Let’s Talk Maths
My girls have been learning maths in a formal way rather than as a consequence of life. But I have been thinking… The girls used to use workbooks, the sort that cover one school year at a time. They filled…
Unschool Cemetery Maths
The mist drifts across the field and through the cemetery. Together with the rising sun, it streams between the trees and onto the graves. Golden rays fall upon a black marble monument which rises high, taller than the surrounding stones.…
Putting Our Kids Ahead of the Opinions of Other People
Have you ever put other people ahead of your kids? I have. And I wonder: how could I have done that when my kids mean so much to me? It doesn’t make sense, does it? Years ago, there were many…
Playing for Ian
If you listened to episode 125 of my podcast, Connecting Unschooling and Ageing, you might have heard this story. I wrote it in 2012 and originally published it on one of my other blogs. I think it’s a story worth…
Why We Are Rotten Parents and Other Christmas Stories
I almost recorded this week’s podcast on my own. Then at the last minute, just as I was about to begin, Gemma-Rose appeared. “I’ll talk with you about Christmas, Mum.” This week in my Christmas edition podcast, we chat about:…
Should We Buy Kids What They Need to Further Their Passions?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
One-on-One Times: Are They Important?
I got up early this morning. The house was quiet until our three cats, and one dog saw me. Meows and pitiful whines accompanied me to the kitchen. Apparently, our animals were on the edge of starvation. It’s just as well, I appeared. Once I’d tossed food into each pet bowl, I filled the kettle. As I stood waiting for the water to boil, I heard a sound. My daughter Sophie was up. I placed her cup next to mine and…
Making a Music Video in the Australian Bush
On a hot summer’s evening, we head into the beautiful Australian bush: Imogen, Sophie, Gemma-Rose and me. We follow a narrow stone-strewn track that winds between gum trees until we arrive at a cave-like rock on the edge of a cliff. Sophie and I have cameras and tripods. Gemma-Rose has an iPod. And Imogen has a golden cardboard box. Imogen sits on a rock next to the cave. She places the box on her lap. We point our cameras towards…
How All Kids Are Amazing
The other day, I read a parenting article in which the author said that parents can love their kids too much. I told my daughter Imogen about this and she was horrified: “You can never love a child too much!” I wonder what the author meant by love. Maybe he thinks parents give their kids the idea they are something special, and then they go out into the world and discover they aren’t quite as wonderful as they have been…
10 Reasons Why You Should Read My Blog
What if someone said, “Sue, there are lots of people writing about unschooling. Why should I follow your blog and read your posts?” What would I say? I did some thinking and came up with 10 reasons why you might consider reading my blog. And here they are: 1. Do you want to ponder unschooling ideas without feeling pressured to do things a certain way? Then you can do that here. All families are different. But we can still share…
Life after University: Following Dreams
My daughter Imogen has finished her Bachelor of Arts degree. For the past three years, she’s been studying Professional Writing and Publishing. Now Imogen is about to set off on new adventures. So what will she be doing? I thought I’d interview Imogen to find out. Imogen was very happy to answer my questions about her university experience and her plans for the future. They include: Did she like studying online? What does she want to do now? The quick…
Attachment Parenting and Unschooling
My first child was a perfect baby. She ate and played and smiled, and then when she was tired, she put herself to sleep. She even slept through the night. I thought I was a perfect mother. (What was everyone else doing wrong?) But my second child wasn’t quite so obliging. Cracks began to appear in my perfect mother image. My third child? When he joined our family, all my high opinions of myself fell in a heap. He had…
Unschool Maths Records: 20+ Ideas for Evernote
Is anyone looking for ideas on how we can use Evernote to record unschool maths? I hope so because I have put together a list of 20+ ideas I use! 1. Copy and paste infographics Recently, we’ve been pondering such things as how much does the average person spend at Christmas? How many Christians are there in Australia? How do people fund their Christmas shopping? We found some infographics which gave us the answers. 2. Clip any stats associated with…
When We Fail
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A Message We Can All Share Even if Our Unschooling Lives Aren’t Picture-Perfect
When we’re posting photos or writing stories or talking about unschooling directly with our family and friends, do we ever stop and wonder if…
Unschooling Teenagers: What They Think and What They Do
Have you ever wondered what unschooling teenagers are like? What kind of people are they? What do they think? What do they do? Have you…
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…
How Unschoolers Can Deal with Questions and Sceptics
My mother-in-law visited us for the birth of our son, Thomas. After he died and we’d buried him in his tiny white casket, Andy’s mother asked me if we wanted more children. As I replied, “Oh, yes!”, my mother-in-law’s face dropped into a disapproving frown. “She thinks we already have enough kids,” I thought as my defence hackles rose. But…
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!…
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 the old and sick, and how he has to guard against doing things in a routine way, trying to complete…
Kids, Needs, and Church
Should unschooled kids be forced to go to church? I wonder if this is the wrong question to ask when our kids protest about coming with us. Would it be better to ask, Why doesn’t my child want to go to church? In this week’s podcast, I talk about this question as well as : The importance of trying to see…