Unschool English Records: 20 Ideas for Evernote

I love Evernote. I think it’s A Perfect Method for Keeping Unschooling Records! You might already know this if you’ve read some of my other Evernote blog posts or watched my videos. Yes, I’ve got a lot to say on…

If You’re Thinking about Unschooling…

It seems to me that very few of us like venturing out into the relatively unknown, especially if it means we are heading off alone. Even when we can see things need to change, we make excuses why we shouldn’t…

Chess, Sudoku and Lazy Summer Days

I haven’t thought much about unschooling, records books, my blog… in a long time. We’ve been far too busy enjoying lots of lazy hot summer days. But I know a time will come when we will be ready for new…

Parents Or Friends? Or Can We Be Both?

A few weeks ago, my gorgeous adult daughter, Imogen, said, “Mum, we need a break. How about we go to the beach together for a few days?” Oh my, that was a fabulous suggestion. We’ve both had a hard time…

Latest

The Power of a Few Encouraging Words

Have you ever had a dream? I have. When I was a child, I wanted to write children’s novels. But somewhere along the way, I gave up the idea of becoming an author. There was no time for dreams. I had to be sensible and get a regular job with a regular income. That was what was expected. Then one day, a few years ago, I found myself dreaming again. All it took was a few words written by a…

An Elvis Family Tradition

On Easter Sunday I say, “It’s time to sing By Your Kingly Power O Risen Lord!” Gemma-Rose finds the hymn books, I set up my camera on the tripod, and everyone lines up. They know the routine. We’ve been singing our favourite hymn on Easter Sunday morning for years. It’s an Elvis family tradition. “Are you ready?” I ask. A moment later I hit the ‘record’ button. And everyone opens their mouths and sings. Several minutes later, I have my…

Changing People’s Minds about Unschooling

Sometimes when I’m hopping around the unschooling blogosphere I stumble across places where I don’t feel I belong. As I read the posts, I can feel the high emotions: “No one can tell us what to do with our own children. Society is wrong and we’re going to fight the system.” And although I agree, I don’t really see myself as a person who’s willing to put on my tough boots, arm myself with strong language, and head into battle.…

Funny How Things Change

Last Friday, I was ready to swing into a new season of our unschooling year. “No more record keeping for this term,” I announced to my girls. No more looking out for educational experiences to turn into Evernote notes. No more strewing. No more reading aloud. No more… “Would you like to…?” “Shall we…?” “This looks interesting…” “Did you know…?” Time to take a break, relax, spend more time on my own projects, and look forward to Easter. But on Monday morning,…

Using Evernote to Record Unschool Maths

Proving a child is learning maths, for homechool registration purposes, could be rather tricky for unschoolers. We don’t have any maths workbooks or exercise books to show an Authorised Person (AP) when she comes to visit us. We don’t have any printouts or achievement certificates or other records from online maths courses either. Actually we don’t have any paperwork at all. So what did I present to our AP at our recent registration visit? I showed our AP our Evernote…

Registering as Homeschoolers Using Evernote Unschool Records

The other day I promised to tell you more about our recent homeschool registration visit. An Authorised Person (AP), from the education department (NSW), came to our home to see our children, and look at our records and education plans for the future. And we were hoping everything would be in order and she’d grant us another two years of registration. We’ve had many homeschool registration visits over the years, but this one was a little bit different. For the…
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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 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…

Christian unschooling

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…

The Discomfort of Letting Go and Allowing Our Kids (and Ourselves) to Grow

We organise life so we’re not challenged too much. We don’t want to stray outside our comfort zone because that could be painful. We say no instead of yes to our kids, not wanting them to go to parties at night, ride their bikes on the road, run through the bush alone, or learn to drive. We don’t want thoughts…
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