Live Life to the Full, Have No Regrets
Today we are going on an adventure. The girls giggle. “We’re going on a ‘school excursion’!” they say. We imagine a long straggly crocodile of paired off and name-tagged children, walking hand-in-hand. Where are they off to? The museum? The zoo? The fire station? No crocodiles for us. No museum or fire station. We pack a picnic, pull on our…
Memories of an Inexperienced Mother
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When Worry Gets in the Way of Love
Sometimes life can feel very overwhelming. Parenting is not always easy. There are so many concerns and worries. It starts very early: Do I have enough milk for my baby? When will my child sleep through the night? Will she ever wean? How long will it be before she’s out of nappies? Then when a child gets to school age…
What do Children Need for a Happy Childhood?
Sometimes my children’s words warm my heart. “Don’t you just love being us?” asked my daughter Imogen, turning to me with a huge smile. I was surprised. Why did she suddenly feel like a big ball of happiness*? It wasn’t as if we were doing anything special right at that moment. “You don’t wish you belonged to another family?” I…
How the Girls and I Take a Weekly Trip Overseas
Every week the girls and I take an overseas trip. The week before last we went to Vietnam. We flew into Hanoi, the city of rickshaws and mopeds and many people. We stood, rather bewildered, as streams of two-wheeled vehicles surged past us. Before long, we’d mounted our own bikes and were puttering out of the busy city headed for…
Favourite Sewing Books for Children: Gemma-Rose Sews a Mermaid
A book lands in our mailbox: Fleecie Dolls by Fiona Goble. The girls turn the pages: “Oh! I want to make this one! And that one… and this one too!” At last, a decision is made: “I’m going to make Tilly, the mermaid.” So we go shopping and come home with… a colourful pile of soft fleece, sparkling purple sequins and,…
Aiming for Love, Not Perfection
I had a vision… By the age of 18 all my children were going to be perfectly brought up and perfectly educated. I wanted them to fly off into the world without a problem. I was going to sit back and sigh with satisfaction and happiness. Pat myself on the back: A job well done. In order to make my…
Nothing is More Important than Love
“What would you rather do, play that computer game or come and give me a hug?” I ask my daughters. Without a moment’s hesitation, Gemma-Rose says, “Hug you of course!” “Do you even need to ask?” says Sophie. I am humbled. What did I do to deserve such love? I love my children so much it hurts. “I love you…
When a Child Has Only One Interest.
“It’s all very well, letting children follow their own interests, but my daughter only wants to do one thing. She’s not interested in science or maths or writing… All she wants to do is cook and how’s that going to satisfy the educational authorities?” a hypothetical mother asks. What would I do if one of my girls only wanted to…
The Opportunity to Discover, the Freedom to Choose
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Why Some Kids Are Willing to Help with the Chores
I said that I have to be a good example if I want my children to help me get the house organised each morning… I have to jump out of bed and go out there and dive into the chores. I have to be willing…
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 all aspects of life. What do you do next? Perhaps you say to your kids, “We’re going to try radical unschooling.…
When Our Help and Strewing Are Rejected
My daughter Charlotte used to be openly enthusiastic about everything. Every evening she’d be eager to tell me about all the things she’d discovered…
Getting Older, Unschooling, and Moving On
My unschooling blog has a limited life. One day, in the not too distant future, I will no longer have anything to write about.…
Motivated to Learn
Did you ever hear my physics story? When I was in grade 11, we moved house, and so I had to go to a…
Deciding to Be Positive about Homeschool Record Keeping
“Hey, girls, come and look at my video!”“It looks wonderful, Mum!” (My daughters know exactly the right words to say!)“Do you like the slideshow?…
Be Brave
Yesterday, my Youtube subscribers must have fallen over backwards with surprise: I published a new video! It had been a very long time…
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…
Should We Push Kids to Use Their Talents, Aim High and Impress?
Do you ever wonder if you should push your kids? Make them do hard things even if they complain. Drill them. Give them a…
Imogen’s Unschooling Plan to Get into University
One of the most common worries homeschooling parents seem to have is: Will my children be able to get into university? The answer to…
How It’s Okay if We’re Not Perfect Parents
Do I want to be as good a mother as Sue Elvis? Or do I want Sue Elvis to be my mother? Perhaps a…
Do We Have Trouble Trusting Our Kids Because of Our Own Experiences?
Can kids be trusted? If we give them the freedom to direct their lives, won’t they do nothing much at all? Won’t they choose…
Saying No and Other Things
I wonder why we get so afraid of saying yes to our kids. Perhaps we think they will get spoilt if we respond to…