Tired and Difficult Days

Today I’m tired. “Have you got anything you really need to do?” asks my daughter Imogen. “I haven’t yet recorded my podcast,” I reply. “I should do that today.” “Well, you do that first, and then you must rest. We’ll…

Turning Outings into Homeschool Records Notes

We all know that outings are packed full of learning experiences. While we’re enjoying a picnic or strolling through the bush or visiting a museum or an art gallery, we’re soaking up a lot of information without even realising it.…

My List of Brilliant Unschooling Blogs

Remember when blogging was the thing to do? We all created blogs instead of social media accounts. We shared our lives, writing our stories, filling our sidebars with photos of our kids, sometimes naming them, frequently hiding their identities under…

When New Ideas Make Us Feel Uncomfortable

I’ve had times in my life when other people have presented me with new ideas and I haven’t wanted to know about them. I hear what they’re saying, but I don’t want to consider the ideas too deeply. Why would…

Stolen Paintings and Real Life Maths

Last week was a hunting week… My daughters and I watched as the FBI tried to hunt down a number of stolen masterpieces. And then I went on a hunt for some real life maths experiences. (Where’s all that maths…

Latest

Approaching Classic Novels the Other Way Around

“What are you reading?” I ask my ten year old daughter, Gemma-Rose. She looks up from her Kindle and says, “Bleak House.” I remember reading this Charles Dickens book a couple of years ago. It took me a long time to finish it. I had to return to the beginning a couple of times and start over again, because I kept putting the book down. By the time I came back to it, I’d forgotten what I’d previously read. “Are…

Unschooling Children, a School Teacher Father, and Tea

“What does your husband think about you unschooling your children?”  I have been asked this question quite a few times. I guess people are interested in the answer because my husband Andy is a school teacher, as well as an unschooling father. “Would you like to chat with me about unschooling, being a school teacher and your involvement in our children’s lives?” I asked Andy. “Our conversation could be this week’s podcast.” Andy was agreeable. I decided to ask our…

Unschooling Experts, Criticism, and Radical Chore Rosters

Last week, I wrote a blog post called Are You a Proper Unschooler? I scheduled it to publish while we were away on holiday in Canberra. By the time we arrived home, the post had been online for about 12 hours and it hadn’t had many page views at all. I thought, “Oh well, not many people are interested in the topic of unschooling experts.” The next day I changed my mind. A steady stream of people arrived to read…

Bare Foot Unschooling and Comfortable Shoes

Many years ago I fell in love with a pair of soft golden-brown leather moccasins. They were decorated with tassels, threaded with tiny glass beads. Those shoes were absolutely beautiful and as soon as I saw them in the shop, I wanted them. There was only one tiny problem: They were half a size too small. I soon convinced myself the shoes would stretch once I started wearing them. I was sure I could put up with slightly cramped toes…

Unschool Writing, Essays, and a Few Panicky Moments!

My daughter Imogen has a passion for writing. “When did you start writing?” I ask. “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing.” My second daughter was writing stories long before she knew how to form letters into words. It was no surprise to me when she announced she wanted to study writing at a tertiary level. 19-year-old Imogen is now in her third and final year of a Professional Writing and Publishing degree at university. So how did she get there?…

Are You a Proper Unschooler?

I used to worry about labelling our family as unschoolers. What if someone came along and said, “You’re not proper unschoolers”? Some people don’t like labels. Labels can certainly divide us. Someone could say,”You’re not unschoolers but we are.” That might make us feel excluded, even angry, if we think we belong. Sometimes it can seem safer to keep our label to ourselves. Let people guess and just ‘do our own thing’. But labels can be useful. They do help…

Squishy? Living in the Unschooling Moment

I’m playing the writing game, the unschooling version. “Your word is squishy.” “Squishy?” Squishy and unschooling… what’s the connection? Think! Think! I know! In the garage is a plastic storage box, and at the bottom of that box is something very squishy. Little pudgy fingers loved to wrap themselves around it and squeeze. Big ones did too. When I first saw that hot pink squishy ball I couldn’t resist buying it for Gemma-Rose. She didn’t really need any more baby…

Exciting Times, Slow Times and Unschool Holidays

There is nothing more exciting than watching a child who is gripped by a passion. Early each morning, my 13 year old daughter Sophie knocks on my bedroom door. I invite her in and the first thing I notice is her huge smile. Her first words are always the same: “I’ve got so many things I want to do today. I can’t wait to get started!” Sophie’s excitement is contagious. It’s also encouraging for a mother. This is what unschooling…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

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…

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…

Christian unschooling

Respecting Kids and Christmas Presents

Does having a simple Christmas sound good? It does to me. This year, like last year and the one before, I wanted to announce that I’m not buying a lot of Christmas presents. I thought about saying that I’m not buying any at all. I didn’t want to think and think until the perfect gift ideas came to mind. I…

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…
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