Social Media, Hooks, Distractions, and Books

My daughter Imogen and I aren’t big social media people. For some reason, we find platforms such as Instagram and Facebook a bit overwhelming. Could that have something to do with our introverted natures? Often, we disappear. But, after a…

Stories of Awful Hair Styles and Inspector Morse

I’ve been watching Inspector Morse, an old TV series, starring John Thaw. My dad was a great Morse fan. I contributed to his Morse DVD collection, buying him a new series for some of his birthdays. I knew my dad…

What We Need to Film Imogen’s Music Videos

The evening before a music video shoot day, I say to my girls, “Have we got everything ready? Are the camera cards empty? Have we charged the batteries?” We find all our equipment and pile it by the front…

Are You an Unschooling Multipotentialite?

Are you an unschooling multipotentialite? If someone had asked me that question a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn’t have had an answer. I’d never heard of that word before. Yes, multipotentialite is a new word in my vocabulary. My friend…

Latest

Encouraging Children So They Get Excited About Learning

We never made a conscious decision to unschool. I didn’t wake up one morning and say, “Hey kids, let’s give unschooling a go.” No, over a long period of time I gradually threw out all that wasn’t working for us until we found a way of homeschooling that felt right. We ended up ‘doing our own thing’. It was a long time before we realised other people were homeschooling in a similar way, and there was actually a name for…

Some Thoughts on Unschooling and Experts

I’m browsing the Internet, hopping from one unschooling site to another. And I notice that some authors sound more expert than others. They write with authority. They use language such as, “You should do this or that or the other.” I get the feeling there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things. The writers sound so sure of what they’re saying. Obviously they are unschooling experts. And I should listen. Experts? I wonder what makes someone an…

When a Child Wants to Read the Same Book Again and Again

I remember when my kids were much younger. They’d bring me a picture book and ask me to read it, and I would say, “Not this one again! Don’t you want me to read you something new?” They’d shake their heads, and I’d sigh and begin the book for the 100th time, or so it seemed. Yes, sometimes children want to stay with the same book for a very long time. The same thing happens with drawing. Gemma-Rose has sketchbooks…

Helping a Child Go Where She Wants to Go

Not so long ago, we had a big running week. Day after day, we rolled out of bed early and hurried down to the bush tracks at the end of our road for a 5 or 6 km run. Then one morning my husband Andy groaned when I woke him up. “I’m tired. Do we have to run this morning?” “No, you stay there,” I said. “I’m only doing a short run today anyway.” “A short run?” Andy opened his…

Glimpsing the World through a Child’s Eyes

“Do you want to watch a movie? We’re having a boys’ movie night.” A movie night? That sounds like a relaxing way to spend an evening. Someone grabs the popcorn, someone else inserts the DVD into the player and then waves the remote control. The TV screen lights up. Three boys settle back and start munching and watching. The movie is good, the story involving, the tension is mounting. And then… Someone waves the remote control once again at the…

REAL LIFE Junk Mail Catalogue MATHS

Yesterday I noticed a pile of junk mail catalogues sitting on the kitchen bench, waiting to be thrown into the recycling bin. I had an idea… “If I gave you $500 what would you buy, if you could choose anything from these catalogues?” I asked my youngest daughters. Both Gemma-Rose’s and Sophie’s eyes lit up as they began thinking of all the wonderful things they could buy. “Is the $500 real or imaginary?” asked Sophie hopefully. “Imaginary, of course!” I…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

Radical Unschooling

Are you thinking about radical unschooling? Maybe you see the benefits of educational unschooling and now you’re thinking about letting unschooling spill over into…

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!…

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…

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…

Christian unschooling

How to Write a Million Unschool Love Stories

I used to think the defining word of unschooling was freedom. Freedom attracted me. I wanted to be free to do whatever I liked. I wanted to get up each day and do anything or nothing at all. But I soon realised there’s a problem with freedom. If we always do whatever we like, won’t we become self-centred? Thinking only…

Should We Encourage Our Kids to Follow Their Dreams?

What did you want to be when you were a child? I wanted to be a writer. I had a cardboard box inside my wardrobe where I stored my scribbled stories about princesses, dragons and faraway kingdoms. At night, in bed, before dropping off to sleep, I’d think up stories about large happy families who were a lot like the…
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