Guiding Our Kids by Radically Unschooling

Is radical unschooling all about stepping back and letting our children make their own choices without any influence from us? They might make choices we feel happy about. Or they could choose to do things we feel are detrimental to…

Unschool Cemetery Maths

The mist drifts across the field and through the cemetery. Together with the rising sun, it streams between the trees and onto the graves. Golden rays fall upon a black marble monument which rises high, taller than the surrounding stones.…

Junk Food and Poor Hygiene: Is Radical Unschooling Wrong?

Have you heard the stories? The ones about the radically unschooled kids who refuse to eat healthy food and never brush their teeth? Perhaps these stories make you wonder if there’s actually something wrong with radical unschooling. How can parents…

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Excited About Maths

“Hey! I’ve found an interesting website,” I said. “Do you girls want to have a look?”  “What’s it about?” asked Gemma-Rose suspiciously, and when I told her it was a maths site she groaned and didn’t look at all interested. Sophie, on the other hand, instantly plonked herself down next to me on the sofa and was very eager to find out more.  “Murderous Maths,” I said in a creepy voice. Gemma-Rose decided to come and have a look after…

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 I got up, the kitchen was deserted. Everyone had had breakfast, washed the dishes, cleaned up, and disappeared. I found myself some cereal and made a cup of tea, and then went back to the warmth of my bed to enjoy my breakfast. Gemma-Rose (9) discovered me a short time later. “Mum! You’re awake. I was…

Why I Wanted to Delete My Blogs

I was staring gloomily at my computer this morning. “What are you doing, Mum?” asked my daughter Imogen. “I’m about to delete my blogs,” I answered. “Don’t, Mum! Why would you want to do that?” “Listen!” I replied. We could hear Sophie and Gemma-Rose crying, and one older son bumping his way around the house in a disgruntled mood. Earlier, Sophie and Gemma-Rose had been arguing over the possession of a book. I hadn’t taken the time to find out the…

Igniting a Child’s Love of Learning

Do you wake up each morning with a delicious feeling of anticipation? Do you swing your legs out of bed quickly, anxious to get dressed and move onto the business of the day? Another day of learning with your children stretches ahead… Do you feel excited? Once upon a time, I used to drag myself out of bed and reluctantly face the day. Homeschooling seemed like a chore, a duty I had to fulfill. I wasn’t full of joy, and…

How to Get Children to Do Their ‘School Work’

I often hear parents chatting together about how they can’t get their kids to do their school work. What do they do? Keep pushing their kids because that’s what parents are expected to do? Is this part of their duty? Or maybe they could change their ideas about how kids learn. I’m at a dinner party.  A woman sitting next to me says, “I’m Irene,” and then she asks, “What do you do?” “I homeschool my children,” I answer. Irene’s…

Getting Kids to Help with the Chores

Should parents expect kids to help with the chores? How do we encourage kids to have a generous attitude and want to be part of the family team, helping with the work? Here’s a simple suggestion that doesn’t involve chore charts, games, rewards, punishments or frustration. Could it be the magic answer to the chore problem?…

Why I Don’t Restrict My Children’s Time on the Computer

“How long have you been on your computer, Mum?” asks my daughter Imogen. “You’ll be getting rectangular eyes if you’re not careful.” “Not long,” I say hurriedly. “Oh, all right. I admit it. I’ve been on here quite a while, but you should see what I’ve been doing.” The girls gather round and I proudly show them an animation I’m working on. “Look! My sprite is moving across the screen and then it turns around and comes back,” I say…
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My Unschooling Books

Parents and Kids

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!…

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…

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…

Christian unschooling

When Mothering Is Not Enough

Should our kids be our whole world? Should we dedicate all our time and effort to raising the most precious people in our lives? Or is it okay to combine motherhood with our own interests? Could there be advantages in using our gifts and pursuing the things that bring us joy not only for us but also for our kids?…

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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