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…

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…

Would You Like to Be My Guest?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could say, “Come over for coffee!” We’d sit around my kitchen table, sipping and chatting. We’d talk about all kinds of things. We’d share our stories, ponder questions, encourage each other, deepen our friendship.…

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Learning about Fashion and other Friday Afternoon Stories

It’s a warm autumn Friday afternoon. I’m sitting on the family room sofa, computer on my knee. Now and then I gaze out the window. I can see gum trees. A slight breeze rustles their leaves. Each tree has a crown of cream flowers. Sitting next to the window is my youngest daughter, Gemma-Rose. She’s writing a new novel. It’s day 1 of Camp NaNoWriMo. “How many words have you written today?” I ask. “3,577.” Only 46,423 words to go.…

The Joy and Love of Living an Unschooling Way of Life

Last Friday, my girls and I had a wonderful morning filming Imogen’s latest music video on the banks of a local river. On our way home, we couldn’t help expressing our gratitude for the life we lead. While other people are going to school and work, we’re off on our unschooling adventures. Sometimes joy washes over us. Aren’t we so very fortunate to live this way of life? Occasionally I hear of unschooling teenagers who want to go to school.…

Choosing Not to Look for a ‘Real’ Job

Most people think my 21-year-old daughter is unemployed, but she’s not. She’s a.. Full-time writer, blogger, and musician. So far unpaid… And so far completely undaunted by this fact. I love Imogen’s description of herself. I found it on her blog, Write.Rewrite.Read: Full time musician? Yes, Imogen is recording songs and making music videos. She’s not getting paid for this work, but that’s a minor inconvenience, at least for the moment. The other day, Imogen suddenly said, “I love my…

Wasting Time Watching Too Many Movies?

“What shall I get Dad for his birthday?” I asked, and my girls giggled, and with one voice said, “Flowers… chocolates… promises you don’t intend to keep…””Flowers… chocolates… promises you don’t intend to keep…? Where’s that quote from?” “Beauty and the Beast!” Of course! Why didn’t I recognise this quote? Beauty and the Beast is Imogen and Charlotte’s number one favourite movie of all time. They’ve watched it a million times. Sometimes I say, “How can you possibly want to…

Maths, Chores, and Thanking Our Kids

For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been living a quiet life. We haven’t done anything exciting. No music video shoots. No picnics by the lake. We haven’t even been running. The reason? We’ve all been unwell. It can be frustrating having to slow down, especially when there are a million things we want to do. But there was one thing I did do while resting on the sofa: I went on a search for more real life maths resources.…

Listening to Kids

The other day I interviewed my 14-year-old daughter, Sophie: I wanted to hear her opinions about perfect families, mistakes and listening to kids. It was only later when I watched the finished video, I realised I’d made a big mistake: I’d done more talking than listening, especially in the first few minutes. Yes, I’m not perfect. I make mistakes all the time. How do I know this? Sophie told me so in the interview! After a couple of minutes, I…

Thinking Critically About Unschooling

The other day I was talking about obstacles to unschooling. I said, “So I wonder if there are things about unschooling that bother you, It can be a useful exercise to think about what it is that’s stopping you from unschooling. Write it down. It might be that those things which you don’t like about unschooling aren’t really unschooling. With a little bit of information, some research, you might discover that they’re not obstacles at all. Where should we look…
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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…

How Unschooling Doesn’t Guarantee a Fairytale Life

Yesterday evening, like all Sunday evenings, my kids who live locally came to dinner. Six of us gathered around our dining room table, savouring a meal cooked by my husband while enjoying the usual end-of-the-week lively catch-up conversation. There was a time when we dreamed that all our children would buy houses on the same street as our family home.…

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…

Christian unschooling

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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