Do Unschoolers Drift Aimlessly Through Each Day?

Years ago, when I was researching homeschooling methods, I thought unschooling sounded good because we’d be free to do whatever we liked. And if we didn’t want to do anything, that would be okay. There would be no rules, no…

When a Child Can’t Cope

A few months ago, a family story made big news in a city newspaper. One Sunday, a married couple decided to take their small son to a restaurant. It wasn’t long before the young boy started to make a fuss.…

Approaching Classic Novels the Other Way Around

“What are you reading?” I ask my ten year old daughter, Gemma-Rose. She looks up from her Kindle and says, “Bleak House.” I remember reading this Charles Dickens book a couple of years ago. It took me a long time…

Latest

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…

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…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

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…

The Ladies Fixing the World

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 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…

Unschooling: Coping With the Unexpected

I used to think I could control my life. To achieve a perfect life, all I had to do was organise everything well, including my kids. What is a perfect life? My perfect life vision included a graduated row of good-looking and well-behaved children. I wanted people to admire my family and home, saying, “Sue is such a good mother!…

Christian unschooling

The Discomfort of Letting Go and Allowing Our Kids (and Ourselves) to Grow

We organise life so we’re not challenged too much. We don’t want to stray outside our comfort zone because that could be painful. We say no instead of yes to our kids, not wanting them to go to parties at night, ride their bikes on the road, run through the bush alone, or learn to drive. We don’t want thoughts…

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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