Wanting to be the Star and Other Stories

So I’m sitting here on a Monday afternoon thinking about my recent lack of blog posts. Should I write something? Have I got anything worth sharing? I could tell you about the new free PDF ebook I’m putting together. (I…

An Interview with a Teenage Radical Unschooler

Last week, in episode 109 of my unschooling podcast, I was chatting about radical unschooling. This week, I’m interviewing Sophie (16) who is a radical unschooler. If you’re unsure about this way of life, perhaps our conversation will reassure you that…

Unschool Cool: Why Being Different Is Our Superpower

When I was eleven, a girl at school asked, “What’s your favourite song?” Looking back, I realise her question was a trap. Of course, I fell straight into it. “Delilah,” I replied, plucking a random song out of my memory.…

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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…

Homeschool Meetings, Talking and Turkeys

It’s hard being the new girls. “Hi, I’m Sue. I’m new to this group.” “You’ve just started homeschooling?” “No. We’ve been homeschooling for 22 years.” “So you’ve just moved to this area?” “Well, no…” “So why have you suddenly decided to come along to our meetings?” “We thought it would be nice to get out and meet some new people.” I’ve had the above conversation a lot lately. Actually, I’ve had it with every mother I’ve spoken to at the…

The Writing Game: No Shortage of Writing Ideas

My daughter Gemma- Rose and I are having some mother-daughter time. We sit at one of the wobbly white tables in the shopping mall and sip our drinks. I have a coffee. She has a chocolate milkshake. “What have you been enjoying recently?” I ask. Gemma-Rose sucks on her straw for a moment and then says, “Writing. I love writing.” “There’s lots to write about, isn’t there?” “There is?” “Oh yes! I have lots of writing ideas! And if I…

Yelling at Maths Games and Other Stories of Our Week

I didn’t make a Thursday video this week. I wonder if you noticed. I meant to. I even had a ‘great’ video idea. I’d planned to interview Andy, my school teacher husband. A school teacher with unschooling children? That might have generated some good conversation. But I never actually got around to doing the interview. Andy and I got side-tracked with other things. One thing in particular took up lots of hours this week. We’ve been formatting my children’s novel,…

From Unschooling to University and Work (Part 2)

Ten Minutes on Thursday Last Thursday I posted the first part of From Unschooling to University and Work, a video interview with my 22 year old son Callum. This week, I’m posting the second half of our interview… Callum and I chat about his current passions, and his dreams for the future. I ask him about his thoughts on family: Is family still important now he is an adult? How does he get on with his parents? What role do…

From Unschooling to University and Work (Part 1)

Ten Minutes on Thursday “I can do that interview for you this afternoon,” said my son Callum. “I just need to get my hair cut first.” He ran his fingers through his floppy locks and grinned. “I have to look respectable for the video, make a good impression, otherwise what will everyone think?” “It doesn’t matter what everyone thinks, Callum. Your hair’s not important.” And although my words are true, I was still glad he went to get his hair…

My Draft Posts File is as Fat as Our Cats, and Other Stories

My draft posts file is getting bigger and bigger. It’s looking rather fat, just like our cats. Each afternoon, for the past few days, I’ve fed it with another failed post. I’ve wanted to write but can’t seem to find the right words. There’s lots of things I want to mull over, like…  chores. I know I’ve already written about this topic. Actually, I think Getting Kids to Help with the Chores is my most popular post ever. It just shows what a…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

The Ladies Fixing the World

The Math Myth: How Do Unschooled Kids Learn Math?

There are many unschool maths questions. Here are just a few of them: Can kids really learn maths without formal instruction? What does unschooling maths look like? Can we strew unschool maths? Is it possible for registered homeschoolers to unschool maths? How can we provide evidence kids are learning maths when we don’t have formal records like workbooks and test…

Christian unschooling

Dragon Mothers and Parenting Mistakes

In a previous post, I wrote: Oh my, you should see my file of ‘failed’ podcasts. Yesterday, I added another one to the pile. “How did your podcast go, Mum?” my daughter Imogen asked me, and I replied, “It wasn’t quite right. It didn’t flow.” And with a sigh, I added, “I’ll have to record it again.” Well, today, I…

Radical Unschool Love, Praise and Joy

Do you ever praise your kids? Do you tell them you’re proud of them? Some people say we shouldn’t praise our kids. Maybe that’s because our children might end up doing things only because they want to gain our approval. And is there a risk a child might think she is better than everyone else if we praise her too…
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