Australian Homeschool Stories

“Dream big. What do you want your homeschool to look like? What do you want your whole life to look like? Go after that.” Marieka, her husband and their five children aged 16, 11, 9, 7 and 1 have been homeschooling family style for the last 6 years in sunny Western Australia. As a teacher who’d become disillusioned with the classroom, she decided she would much rather teach her own and they haven’...

"Stepping back and letting kids learn is really what's at the heart of home education." Meet my friend, Nicola. We originally connected via substack and then in person whilst her family spent time down on the Peninsula. Our daughters, who are similar ages, hit it off instantaneously and in truth so did Nicola and I. This was prior to their move to the mid-north coast of New South Wa...

"I had this really strong feeling that she was just a number in this place and that's not good enough." Anna is a worm farmer, author and homesteading mother of three children aged 15, 7 and 2. In this episode she shares her journey from suburbia to living off the land and her eldest daughter's winding educational road to homeschooling. We also talk about permaculture, living l...

“I’m going to look back one day on this and think those were the glory years." Teacher by trade, Canadian by birth, Melanie is here to share how she wound up calling Newcastle home and why she and her partner chose home education for their two boys, aged 7 and 4. In this episode we talk about longing for community in the early years of motherhood, not being ‘ride or die’ homeschoolers, how pl...

“If you can’t find your village or community - build one.” This is the story of Kacey’s blended family from Perth who have called themselves eclectic homeschoolers for the last three years. Her four children aged 19, 17, 6 and 4 have all had contrasting educational experiences, from thriving in the system, to never being able to catch up, to sidestepping school all together. In this honest and can...

“We said, I don't know if it's forever. I don't know if it's temporary. But we're making a change. Now we say we'll never go back.” This episode is a delightful doubleheader with Holly & Gemma, sisters who live 6 minutes apart in Queensland’s capital city where they homeschool three girls between them. You may already know their cheery voices from their podcast Si...

“Have trust in the kids, know that they can follow their passions intuitively. We don’t have to set all these standards of where they should be or would be or could be if they were in the system. Just trust.” Assunta, her husband and two daughters (aged 11 and 8), live on 2.5 acres in the upper Hunter region of New South Wales, where she is never happier than with her feet on the earth and her han...

"Before we had kids, we were both adamant that we wouldn't put our kids in daycare. We wanted to raise our kids at home. We always knew we were aligned on that. So that's where it started. We were at home. We were together.” The tables have turned and it’s me, your host Stephanie, in the hot seat. Helping me tell my story is the tech-side of this operation, my husband Daniel. For th...

"Even all the times when it was really, really hard, if I could go back right to the beginning now, I would make exactly the same choices to do it all over again. It's just been the most beautiful experience of my life.” Today I have the pleasure of sharing Joss Goulden’s reflections on her adult children’s natural learning life. As an aware parenting instructor and parenting coach, Joss...

“How many of us are in our 40s now only just learning how to be artists again because we were told we weren't any good at it?” Bel is raising her two boys (aged 8 and 5) alongside her sister and daughter (aged 6) with the loving support of their parents. They all live & learn together on four acres overlooking the beautiful Derwent River in the Central Highlands of Tasmania. This multigen...

"I want to unschool to give her more freedom. I can't start the journey by forcing her out of school... you can send your kids to school and still be an unschooler in my view. The point is they have the choice” Italy may be Ilaria’s country of origin but she well and truly calls our nations capital home. She and her husband (who fatefully met on the day she arrived in Australia over 23 y...

“They spent their preschool years when they were three and four years old playing all the time. But then they went to school and they forgot how to play.” Elisa is a newly minted homeschooler. This is the episode you are going to want to listen to if you are on the precipice of taking the leap into homeschooling or you have found yourself deep in the trenches of deschooling your own children and y...

“Children learn best intrinsically motivated, following their own interests and when adults step back.” One year ago, we hit publish on the first episode of the Australian Homeschool Stories podcast with Vicci Oliver’s story. I was a very nervous first-time interviewer and Vicci was the most gracious, kind and supportive first guest I could have hoped for! Today, to celebrate one whole year of sha...

“That's the beauty of an unschooling lifestyle, it’s just continuing what you’ve always done with your children.” Having always homeschooled and having been homeschooled herself, Debbie’s story spans across both analog and digital generations. Whilst she never set out to become a radical unschooler, she now confidently embraces the path her family have chosen. Along the way she has created a...

“I hope at the end of all this I’ll have raised two kids who love learning.” If they are not home, chances are Anna and her kids (ages 9 & 4) can be found in their local library. So great is their love for this community haven of literature, living within walking distance of it strongly influenced where they chose to reside in Rockingham, Western Australia. Homeschoolers from day dot, this mus...

“Don’t let fear guide you. You’ve chosen this path, lead it with love.” Richa and her husband, who were both born and educated in India, now live in Melbourne and home educate their two children, aged 7 and 2. We cover a variety of topics in this episode including Montessori, minimalism, community building, sibling dynamics and fostering a love of reading, nature and kindness. SUMMARY: When Richa...

I can think of no better spokesperson for unschooling in Australia than Sara, whose four daughters (aged 15, 13, 10 and 8) have never been to school. This inspiring family of six who call sunny Queensland home, have collaboratively and creatively designed their lives. As well as unschooling, she is a passionate advocate for respectful parenting and children's rights.  SUMMARY Growing up on th...

Danika's homeschooling story takes place on opposing sides of the country, beginning on the Gold Coast in Queensland, where she and her children (aged 6 and 3) were born and raised, up to where her family are currently based in Bunbury, Western Australia. Danika is speaking up and sharing her short but intense journey in the hopes that someone listening will hear her story and feel seen.  SUM...

"These are amazing schools and amazing teachers, but the overarching curriculum that is forced upon them gives them no space to breathe or be creative" Kickstarting season three of the Australian Homeschool Stories podcast, is the owner of Fearless Homeschool, Micarlé. She homeschools her two children (aged 10 & 7) on the Surfcoast of Victoria where they are surrounded by national pa...

This short and sweet episode is a preview to Season Three of the Australian Homeschool Stories podcast. Dropping in to say a quick hello is me, your host Stephanie, with happy not back to school wishes as well providing an update on the most recent statistics available about homeschooling in Australia today. To read more about the rising percentage trends and state by state breakdowns, take a look...

On the cusp of becoming a mother to three kids under 3, Adele certainly has her hands full in this season of life but her conviction to home educate her children is unwavering. In this, the final episode of season two, she share her naturally evolving journey from teaching as a career to staying at home to teach her own.  SUMMARY The story of how Adele and her family ended up moving to Tasmania at...

In the forest of the Adelaide Hills is where you will most likely encounter Celeste and her three wildings (aged 9, 7 and 4). Their family embrace the philosophy of wildschooling, where they live and learn outdoors through free play with likeminded community and from their interactions with the natural world.  SUMMARY Celeste's full circle journey of growing up in Adelaide before travelling e...

If the thought of adding homeschooling to your load seems daunting, Jasmin may be the person to inspire you. She is a multi-passionate mum, who in partnership with her husband, juggles homeschooling her two children (aged 6 and 3) and running three small businesses. They are living a rich and full, purposeful life where education, family and work are interwoven and inseparable.  SUMMARY Jasmin&apo...

Have you wondered what school actually looks like for teens today? Aaron, a high school teacher and home educating father to three girls (aged 6, 5 and 2) is here to lift the veil. In this episode he shares his perspective on the challenges students are facing and grants all parents permission to take the pressure off kids to perform and follow the path of joy instead. SUMMARY Aaron fondly recount...

If you are curious to know what a Charlotte Mason education can look like for a modern Australian family than this is the episode for you. With three children (aged 17, 15 and 11) whom she has homeschooled from the get go, one of whom is now attending university, Jo has a plethora of wisdom to share.  SUMMARY The only time her kids attended school was to be one of their friends 'show & te...