Unschool: Babies and Perfect Love
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
How to Unschool Maths and Still Fulfil Homeschool Registration Requirements
Can Registered Homeschoolers Unschool Maths? Perhaps you’d like to let your kids unschool maths, but you’re worried. Will you have enough maths notes in your records book if you let them drop the formal maths program they’re using? Can you…
How My Daughters Are Organising My Education
Once again, it’s Monday, the day the girls have their piano lessons. Once again, Charlotte took Les Miserables to read, while she was waiting for her turn at the piano. “So how did you get on with your book?” I…
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…
The Extraordinary Ordinary Things of Life
I’m at Thomas’ wake. I have his memory box on my knee, and I take out a few photos and pass them to a friend. “He was a chubby baby!” she exclaims. I reply, “He wasn’t really. Those photos were…
Watching History as it Happened
Where were you the day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon? I am guessing a lot of people reading this weren’t even born then. But I was. I was a young primary school student at the time. Recently the girls and I were watching the DVD series, A Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets*. It is a fascinating docu-drama, telling the story of what could happen in the future, if humans ever develop the technology which will allow us…
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…
Imposing Rules on Children: Is There a Better Way?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
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?…
Radical Unschool Love, Praise and Joy
Do you ever praise your kids? Do you tell them you’re proud of them? Some people say we shouldn’t praise our kids. Maybe that’s…
Younger Unschoolers: What About Technology and Screen Time?
When I announced that I was going to write about younger unschoolers, a friend said, “I’d love to read about little kids and…
Attachment Parenting and Unschooling
My first child was a perfect baby. She ate and played and smiled, and then when she was tired, she put herself to sleep.…
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…
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…
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…
Christian Unschooling: the Foremost Task of a Parent
A few days ago, in my Stories of an Unschooling Family community, I posted these thoughts: A parent does her best to give her child a good education but should concentrating on academic success be her main focus? Perhaps a parent’s most important task is to teach a child about love. Intelligence and academic achievements are highly regarded by the…
How Unschooling Saved the Dragon Mother
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…