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…

Unschooling: A Slow but Productive Way of Life

My beautician and I have thought-provoking conversations. Yesterday, while Bonnie was taming and tinting my ageing eyebrows, making them look fierce, we chatted about time. We started with photography and how phones have simplified the process of capturing images. After…

A Mother’s Basket

It hasn’t been long since the last homeschooling meme. But if you are a book loving mother and would like to join in with another… Read on… Imogen and Charlotte decided to fill the gaps in Sophie’s education by filling…

Latest

Twice Five Minutes on Friday: Does Unschooling Work?

I had a bright idea. A very bright idea. It was a halogen lamp of an idea which solved a problem. Let me explain… I recorded my last video, What is Unschooling? in our family room, which was rather inconvenient for the rest of my family. Because we have an open plan house, they all had to keep very quiet while I had the camera running. After the 5th take, I felt like a nuisance: “Sorry kids! I’ll get it right…

The 20 Minute Challenge

I have 20 minutes before dinner. Can I write a blog post in 20 minutes? I don’t think I can. Impossible! But I shall give it a go. Gemma-Rose is sitting next to me. She’s also got a computer on her lap. “What are you doing, Gemma-Rose?” “Writing.” Writing again? Doesn’t she ever do anything else? “All this writing… don’t you want to play a computer game or watch TV?” No, she doesn’t. She’s obsessed. I guess I am too.…

How to Have an Unschool Adventure, No Camper Van Needed!

Wouldn’t you like to go on an unschool adventure, maybe climb into a camper van and travel the world doing amazing things? My girls want to go on an adventure, but we don’t have a camper van. “Can we go to the beach on my birthday?” asks Sophie. The beach? We hardly ever go to the beach. Would it be an adventure if we spent a day at the beach? “But what if it rains on your birthday?” I ask.…

Five Minutes on Friday: What is Unschooling?

I had an idea. Another one. Is it a good idea? I don’t know! Maybe I can tell you about it… I’ve been pondering the idea of recording a series of videos on basic unschooling topics, each one lasting about 5 minutes. I could call the series, Five Minutes on Friday. I‘d post one a week every Monday. Just joking!  I would post them on Fridays, of course. (I’m feeling silly, maybe because it’s the end of the week and…

Unschooling, Strewing and Unplanning

The other night I turned off my computer for the day, and settled down with my family to watch a movie… at least I tried to watch. My mind kept straying from Beauty and the Beast to Evernote. Then just as the beast demanded Belle join him for dinner, I had this ‘great’ idea’. Great? I don’t know what you’ll think of it, but it made me feel excited. I couldn’t wait to try it out. I reached for my…

A Perfect Method for Keeping Unschooling Records

Last term, this old mother learnt a new trick. After using the same method (my old exercise book) for many years, to record my girls’ learning activities for registration purposes, I actually considered a new method. And I liked it. I discovered Evernote! I mentioned this program in my last video. I said, “I think Evernote’s the perfect record keeping method for unschooling.” That’s a big claim, I know. You might already have a system you think is pretty good. But if you…

Unschooling and Trust

I have been struggling with this post for a while now, and wondering why I’m having so much trouble finding the right words. And I have decided it’s the language. I want to write a story from a personal point of view like I normally do. And I can’t. We had such a gradual transition to unschooling, I didn’t really face the issues I want to write about. So why write about them? Shouldn’t I leave this topic to someone…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

Unschooling: Dishes

This evening, after dinner, I didn’t want to help with the dishes. I just wanted to relax on the sofa and leave everyone else…

The Ladies Fixing the World

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!…

How Unschoolers Can Deal with Questions and Sceptics

My mother-in-law visited us for the birth of our son, Thomas. After he died and we’d buried him in his tiny white casket, Andy’s mother asked me if we wanted more children. As I replied, “Oh, yes!”, my mother-in-law’s face dropped into a disapproving frown. “She thinks we already have enough kids,” I thought as my defence hackles rose. But…

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

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…

Can Unschooling Be a Christian Thing to Do?

When a child has been controlled all her life, she just might grow into the kind of adult who says, “Nobody is ever going to make me do what they want ever again. From now on I’m going to do what I want.” She might close herself off, stand well back, not let anyone get too close. Because you never…
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