How Registered Homeschoolers Can Unschool

If our children are obliged to learn what’s in the school syllabus in order to have their homeschool registration applications approved, surely they can’t unschool? How can they follow their interests and still fulfil the registration requirements? My children are…

Wanting to Learn How to Spell

Gemma-Rose isn’t a defiant child so when she said to me, “You can’t make me learn anything I don’t want to learn,” I stopped and listened. We were talking about spelling. Did Gemma-Rose want me to enrol her in an…

When Worry Gets in the Way of Love

Sometimes life can feel very overwhelming. Parenting is not always easy. There are so many concerns and worries.  It starts very early:  Do I have enough milk for my baby? When will my child sleep through the night? Will she…

Latest

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…

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…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

Unschooling: Trust, Autonomy, and The Realities of Learning

The Ladies are Fixing the World again! Cecilie, Sandra and I are discussing the words ‘self-regulation’ and ‘limits’. When we say, “I’ve let go of control, and now I’m waiting for my child to learn how to regulate his time playing video games (for example),” do we have expectations about what that regulation should look like? Do we want…

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…

Christian unschooling

Unschooling, Homemaking, and a Mother’s Role

Erin wrote: What does the idea of homemaking mean to you? Is it a certain skill set or talent? Does it need to look or happen a certain way, or is it a flexible term? What role does homemaking play for you in home ed life? Do the two need to go together? Are there aspects of homemaking that you…
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