Writing, Explosions, and Unsuitable Horror Stories

After a 4-month break, my daughter Imogen and I are back. We made a new podcast episode! This week, we’re chatting about: Finishing novels and beta reading My 19-year-old daughter Sophie and ‘graduate’ unschoolers Bushfires and exploding trees How our…

If it’s Not on Facebook, Did it Really Happen?

If it’s not on Facebook, did it really happen? This strange thought has been going around and around inside my head. What do these words mean? Well, this is what I’m thinking: Do we have to turn every thought, idea, conversation…

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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

Is Unschooling for Everyone?

A note before you listen to this week’s episode: Episode 107 is only a conversation starter. I’m sure my thoughts are incomplete. Sometimes…

The Ladies Fixing the World

Learning to Read and Trusting Unschooling

It is absolutely essential that we are curious people who are excited about the possibilities in life. The atmosphere in our homes gets picked up by our kids so they think it’s normal to learn, to be curious, to follow thoughts and ideas and try things out… I was battling with my kids for a while. They kept saying, ‘Why…

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

Is Trying to Impress Others a Waste of Time?

Strolling between the gum trees on a winter’s morning with Nora and Quinn, my fingers painful with the cold, I meet Matilda. I smile and stop. So do my dogs. They thrust their grinning heads into the undergrowth, happy to sniff up all the smells of the bush while I exchange a few words with my next-door neighbour. We talk…
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