A Little Unobtrusive Help with Reading

Many years ago, I taught my first child Felicity to read so quickly and easily, I was sure I was a brilliant homeschooling mother. What was everyone else doing wrong? Teaching a child to read? Easy!  Or so I thought.…

Losing Time

I’ve been reading a book called A Time to Die by Nicholas Diat, who visited eight monasteries to talk to the monks about the experience of death. Here’s something that caught my attention: One monk described how he cares for…

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…

Will We Have Done Enough?

Are our kids ‘doing enough’? Maybe we often ask ourselves that question. But what do we mean by ‘doing enough’? Do we worry that our children aren’t doing enough Maths, English, science? Or is there something far more important they…

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…

Latest

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…

Are You a Daring and Adventurous Parent?

Last week, my husband Andy and I took our four youngest girls away on holiday. We spent a few days at a salt water lake, swimming, kayaking and making sandcastles. Two of my girls are young adults, but they were just as keen to make sandcastles as their younger siblings. “Will they ever grow up?” joked Andy as we sat on the sand watching our girls. “Will our daughters be making sandcastles forever?”Later, I told Imogen, our 21-year-old daughter, what…

Unplanning Notebooks for Strewing and Unschool Record-Keeping

I have an unplanning notebook. It’s filled with all kinds of interesting resources. Whenever my girls are looking for something to do, I say, “Why don’t you take a look in the unplanning notebook? I put some new things in there the other day.” I use the notebook too. If I feel like watching a documentary, I might browse my notebook and then say, “Hey girls, I found a video about the history of surgery. Would you like to watch…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

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…

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…

Christian unschooling

Speed Angel Joy

I am sitting by the lake watching four girls scooting along the path. They are the Speed Angel Sisters and they are fast! Every now and then the girls veer off onto the grass and come to a sudden halt: a pedestrian is approaching. Now the speedway is clear again, and strong legs start pushing, wheels are revolving, hair…

Igniting a Child’s Love of Learning

Do you wake up each morning with a delicious feeling of anticipation? Do you swing your legs out of bed quickly, anxious to get dressed and move onto the business of the day? Another day of learning with your children stretches ahead… Do you feel excited? Once upon a time, I used to drag myself out of bed and…
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