Christian unschooling - Page 4

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The Extraordinary Ordinary Things of Life [Podcast]

In this week’s podcast, episode 85, I share a story. It’s about love and pain and this extraordinary unschooling life we are living. This is how the story ends: So I live in the present moment and I enjoy the ordinary things of life which I suddenly realise aren’t so ordinary after all. Ordinary becomes powerfully extraordinary when combined with love. As each child comes to say goodnight, I enfold…
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Another Typical Unschooling Day

A couple of weeks ago, I emailed the subscribers of my unschooling newsletter with a question: … what do you think about a ‘typical unschooling day’ feature? Would it be interesting to read about each other’s days? Of course, we’re not going to judge one another. We won’t say such things as, “That’s not my idea of an unschooly day.” We’re just going to enjoy seeing things from different families’…
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Listening to Kids

The other day I interviewed my 14-year-old daughter, Sophie: I wanted to hear her opinions about perfect families, mistakes and listening to kids. It was only later when I watched the finished video, I realised I’d made a big mistake: I’d done more talking than listening, especially in the first few minutes. Yes, I’m not perfect. I make mistakes all the time. How do I know this? Sophie told me…
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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 know what other people might want her to do. Even…
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Pondering Trust

I never wanted to be in a position where I had to trust God. I preferred to rely on my own resources. I wanted to be totally in control of my own life. That seemed easier to do because trusting is so very difficult. Or so it can seem. Then one day, at a time when I was feeling rather proud of the way I was handling my life and…
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Unschooling and Trust

I have been struggling with this post for a while now, and wondering why I’m having so much trouble finding the right words. And I have decided it’s the language. I want to write a story from a personal point of view like I normally do. And I can’t. We had such a gradual transition to unschooling, I didn’t really face the issues I want to write about. So why…
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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…
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Unschooling: No Hippie Way of Life Needed…

… unless you want one of course. When our first child was 6 years old we headed off to our very first homeschooling camp. At that time, we thought we were unschooling. Then we met our fellow campers who also described themselves as unschoolers. They were all very lovely people, friendly, accepting and welcoming but we knew immediately, we were very different from them. My husband Andy didn’t have long…
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Sharing the Catholic Faith With Our Kids

Maybe you’re thinking about unschooling. Letting children follow their own interests, and trusting they will learn all they need to know sounds great. But stop! Wait! What about religion? This is important. You think: “Can I just stand back and hope my children will want to learn about their faith? Doesn’t that sound a bit risky? What if they don’t want to know?” And then because the faith is so…
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Suzie Andres Chats about Unschooling

Last week, Suzie Andres emailed: “Just wanted to let you know that tomorrow…  I’ll be on Judy Dudich’s blog/talk radio show to speak about unschooling…”  So I tuned in, eager to hear what Suzie had to say. I was also eager to hear Suzie’s voice. Although we are friends, we have never met. I soon realised I am pronouncing Suzie’s surname all wrong and, although we Aussies have two different…
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An Absolutely Wonderful Book on the Apostles’ Creed for Children

The Creed in Slow Motion was written by Monseigneur Ronald Arbuthnott Knox. Arbuthnott Knox? Don’t you just love that name! It immediately captured my girls’ imaginations, even before they started listening to his book.  I first came across The Creed in Slow Motion in Suzie Andres’ book Homeschooling with Gentleness. Suzie and her son were reading it together, and they were both thoroughly enjoying it.  I rushed off to the Kindle…
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Speed Angel Joy

I am sitting by the lake watching four girls scooting along the path. They are the Speed Angel Sisters and they are fast! Every now and then the girls veer off onto the grass and come to a sudden halt: a pedestrian is approaching. Now the speedway is clear again, and strong legs start pushing, wheels are revolving, hair flies back and sounds of laughter drift towards me. Four…
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