Undercover Homeschoolers

Have you heard our unschooling story? Just in case you haven’t, I’m reposting a couple of updated posts that tell the story of how we began our homeschooling adventure as unschoolers but then got distracted by other ideas before returning…

Some Bits and Pieces…

The other day I was looking at a letter Gemma-Rose had written to a friend. It was long and detailed and her spelling was almost perfect. “When did you learn to spell so well?” I asked. Gemma-Rose shrugged her shoulders.…

When Amazing Things Aren’t Happening

I haven’t felt my usual self this week. Perhaps it’s got something to do with my son Thomas’ recent birthday and death-day. These days consume a lot of energy. There isn’t much left over for other things. So for the…

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…

Latest

The Extraordinary Ordinary Things of Life [Podcast]

In this week’s podcast, episode 85, I share a story. It’s about love and pain and this extraordinary unschooling life we are living. This is how the story ends: So I live in the present moment and I enjoy the ordinary things of life which I suddenly realise aren’t so ordinary after all. Ordinary becomes powerfully extraordinary when combined with love. As each child comes to say goodnight, I enfold her within my arms and I hug. I hug tightly,…

Are We Living a Second Best Kind of Unschooling Life?

Sometimes I wonder: Are we living a second best kind of unschooling life? Perhaps we should move to a farm or a large property. We could grow organic vegetables, have chooks, a goat, and even a donkey. Maybe we could get a milking cow. And what about a horse? We could ride bikes, go off-grid, and recycle everything. We could spin wool, bottle fruit, and make our own soap. The kids could swim in the river (or dam), chop wood,…

How Introverts Aren’t Necessarily Shy

Introverts aren’t shy. At least we’re not. Yes, we’re an introverted family. The whole lot of us. This is rather nice because we understand each other perfectly. Outsiders often don’t. When we’re at a gathering, especially if there’s a crowd, we might be quiet and reserved. We’re out of our environment. We don’t feel comfortable. And people might say, “Join in. Don’t be shy!” We protest, “We’re not shy!” But maybe no one believes us. Shy people stand on the…

Do You Live in the Best Place in the World?

Two girls, a dog, and a mother. We’re strolling down the middle of the road under the midday sun, heading for the bush. A few minutes later, dog by my side, I’m running over the red sandstone and under the tall gum trees. And as I run, I listen. Michael Hyatt is talking about the forces that can shape our character. He says something like this: If we want to become good leaders, we have to work on our characters.…

How to Start a Great Art Conversation

On Monday, I plug my mic into my computer, open Audacity, hit ‘record’, and start to talk.  For 40 minutes, I discuss a current unschooling topic. Along the way, I share some family news. Before I know it, I have a new podcast episode to upload to Podbean. Episode 82 is done. And it’s only a day late! On Friday, I think, “If I want to post next week’s episode on time, I should record it this afternoon.” But before…

How NOT to Be Your Child’s Worst Nightmare

Have you ever seen this meme? I am not your friend I am your parent I will stalk you I will flip out on you Lecture Drive you insane Be your worst nightmare and Hunt you down when needed Because I love you. Every time I see these words, I feel very sad. Why do so many people think we can’t be both parent and friend to our children? Do we really need to be their worst nightmare in…

A Day in the Life of an Unschooling Teenager: Miles Brack

From the outside, my day looks like this: I wake up somewhere between 11 am and 1 pm Play video games till about midnight. And go to bed. Very basic and boring to write about. However on the inside: This morning I woke in my bivouac which I built in the backyard, in order to test out my new folding bed which is going into my Andersen Shelter I am digging on our block of land. The temperature was between…

Will All Unschoolers Do Amazing Things?

Will all unschoolers do amazing things? If you do some googling, you’ll find many stories of young unschoolers doing extraordinary things. You might think that every unschooler has a guaranteed amazing future. But what if it doesn’t turn out that way for your kids? Will you think you have failed? Will you wonder if you did something wrong? I have a few unschoolers who are hoping to do amazing things. In particular, my daughters Imogen and Sophie have big dreams. Imogen…
1 … 60 61 62 63 64 … 109

My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

Resources for Unschoolers

Strolling towards the shopping centre, I spy an older man with three hand-reared brightly coloured parrots. A few wide-eyed kids are gathered around him, and as I watch, he transfers a parrot to one of their shoulders, where it bounces lightly upon its feet, nuzzling a little ear. The child grins, hardly daring to move. The children have questions which…

Unschooling: Trust, Autonomy, and The Realities of Learning

The Ladies are Fixing the World again! Cecilie, Sandra and I are discussing the words ‘self-regulation’ and ‘limits’. When we say, “I’ve let go of control, and now I’m waiting for my child to learn how to regulate his time playing video games (for example),” do we have expectations about what that regulation should look like? Do we want…

Unschooling: Coping With the Unexpected

I used to think I could control my life. To achieve a perfect life, all I had to do was organise everything well, including my kids. What is a perfect life? My perfect life vision included a graduated row of good-looking and well-behaved children. I wanted people to admire my family and home, saying, “Sue is such a good mother!…

Christian unschooling

The ‘Risky’ Business of Trusting Children

Trusting children to make their own choices sounds risky enough when it applies only to education, but what if you extend this trust to other areas of life? Will children decide they don’t want to go to Mass or eat healthy food? Perhaps they will want to watch inappropriate movies or play computer games all day. Some parents decide they…

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…
Go toTop