blogging/podcasting

C

Could Ebooks Save My Unschool Blog?

The other day, I logged into my blog hosting account to find out when my next payment is due and how much it will be. When I saw the bill due later this year, I gulped and said to my husband, “Do we want to spend so much money on a site that’s often slow or offline because of a problem? Do we have that much money? Perhaps it’s time…
M

My List of Brilliant Unschooling Blogs

Remember when blogging was the thing to do? We all created blogs instead of social media accounts. We shared our lives, writing our stories, filling our sidebars with photos of our kids, sometimes naming them, frequently hiding their identities under pseudonyms like Princess and Tiger. We followed each other’s blogs. When a new name and face appeared in our followers widget, we grinned. Someone new wanted to read our posts!…
W

Where I’m At With My Unschool Blog

I’ve created a monster, a huge blog that needs a lot of maintenance. It’s sucking up my money and time and giving me headaches. Frequently, this blog falls apart or runs so slowly that readers give up waiting for new pages to appear. I understand how visitors might get frustrated. Some days, even I don’t want to go anywhere near my blog. I’m tempted to hit the delete button to…
S

Santa, Books, and Expectations

Desires and Expectations Are desires good? What about expectations? Are these about control? Can our expectations lead to disappointment and spoil our family celebrations? Should we burden our kids with our expectations? Do our worries and concerns affect our kids’ confidence? Should the only expectation we have is that they’ll be okay? Challenges Should we set our kids’ challenges to ensure they work hard? Or is better to give them…
T

Trying Not to Complain

Hour after hour, day after day,  heavy rain dropped upon us. At first, we delighted in this extraordinary event. We searched for our long lost umbrellas. We remembered how to drive in the wet conditions. We took pleasure in the puddles and the grass that suddenly turned a brilliant shade of green. We inhaled the earthy smell of the bush and soaked in the sight of the waterfalls gushing down…
H

Home Almost Alone and Pondering What to Do

Here in Australia, the new school year has just begun, and for the first time in nearly 30 years, our family doesn’t have any registered homeschoolers. I don’t need to create a new homeschool records notebook labelled 2021, Term 1. This year, I won’t have to gather lots of notes of all the fabulous learning that my kids are experiencing because we no longer have any school-aged children. One person…
I

Is it Okay to Share Our Kids’ Photos and Stories Online?

The other day, I asked my kids, “Would you like me to delete my blog?” ”Why would we want you to do that?” “Well, you might not like your photos and stories all over the Internet.” ”But you’ve been posting them for years.” ”I know, but you might have changed your mind about wanting to share them. Perhaps you’re no longer happy to have your photos online.” “I don’t mind…
T

The Problem With Being Too Nice

Are you too nice? I am. I want to help everyone. Support and encouragement are my middle names. Send me an email and I’ll spend hours answering it. Write me a comment and I’ll always reply. Ask for some mentoring and I’ll do my best even though you tell me you can’t pay. I write a book. And another. Then I decide I need to offer something extra. How about…
D

Discouraged

I’m feeling discouraged. I wonder: why am I doing this? Why am I blogging and podcasting? I know the answer: I want to spread the word about unschooling. I want to pass on what I’ve learnt. Tell others about the joys of living this way of life. I especially want to give hope to families who are struggling with homeschooling and parenting. There’s a better way. But am I sharing…
W

When We Reach Crisis Point

The other day, I heard some words to this effect: Only when the pain that it takes to remain the same outweighs the pain that it takes to change are we finally willing to make some decisions and act. We might be aware that things aren’t right. We know we should make some changes, but we put off doing this. Maybe we’re hoping things will get better. We’ll cope. We…
L

Leaving Magical Fingerprints on Each Other’s Lives

Friends leave their magical fingerprints on our lives. I remember the day that I heard that Nancy Shuman had died. It was a Sunday. Andy, the girls and I had spent the afternoon with my parents. My son Duncan was at home looking after our new puppy, Quinn. It was just a normal weekend day. But when we arrived home, I knew something was wrong. Duncan’s face was creased into…
1 2 3 4
Go toTop