A Passion for Writing
I love writing. It’s one of my passions. And all of my children love writing too. They observe me sitting at the computer with my head down, in a world of my own, tapping away. Then: “Hey! I’ve finished. Read…
Rules, Responsible Parenting and Radical Unschooling
If you do a Google search on unschooling it won’t take you very long to find someone criticising unschoolers. The most judged unschoolers are those who have adopted a radical way of life: those who do not force a set…
It Begins with a Question
Gemma-Rose and I gaze upon the flowers. They’re pretty, bright, colourful, showy. A gorgeous backdrop for a photo. We raise our cameras. Cameras down. We look around. There’s a Chinese gentleman. He’s standing in a garden bed erecting a parasol. We…
Accidental Unschoolers
This is the second part of our homeschooling story. It follows on from my post Undercover Homeschoolers. When our first child Felicity was about 6 years old and we’d been homeschooling for maybe a year, I met Anna. She lived…
Watching a Child Learn
This is a guest post written by Elizabeth Johnson. As mothers (and fathers) we are blessed with an incredible privilege: watching our children’s minds unfold to the world around them. I used to take great pleasure from seeing an “A”…
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…
Interviewing Charlotte (16), an Unschooling Teenager
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
My Fridge Adventure
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
Pondering Trust
I never wanted to be in a position where I had to trust God. I preferred to rely on my own resources. I wanted to be totally in control of my own life. That seemed easier to do because trusting is so very difficult. Or so it can seem. Then one day, at a time when I was feeling rather proud of the way I was handling my life and my family, my world fell apart: “I’m very sorry but…
Interviewing Sophie (13), an Unschooling Teenager
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
Becoming Real Life Maths Detectives
“We use maths all the time,” I say to my daughter Gemma-Rose (10). “Maths is everywhere.” Everywhere? She doesn’t look convinced. “You use maths to count your money,” says Sophie, “and when you’re cooking.” Cooking? How many times have you heard this example when real life maths is mentioned? “Real life maths? You know, cooking.” My girls cook all the time. I have lots and lots of cooking entries in my homeschool records book. They all say similar things: my…
Have You Been Thinking About Visiting Me?
Have you been thinking about visiting me? Well, this weekend would be the perfect time. You see, we have a clean fridge. I cleaned it out all by myself. Yes, I tossed out all the old food and scrubbed the shelves. The fridge looks good! If you arrive unexpectedly on our doorstep this weekend, I won’t have to panic if you approach my fridge, looking for milk to add to your coffee. Gemma-Rose was impressed by all my work: “Wow,…
What is it Like to Be an Unschooling Parent?
Ten Minutes on Thursday I have to admit I failed: Five Minutes on Friday has turned into Ten Minutes on Thursday. I just couldn’t say all I wanted about this week’s topic, in only 5 minutes. Well, maybe I could have, if I’d been organised and used a script. But I chose to chat off the top of my head, as usual, with only a few scribbled notes for guidance. Making a video is so different from writing. When I…
What a Day Without Rules Looks Like
My children said, “Sleep in tomorrow, Mum. You’re overtired. You haven’t had much sleep in the last 48 hours.” So I slept in. When…
Unschooling Children, a School Teacher Father, and Tea
“What does your husband think about you unschooling your children?” I have been asked this question quite a few times. I guess people are…
How Do Kids Learn to Be Generous?
On Monday, my daughter Imogen and I were the filling in a truck sandwich as we drove from our quiet village, along the busy…
Unschooling, Attachment, and the Art of Letting Go: Building Trust Instead of Rules
We don’t make rules in our family, so how do my children know what is right and what is wrong, if they aren’t guided by clearly stated limits? Do I believe my own quiet example of appropriate behaviour is all that is needed in order to influence my children? Perhaps I stand back, hands-off, and let my children behave as…
Unschooling: How Do We Know They’re Learning?
There are loads of unschooling questions we could ask about learning: How do we know unschooling kids are learning? Should they be learning particular things? Is there knowledge that all kids need? Are our unschooled kids learning enough? Can they get behind? Should we just trust our kids are learning? But what if we have doubts? Or what if we…
Is It Working? Wrestling with Doubt in Unschooling
A grey day arrives that completely blots out the memory of all the preceding good days. We feel overwhelmed, tired, worried and lost. We wonder why we ever decided to unschool. A puddle of doubt about unschooling forms around us. What do we do? Cecilie, Sandra and I are discussing unschooling doubts and sharing our experiences in episode 10 of…
Christian Unschooling: Do Kids Need Silence and Space to Hear God?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
Is It Wrong to Love Without Limits?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…