Faark The Shoulds (& Alchemising Education)

"Mum, stop pushing me. I'm not ready." Dr. Maxine Therese's son said this at the school gate when he was small. She was not dragging him. She was doing what most of us do - quietly, persistently, anxiously moving him toward the door. He named it before she could. And she had to sit with what it meant that he felt it even when she wouldn't admit it. In Episodes 62 and 63 of...

"Mum, stop pushing me. I'm not ready." Dr. Maxine Therese's son said this at the school gate when he was small. She was not dragging him. She was doing what most of us do - quietly, persistently, anxiously moving him toward the door. He named it before she could. And she had to sit with what it meant that he felt it even when she wouldn't admit it. In Episodes 62 and 63 of...

Your kid comes home polite, capable, and lovely for everyone else… then absolutely unloads on you over something that feels wildly disproportionate. Rude? Yes. Fun? Not particularly. Proof your family is broken? Not so fast. In Episode 61 of Faark The Shoulds, “Family Ties”, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiPapa McGill unpack how to build strong family bonds with teenagers and children through emotional...

What if the conversation that changes a girl’s life isn’t the big dramatic one everyone notices? What if it’s the quieter stuff.  The language.  The noticing.  The steady reassurance of being seen before things go seriously pear-shaped. In this episode of Alchemising Education, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri sit down with sisters Bianca and Kritz from The Big Sister Experience to talk about...

Postpartum Power What if postpartum isn’t “just hard” because motherhood is intense… but because women have been sold a version of recovery that leaves them isolated, underprepared, and quietly drowning? In this episode of Faark the Shoulds, QuantiMama Jodi is joined by Chantel from Becoming This Mama for a big, honest conversation about postpartum care, recovery, and what it means to actually be...

What if the measure of your parenting isn't what your child achieves - but whether they know how to do it without you? The moment your kid takes you off their bank account might just be the graduation you've been working toward all along. How to Raise Kids Who Know How to Adult - Not Just Pass the Test  In this episode of Alchemising Education, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri get in...

A Wildly Nourished Life.  What if the most radical thing you could do was actually live the life you were meant to live; your full potential? In this episode of Faark The Shoulds, QuantiMama Jodi sits down with Miek Paulus - the powerhouse behind Ket Baker on the Bellarine Peninsula - for a conversation about obligation, energy, the inner critic, and what it actually means to show up fully to your...

What does homeschooling look like after the panic settles down and real life takes over? In Alchemising Education Season 4, Episode 56, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri share a five-year homeschool progress report. This episode is for homeschool-curious families, reluctant homeschoolers, and parents questioning whether mainstream education is still the right fit for their child. It explores tr...

The Evolution of Self What if the whole “I’m still the same person” line is complete rubbish? In this episode of Faark The Shoulds, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiPapa McGill kick off 2026 and Season 4 with a big, juicy conversation on personal growth, memory, identity, and what actually keeps people stuck. Fresh off their double 50th celebrations and a very on-brand “re-wedding”, the hosts dive into t...

You can’t outsource wisdom. Or connection. Or that strange blend of magic and monotony that is raising kids while trying to live in alignment with your values. In this season final, two-part Faark the Shoulds conversation, QuantiMama Jodi gets comfy with Riona Seehusen—founder of Bellagreen Organic Farm and unintentional mother-hub creator—to explore what it means to live locally, parent cyclicall...

You can’t outsource wisdom. Or connection. Or that strange blend of magic and monotony that is raising kids while trying to live in alignment with your values. In this season final, two-part Faark the Shoulds conversation, QuantiMama Jodi gets comfy with Riona Seehusen—founder of Bellagreen Organic Farm and unintentional mother-hub creator—to explore what it means to live locally, parent cyclicall...

Did you know the education system most Aussie kids move through was designed during the first industrial revolution? That’s horse-and-cart territory. Now we’re in the sixth , with AI reshaping everything from work to identity—and somehow, school hasn’t moved much past the factory floor. Still standardised. Still compliance-driven. Still asking kids to fit into a model that no longer fits the world...

There’s a kind of silence that follows death—the one where you realise the story won’t pick up again. Not in the way it used to. You’re left holding the memories, the what-ifs, and sometimes, the things you didn’t get to say. In this 50th episode, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiPapa McGill dive deep into what it means to do death well. Not with platitudes or tidy bows—but with presence, reverence, and...

It's a beautiful day; the sun is shining; there's a cute kid in a pram, eyes glued to an iPad, whilst Mum scrolls Insta on the footpath. Normal? Maybe. Healthy? Faark no. In this Alchemising Education chat, QuantiMamas Jodi and Kerri pull no punches on the quiet epidemic of digital babysitting. From toddlers tethered to tablets to teen tracked for "their safety", they unpack ho...

Dear Teacher, We see you. The spark you started with is still in there — buried maybe, but not broken. You wanted to change lives. Instead, you’re wading through reports, watching bright eyes dim. It’s enough to make anyone question everything. In this Alchemising Education convo, QuantiMama Jodi and Kerri sit down with Jonathan Zalunardo — ex-teacher, founder of Apogee Australia, and proud builde...

What if the most radical thing you could do today was to literally stop and pause ? Side step the noise, the bills, life’s endless trail of shoulds—and listen for what’s calling you in that pause?. In this Faark The Shoulds conversation, QuantiMama Jodi gets cosy with the luminescent Kristen Morrison—author, artist, stylist, ex-fashion designer, and long-time disruptor of the “good girl” narrative...

Picture Friday night: Mum’s juggling Uber Eats menus, Dad’s doom-scrolling share prices, and the kids are TikTok-surfing Try Not To Laugh shorts while the telly drones on. Looks like well-earned down-time, right? Nope— that’s the addiction trifecta hard-wiring itself into your family’s nervous system. In this Alchemising Education episode, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri rip the Band-Aid off...

A casual take away cuppa feels harmless… until you're skimming the bottom of your account to pay for bananas. Meanwhile, the kids are actually begging for your time—not, as expected, another babycino. Something’s off. In this raw convo, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiPapa McGill crack open their own story of financial resilience—complete with pub-cleaning at 5am, career pivoting, and a total rewri...

Picture this, if you will: you rock up to the bank for your own hard-earned cash and upon supplying your withdrawal slip, they quiz you like a naughty schoolkid.  Umm, Nope!  Time for a shinier Plan B.  In this Alchemising Education chat, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri swap the credit card swipes for sovereign coins with Carmelle Pavan—journalist-turned-bullion boss and the only woman steeri...

Sick? Or… upgrading?  In a modern world, addicted to immediate relief or reprieve, it can feel a foreign concept to prioritise and honour our body's need for time and space when it comes to common, transient illnesses like colds and flu.  QuantiMama Jodi spent three full days horizontal, tanked at 20% energy, feeling sick as sh!t and in full surrender. QuantiPapa McGill muscled through—favour...

 What if the only thing standing between your child and a thriving education… is everything you were taught to believe about school? In this gutsy, permission-giving episode, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri get honest about what it really took to become Leap Takers. They lay down the five biggest fears parents face when considering a shift—fears they know intimately because they’ve lived them...

There are two worlds in play. One that asks for presence, evolution, and inner growth—and one that demands you get up, get out the door, and get the job done. In this episode, we sit inside the tension of holding both. QuantiPapa McGill speaks from the space many men quietly inhabit—walking the path of deeper awareness while still embedded in the density of everyday life. It’s not a complaint, and...

What if the real skill our kids need isn’t academic — but the ability to discern, to disrupt, to know themselves ? In this Alchemising Education conversation with Adam Gibson ( Parents With Questions ), QuantiMama Jodi & QuantiMama Kerri explore what it means to raise children who are grounded in their own sovereignty — and why it starts with us, unravelling inherited and learned scripts and r...

What if your tipping point wasn’t some grand, dramatic moment but just a small, uncomfortable nudge that forced you to question everything you thought you knew about schooling, life, and what’s truly important? In this episode of Alchemising Education , QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri dive into those tipping point moments—the ones where everything you’ve been avoiding suddenly forces its way...

What if living consciously isn’t about fixing yourself—but finally listening to the you that never needed fixing? In this two-part episode, QuantiMama’s Faark The Shoulds welcomes the wildly wonderful Jillian Rumble-Young from Rainbow OMG. Jillian is a biodynamic farmer, homeschooling mama, musician, plant whisperer, and balm maker extraordinaire—and if she had a business card, it would probably b...