Do You Have an Anti-Library?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
How to Start a Great Art Conversation
On Monday, I plug my mic into my computer, open Audacity, hit ‘record’, and start to talk. For 40 minutes, I discuss a current unschooling topic. Along the way, I share some family news. Before I know it, I have…
When Life Gets a Bit Too Interesting!
Life is certainly interesting at the moment. A little bit too interesting! You might remember how a week or so ago, we prepared our house just in case the out-of-control bushfire that was burning not very far away arrived in…
How I Gave Up and Started Unschooling
A guest post by Venisa McAllister We started with high hopes. When my oldest daughter Sarah was old enough for kindergarten I enrolled her in a program called k-12. They would give us a computer, fun learning materials, and help…
Reassessing
It’s the first day of the official school holidays so my husband Andy is home from school for two weeks. He’s looking forward to resting after his busy term teaching. He got his holiday off to a good start by…
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…
Will Our Kids Include Us in Their Lives Once They’ve Left Home?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
Teenagers are People Too
At Mass on Sunday, during the Prayers of the Faithful, we were asked to pray for sullen teenagers. When we returned home, Imogen was…
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…
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: 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 and Connections: How Learning Is All About Creating a Web of Understanding
When I finished my university degree, I threw all my botany and biochemistry lecture notes and books into the garbage bin with relief. And I said, “No one will ever make me learn anything ever again!” I have a science degree, which was presented to me while I was wearing a fancy gown with a mortar board on my head.…
Losing Time
I’ve been reading a book called A Time to Die by Nicholas Diat, who visited eight monasteries to talk to the monks about the experience of death. Here’s something that caught my attention: One monk described how he cares for the old and sick, and how he has to guard against doing things in a routine way, trying to complete…
Could Ebooks Save My Unschool Blog?
The other day, I logged into my blog hosting account to find out when my next payment is due and how much it will be. When I saw the bill due later this year, I gulped and said to my husband, “Do we want to spend so much money on a site that’s often slow or offline because of a…