Time to Unschool (Part 2)

Perhaps you’re thinking about unschooling. You could be wondering: Should we give it a go? Is unschooling right for our family? Yes? No? Maybe something is attracting you to unschooling? Do you imagine children following their own interests, being passionate…

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Unschooling Sausages

“I want to write a post for my unschooling blog,” I say, “but I don’t know what to write about.” “You could play the writing game,” suggests Sophie. “I’ll give you a word and then you can write a post about it.” “Okay,” I agree. “Sounds good. What’s my word?” “Sausage!” “Sausage?” I think about this for a moment and then ask, “What’s a sausage got to do with unschooling?” Sophie shrugs her shoulders. She has no idea so I Google…

Getting Older, Admitting One’s Age, Lines and Wrinkles!

I wonder if I am the only person who’s finding it difficult coming to terms with an ageing appearance.”A lot of women feel that way,” says Imogen. “I guess there wouldn’t be such a huge anti-wrinkle cream industry if everyone was satisfied with the way they look,” I observe. “And think how many people dye their hair,” adds my oldest-at-home daughter. “They’re not happy with grey hair.” Maybe Imogen is right. I am not alone. Many women are concerned about…

A Camera, Photography Books and Playing the Ebay Game

Sophie has a dream: “I’d love to have a DSLR camera just like yours, Mum. I’d really like to take special photos with blurry backgrounds. I have a bit of money in the bank, but it’s not enough.” She sighs. “Cameras are so expensive.” I have an idea. It starts with a lot of loose change which we gather from around the house. We count it. It’s an unexpectedly large amount of money. And then… On Thursday: “Look, Sophie! There’s…

Logarithmic Time and Other Old and Inappropriate Stories

It’s Friday. Imogen is making dinner. My husband Andy will be home from school soon. And I have just enough time to share a few stories from this week. Yes, another week has disappeared. Doesn’t time pass quickly? Apparently time acts logarithmically. I read about this in a very interesting maths book called Alex’s Adventures in Numberland. When we’re young, the days seem so long, and a year lasts forever. The older we get, the faster time seems to pass…

Mistakes, a Teenager’s Love of Learning, and Loose Change!

“Would anyone like to chat with me while I make my second podcast?” I asked my family. “I will,” volunteered Sophie, my 13 year old daughter. “Perhaps this time my voice will sound more natural,” I said, “because I’ll be having a real conversation with someone I can see.” Soon I was setting up my computer in the quiet of my bedroom. I had a list of conversation topics. I also had a new external microphone. Soon I was saying,…

Adding Children’s Books to My Own Personal Reading Pile

It rained. It hailed. Lightning flashed, and then a huge ball of thunder rolled across the sky. We all looked up from our computers just in time to see Nora, our puppy, leaping into the air. Over 20 kg of dog landed thump! on Gemma-Rose’s lap. For a moment, we were all distracted by our quivering frightened animal. When Nora had calmed down, we returned to our computer screens and we all got a shock. “I haven’t got an Internet…

Why We Have to Take Risks

Today I posted my very first podcast. “Do you want to listen to my podcast?” I ask my girls. They nod and soon we’re sitting around my computer listening to Podcasting, Blogging, Books and Lice! “You’re using your ‘other people’ voice, Mum,” observes Gemma-Rose, “not your ‘family’ one.” I think about this. Yes, somehow I don’t sound right. Oh my, what will people think? Will I get lots of critical comments? Perhaps I should go delete my podcast. But then…

Podcasting, Blogging, Books and Lice!

I’ve been learning new things. You could say I’ve been unschooling! Yesterday, I worked out how to make a podcast. It wasn’t that difficult. I downloaded Audacity, pressed the ‘record’ button and then started chatting. When I’d finished speaking, I exported the recording as an MP3 file, which I uploaded to the podcast hosting site, Podbean. Voila! I am now a podcaster! The hardest thing about podcasting is talking. Well, perhaps not talking. I don’t seem to have any trouble…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

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…

Unschooling Is Carried by Conversations

Dinner tables, car rides, bedtime chats, and café corners are the real places where unschooling lives and grows. Conversations—often unscheduled, informal, and unplanned—can become the central structure of a learning life. Gathering at the Dinner Table In our house, we never met for breakfast or lunch. Those were meals where people ate what, where and when they liked. But we…

Is It Working? Wrestling with Doubt in Unschooling

A grey day arrives that completely blots out the memory of all the preceding good days. We feel overwhelmed, tired, worried and lost. We wonder why we ever decided to unschool. A puddle of doubt about unschooling forms around us. What do we do? Cecilie, Sandra and I are discussing unschooling doubts and sharing our experiences in episode 10 of…

Christian unschooling

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