Stories of an Unschooling Family

This week, I'm chatting with my teenage daughter Sophie.  We start with these conversation prompts: Something we've been thinking about Something we've found difficult Something we've enjoyed Something we've read or listened to Something we've watched And we end up talking about: Why making rules can be dangerous Balancing work, passions, and taking care of ourselves How unschooling isn’t about dr...

This week, I'm sharing and discussing the post When an Unschooler Isn't Interested in Maths. It's the promised update to my daughter Gemma-Rose's unschooling maths story.  Also, I have a maths resource to share. And I tell a couple of stories. One involves a huge kangaroo and the other ponders the questions: What is success? How do we measure it?   Show Notes Blog Post When an Unschooler Isn't Int...

This week, I'm sharing a story called Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case. And I'm discussing the main points in it. Is it sensible to make all kids learn maths just in case they might need it? What if kids need maths to go to university? What if they decide they want to go to school?   Show Notes   Blog post Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case   Videos Are You a Curious Un...

This week, I'm sharing a story called Are You a Curious Unschooler? I'm also discussing the following questions: Is everyone curious? Or can we lose our curiosity? Can we strew verbally? Do we have to be good examples of learning for our kids? Does our curiosity make homeschool recordkeeping easier? How can we unschool and also be registered homeschoolers?   Show Notes   Podcast Episode 58: Respon...

In this week's episode, I'm talking about: How my daughters are earning money while they continue to pursue their passions Why it's okay not to finish everything we start What I've been doing recently Why I left Instagram Why Gemma-Rose is painting the interior of our house Imogen's first novel and where you can buy a copy!   As usual, I have some stories to share and a resource as well.   Show No...

This week, Cricket is my unschooling guest podcaster.   The Colin Show Cricket tells us about her family She shares their journey from school-at-home homeschooling to unschooling Cricket recorded her guest podcast with her son Colin’s help. Please visit Colin’s Youtube Channel,  The Colin Show , and subscribe!   Hitting the Pause Button I share some of the responses from my Stories of an Unschooli...

This week, Venisa McAllister is my guest podcaster.    Thankful Venisa is talking about:   Her own educational and childhood experiences How her family moved from homeschooling to unschooling Her children and how they have their individual learning styles The reasons she is thankful her family is unschooling   Facing Facts I'm talking about:   How perfectionists like me don't always face facts Wha...

This week, I'm chatting with my teenage daughter Sophie.   We're discussing lots of questions including: What extra content am I producing for my Patreon patrons? What has Imogen been doing instead of making music videos? Why have I asked my daughters Imogen and Sophie to be regular contributors to my blog? Why should we take an interest in our kids' passions? Do I present my children in an honest...

This week, I'm talking about ageing and unschooling.  I share the reasons why I'm finding my ageing appearance difficult to accept. Maybe you are a lot younger than me. You could think this conversation isn't relevant to you. However, this episode, despite first impressions, is about unschooling. If everyone lived an unschooling way of life, would the problems associated with ageing disappear? Doe...

This week, I'm discussing the question Does Unschooling Work? The answer, of course, depends on what we mean by the word 'work'. I'm also talking about:   My fabulous Patreon patrons and the work I hope to do with their help Camp NaNoWriMo How kids learn new things when they have a need How younger siblings think they are just as capable as their older siblings How sorting out a problem isn't alwa...

This week, I'm sharing my new BIG idea. I'm joining Patreon! I hope you will join me as I set out on this next chapter of my unschooling adventure.   I'm also talking about: The need for us to take risks How the world needs unschooling Instagram How we shouldn't lose our playful spirit as we grow older How Sophie filmed a Passion Play on Good Friday And other Easter news   Show Notes   Patreon My...

This week, I'm sharing my teenagers' typical unschooling days. I'm discussing the following questions:   Is there such a thing as a typical unschooling day? Can we have too many resources? Do our kids sometimes get overwhelmed by too many possibilities? Are documentaries and lifestyle TV series a good source of learning adventures? What TV series have Gemma-Rose and I been enjoying recently? Why d...

This week, I'm talking about:   The importance of trying to see the world through our kids' eyes How we're not giving in to kids when we respond to their needs How we should respond to the needs of our kids even if it's inconvenient or difficult How making kids feel welcome at church isn't a matter of tolerating their crying during the service Should we force unschooled kids to go to church? Why t...

This week, I'm sharing my husband Andy's and my university experiences, and what we learnt from them:   The Opportunity to Discover, the Freedom to Learn My Dean's Medallist of a Husband   I discuss the following questions:   Can unschooled children study successfully at university? What is the best motivation for successful learning? Should unschooling teenagers be allowed to continue exploring t...

This week, I'm talking about: The progress of my unschooling book How unschooling transforms families Duty and love Supporting young adults How it's hard to admit mistakes and change what we're doing How it's never too late to unschool Possible reasons why there's a shortage of older unschooling bloggers Why we don't need to make rules for our teenagers in order to keep them safe from the dangers...

  This week, I'm talking about the times when we don't like who we are and the way we're parenting our kids. I answer the following questions: How did I get the nickname The Dragon Mother? How did I get on top of my quick-temper and become a more calm and patient mother? Am I now a perfect mother or do I still make mistakes? How did my first child cope with her inexperienced dragon mother? Was she...

This week, I'm talking about: Christmas in summer Evernote planners My blogging/podcasting plans for 2018 Christian unschooling My faith story Being open-minded Doing the impossible Letting go of control How life can change in a moment Snakes Family news   Show Notes   Blog posts Bringing God into the Unschooling Picture Letting Go of Control An Impossible Adventure   Imogen Youtube channel,  Imog...

  This week, I'm discussing the following questions: Does planning have any place in unschooling? Can we make attractive planners using Evernote? Will I continue my Evernote workshop series? How does balance fit into an unschooling life? Why is it very important that we let our kids follow their passions and interests? Is it okay to acknowledge our kids' talents? Can we praise our kids? Are we obl...

This week, I'm sharing and discussing two stories: Learning From Life  and Homeschooling in a Crisis I'm talking about those times when we don't need to strew because life is rich enough without any help from us. Maybe life is sometimes too rich. We might have a crisis to deal with that prevents us from getting involved with our kids' learning. Should we worry if we can't do all the things we norm...

This week, I'm sharing and chatting about two strewing stories:  Time for Some Strewing What to Do When Strewing is Rejected   I discuss the following questions: What is strewing? When do we need to do it? How do we do it? And what if our kids reject our strewing?   Show Notes Blog post:  Unplanning Notebooks for Strewing and Unschool Record-Keeping Podcast episode 82: How to Start a Great Art Con...

Have you heard I'm writing an unschooling book? I've been working on it for a very long time but, finally, I'm making progress. While I'm writing and editing, I'm publishing a series of short podcasts, each one based on a blog post from my archive. This week, I'm sharing and discussing the story Independent Learners, Toast and Heavy Washing Baskets .   Show Notes Leonie's blog:  Living Without Sch...

This week, I'm sharing and discussing another blog story, Why I'm Not a Good Homeschooling Teacher :   Will unschooled children really be prepared for tertiary education (if that's their goal)? What role do I play in the education of my older teen unschoolers? How do I record all their learning activities for homeschool registration purposes?   Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy...

This week, I'm talking about: A new podcast series A blog post series My unschooling book-in-progress   I'm also sharing an unschooling story: Nurturing Independent Learners  and chatting about it.   Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider writing a review and sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling! Please feel welcome to visit my blo...

Last week, I was chatting about radical unschooling. This week, I'm interviewing Sophie (16) who is a radical unschooler. If you're unsure about this way of life, perhaps our conversation will reassure you that radical unschoolers aren't wild and irresponsible! This is a very lively interview. I hope you enjoy it! In this episode, Sophie and I are chatting about: her unschooling week her part-time...

This week, I'm discussing radical unschooling. Do you unschool but don't like the sound of radically unschooling? Maybe you're convinced you'll never do it? If so, I hope to change your mind! I'm pondering lots of questions including:   How did we end up becoming radical unschoolers (when I said we'd never do this)? Are radical unschooling parents irresponsible? Or are the critics wrong? How will...