The Problem with Disguising Maths Practice as Fun
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Unschooling During a Crisis
Are there some things you hate doing? We don’t like gardening. Usually, we let our garden take care of itself. That’s why our hedges grew and grew until they were higher than the roof of our house. We should have…
Learning From My Children
My children are always eager to learn. “Wow! That looks wonderful. Will you teach me to crochet too? Do you think I could make a blanket like yours?” They always seem willing to have a go. They don’t worry about…
Why I Wanted to Delete My Blogs
I was staring gloomily at my computer this morning. “What are you doing, Mum?” asked my daughter Imogen. “I’m about to delete my blogs,” I answered. “Don’t, Mum! Why would you want to do that?” “Listen!” I replied. We could hear…
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.…
Unschool Maths: Why and How
A few years ago, we used to unschool everything except for maths. I guess some people would say that’s not really unschooling, but that never worried me. I’ve learnt to ignore other people’s opinions and do what I feel is right for us. We did eventually decide to unschool maths, but we did it for a much better reason than only to avoid criticism and be accepted. In this week’s podcast, I tell you the story of why and how…
Questioning Our Decision to Unschool
Sometimes events in our lives make us stop and reassess what we’re doing. I’ve been doing a bit of this kind of reassessment about unschooling. I’ve been thinking… Is there a better way of bringing up children? Can we trust too much? Is there such a thing as loving too much? Am I ready to jump off the unschooling ship? I share my thoughts in this week’s podcast. This post is short and sweet. No program notes. Straight onto my…
Being Honest: Talking about Mistakes and Perfection
Some things are absolutely perfect, like our recent holiday to Jenolan Caves. As I look at the photos, I smile. I know I’ll enjoy the memories of that wonderful time again and again. But some things are far from perfect. Some memories make me wince. I’d rather not think about certain times in the past. I don’t want to remember I was once called the Dragon Mother. Oh yes, once upon a time I could breathe fire and send everyone…
An Australian Bush Birthday and Bush Books
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(More) Apologies
I once wrote a blog post called Apologies. Loads of people stopped by to read it. Perhaps they wondered, “What did Sue do? Did she make a huge mistake? What is she apologising for?” Actually, that post didn’t deserve all the attention it received. The only mistake I’d made was to publish the wrong post on the wrong day, during the annual A – Z blogging challenge. I got into a bit of a muddle and published my X post…
Protecting Children from Outside Influences
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My Head is Overflowing with Ideas, Music and Lots of Questions!
“Come and look at my new video!” I shout and my children come running. I always get so excited when I create something new. I have to share with someone… immediately. It’s just as well my children are willing to look at my latest video or listen to my just-finished podcast. They’re great. They say all the right things. They’re very encouraging. I guess that’s what family is all about. Yesterday, I got excited about a new music discovery. “Come…
Keeping Teenagers Safe from the Dangers of the World
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An Unschooling Imposter
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A Few Raw Thoughts on a Crumpled Piece of Paper
I discover a crumpled piece of notebook paper in my handbag. I smooth it out and read the scrawled inked words: unschooling things everyone…
Why We Should Freely Choose to Do Difficult and Unpleasant Things
Let’s be realistic: no one will freely choose to do what’s difficult and unpleasant, will they? A mother once told me this is exactly…
Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Curiosity, Flexibility, and Trust
I’m a Lady Fixing the World! Cecilie Conrad kindly invited me to join her and Sandra Dodd for Season 2 of her podcastThe Ladies Fixing the World. We recorded our first unschooling conversation together in November 2024 before life got extra-busy with Christmas, and it has just gone live! The audio version. Here’s the audio version: You can also listen…
Unschooling: Trusting the Process and Letting Go of Control
“I kind of love my title for this podcast. It’s very ambitious. Let’s fix it all!” And so begins another Ladies Fixing the World conversation in which Cecilie Conrad, Sandra Dodd and I dive deep into unschooling, sharing our thoughts and experiences. In S2E4, we discuss Unschooling: Trusting the Process and Letting Go. Want to know more…
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.…
Bringing God into the Unschooling Picture
A few months ago, I wrote a post called Why This is the End of the Line for Me. I decided that I’d explored unschooling from every possible angle. What more could I write about? It was time for me to move onto other things. Let my kids tell their own unschooling stories and find something else of my own…
Parenting: Doing Our Inadequate Best
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