interesting unschooling ideas into something real in families’ lives in The Unschool Challenge. Three books. A trilogy. Everything I can…
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