How to Be Brave
The other day, I was thinking about bravery. What is being brave all about? Are we brave when we do something that might make people stare, such as having our hair cut startling short? Or is there more to bravery…
Teenagers, Rules and Rebellion
“My daughter will be 13 soon,” says a mother. She groans: “There’s trouble ahead!” The other mothers nod in sympathy. Yes, life is about to get very difficult. It always does when there’s a teenager in the family. But are…
Sharing Some Thoughts on Learning to Read
I was asked to share some thoughts on learning to read and write. Shall I start with reading? When I created this blog, Gemma-Rose was almost a fluent reader so I haven’t written many stories on this topic. I will…
Time to Unschool
Gemma-Rose (7) had a loose front tooth. Every spare moment, she could be found, fingers in her mouth, wiggling and twisting and turning that little tooth. Soon it was hanging by a thread. At lunchtime, two days ago, it finally…
A Perfect Method for Keeping Unschooling Records
Last term, this old mother learnt a new trick. After using the same method (my old exercise book) for many years, to record my girls’ learning activities for registration purposes, I actually considered a new method. And I liked it. I discovered…
Pi and Tea, and Our Dog’s Tea Bag Collection
Our puppy Nora has a tea bag collection. She keeps it under the conifer tree at the bottom of our garden. Every day she pushes her long doggy nose between the wooden slats of the compost bin, in search of new treasure to add to her pile. One day Nora decided to sample more than tea bags. A few hours later she wished she’d hadn’t. I did too. “We can’t have the dog gulping down everything we put into the…
How to Talk and Save Lives, and Can I Mention the Weather?
I ponder a few questions in this week’s podcast: Is it okay to talk about the weather or should that topic be avoided if you want to have an interesting conversation? Is it important for our children to have good conversational skills? How do they get such skills? We know bushfire fighters are heroes as they battle to save lives and property, but can school teachers also be heroes? Should we all know how to do CPR just in case?…
My Old Portmanteau
This morning, as we drove along the back road that leads into town, we saw three children waiting for the school bus. One of them was sitting down reading a book. I thought at first he was sitting on his school bag, but he wasn’t. He was sitting on a rock. “I don’t suppose modern school bags are much good for sitting on,” I remarked to the girls. “They’re not like my old port.” Port? “When I was a girl…
About Me, About Podcasts, About Adventures!
I have made 13 podcasts. I never expected to make that many, and I never expected to have any listeners other than a few and encouraging friends. I guess that’s why I never introduced myself properly when I first became a podcaster. There didn’t seem to be any need to do that. My friends already know me. No explanations were needed. But 3 months down the track, I suddenly realise there might be some listeners who don’t know much about…
A Baby’s Birth and Death, and Christmas (Again!)
It was our son Thomas’ birthday on Sunday. The next day was his death day. We’ve been remembering these two days for the last 15 years. Yes, Thomas would have been 15 if he hadn’t died as a baby. I’ve been thinking about that. We’d have had another teenager in the family. Thomas probably would have been far taller than me by now. I wonder what colour his hair would have been. Who would he have looked like? What would he have…
Should a Child Be Given the Freedom to Choose?
If children are given the freedom to do whatever they want, will they choose to do nothing at all?… Imogen, would you like to discuss this question with me, in this week’s podcast?” My nearly 20-year-old daughter said, “Okay!”, so I grabbed my notebook and we began brainstorming points we could talk about. Soon we had a list of additional questions: Is anyone actually capable of ‘doing nothing at all’? When mothers shout, “Go and do something!” to their kids,…
Mothers, Unschooling and a Lazy Way of Life
Is unschooling a lazy way of life? Do mothers choose to unschool because they can’t be bothered putting together a proper homeschool program for their children’s education? Perhaps unschooling mothers don’t actually do much in a day. My daughter Imogen and I discussed these questions in today’s podcast. Along the way, we also talked about how we can encourage a love of learning, strewing, tiredness and how everything is potentially interesting, even maths! I also chatted more about fulfilling rather…
How We Unschool Despite Strict Homeschool Regulations
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we didn’t have to answer to anyone and could unschool our children with total freedom? I guess some people are fortunate to be able to do this. But we’re not. In our state of Australia, if we want to homeschool, we have to fulfil certain requirements. Our children are supposed to follow the same syllabus as the one used in schools. And we have to prove they’ve done that. But how can we do that…
Acquiring Bucketfuls of Unschooling Trust
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Protecting Children from Outside Influences
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Is It Ever Too Late to Start Unschooling?
Is it ever too late to start unschooling? I’ve been asked this question a lot and my answer is always “No!” Even if a…
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.…
Learning to Read and Trusting Unschooling
It is absolutely essential that we are curious people who are excited about the possibilities in life. The atmosphere in our homes gets picked up by our kids so they think it’s normal to learn, to be curious, to follow thoughts and ideas and try things out… I was battling with my kids for a while. They kept saying, ‘Why…
Unschooling, Attachment, and the Art of Letting Go: Building Trust Instead of Rules
We don’t make rules in our family, so how do my children know what is right and what is wrong, if they aren’t guided by clearly stated limits? Do I believe my own quiet example of appropriate behaviour is all that is needed in order to influence my children? Perhaps I stand back, hands-off, and let my children behave as…
Does Christian Unschooling Interest You?
I’ve written three unschooling books: I focused on the educational side of unschooling in Curious Unschoolers. I extended the unschooling story in Radical Unschool Love by sharing parenting thoughts and stories. And I offered practical suggestions for turning all those interesting unschooling ideas into something real in families’ lives in The Unschool Challenge. Three books. A trilogy. Everything I can…
How to Write a Million Unschool Love Stories
I used to think the defining word of unschooling was freedom. Freedom attracted me. I wanted to be free to do whatever I liked. I wanted to get up each day and do anything or nothing at all. But I soon realised there’s a problem with freedom. If we always do whatever we like, won’t we become self-centred? Thinking only…