Strange Goings-On in the Cemetery
I wonder if we’re the first people ever to film a music video in our local cemetery? Has anyone else ever stood next to one of the old sandstone headstones and sung a song from The Phantom of the Opera?…
Thinking about Maths Creatively
It seems to me there are three main ways of learning maths: the workbook way, the real life maths way and the messing-about-with-numbers way. Sophie once learnt maths the workbook way. She wasn’t actually using paper books. She was using…
Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case: [Podcast]
In this week’s podcast episode, I’m sharing a story called Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case. And I’m discussing the main points in it. Is it sensible to make all kids learn maths just in case? What if…
Unschool: Be Brave, Adventurous and Just a Bit Daring
Sometimes we have to be brave, adventurous and daring. We can’t remain on the sidelines of life where it feels safe. We’ve got to get involved, take up challenges, live life to the full, and not let fear hold us…
Starting Unschooling
Initially, I liked the idea of unschooling so we set off down the unschooling pathway. But it didn’t take me long to discover a few things I didn’t like about this way of life. We ended up moving away, travelling…
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…
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…
Following My Mothering Instincts
Some years ago I came across a talk on discipline by a well-known speaker, an experienced family man, an ‘expert’ perhaps. The talk went…
Can Christians Unschool?
Can Christians unschool? We’re Christian unschoolers. Maybe you’re Christian unschoolers too? There are lots of us living this way of life. But are we…
A Message We Can All Share Even if Our Unschooling Lives Aren’t Picture-Perfect
When we’re posting photos or writing stories or talking about unschooling directly with our family and friends, do we ever stop and wonder if…
Resources for Unschoolers
Strolling towards the shopping centre, I spy an older man with three hand-reared brightly coloured parrots. A few wide-eyed kids are gathered around him, and as I watch, he transfers a parrot to one of their shoulders, where it bounces lightly upon its feet, nuzzling a little ear. The child grins, hardly daring to move. The children have questions which…
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: 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…
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…
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…