Do You Need to Follow an Older Unschooler? (Part 2)
I choose the photos I share online with care, looking for ones with good, flattering light. I also need my photo smile to be just right. Sometimes, my smile looks a bit goofy because of my overbite. I reject these images, wanting to hide my…
Do You Need to Follow an Older Unschooler? (Part 1)
Our fluid intelligence – our ability to focus and problem solve – will inevitably decline as we age. Listening to Arthur C. Brooks say this during a YouTube interview, I instantly protested, “No!” What if I keep my brain active by playing lots of video…
How Unschoolers Own the World
What comes to mind when someone mentions nature studies, famous artists, or living books? Charlotte Mason? What about classical novels, The Great Books or Latin? Classical education? Do you think about unit studies when you hear someone is exploring a topic in many different ways?…
A Genuine Invitation for Christian Unschoolers
Sometimes, invitations aren’t genuine invitations. They might sound like proper invitations. We say the right words, “Would you like to…?” but expect a particular response that doesn’t include the right to decline. Then, some invitations are issued without a personal touch. We wonder, “Does it…
How to Help Our Kids With Their Career Choices
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
An Irresistible Invitation to an Unschooling Voyage of Discovery
Isn’t it wonderful to receive an invitation? Someone has chosen us! There are all kinds of invitations, from coffee dates to weddings. I love hearing, “Mum, would you like to meet up for lunch with me?” Sometimes, we eagerly accept an invitation: “Lunch sounds good!…
Unschoolers Taking Over the World
A sign at our local nursery recommends purchasing native plants like wattles, bottlebrushes, waratahs, and hakeas for our gardens because we live so close to the Australian bush. Everyone in our village seems to have ignored this advice. Each front garden on our road has…
Irreplaceable Unschool Dogs and Kids
People often have favourite breeds of dogs, don’t they? Maybe they love greyhounds like a couple living in a nearby town who dress their trio of thin dogs in bright-striped pyjamas to keep them warm on below-zero days. Or they might be dachshund people like…
How to Write a Million Unschool Love Stories
I used to think the defining word of unschooling was freedom. Freedom attracted me. I wanted to be free to do whatever I liked. I wanted to get up each day and do anything or nothing at all. But I soon realised there’s a problem…
I complained about last year’s Christmas tree: “It hasn’t got enough colour!” So, I ordered a string of red lights to brighten up this year’s tree. When they arrived in [...]
The other day, after my husband had washed the dinner dishes, I returned to the kitchen and discovered everything was clean and tidy except for the sink. A pile of [...]
Today is Thomas’ birthday. Andy and I drove to town this morning to choose a scented candle and a card to display with his photo. We also bought flowers for [...]
Small Steps Towards Unschooling: A Challenge
For the past year and a half or so, I’ve been writing unschooling challenges for our Stories of an Unschooling Family community. Each challenge is designed to stimulate thought and discussion about a particular aspect of unschooling. Hopefully, the challenges help turn unschooling principles into…
Embracing Gaming: An Unschooling Challenge
What do we do if our kids want to play games for hours, and we’re not happy about that? We could limit their screen time. Make some rules about when and what and where children can play games. We could try ignoring our worries, remind…
An Australian Bush Birthday and Bush Books
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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…
Being Honest: Talking about Mistakes and Perfection
Some things are absolutely perfect, like our recent holiday to Jenolan Caves. As I look at the photos, I smile. I know I’ll enjoy…
Love or Fear? What Guides Our Lives?
There are so many things we could fear. We might be too afraid to send our kids to school if we listen to the…
A Few Raw Thoughts on a Crumpled Piece of Paper
I discover a crumpled piece of notebook paper in my handbag. I smooth it out and read the scrawled inked words: unschooling things everyone…
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!…
Trust, Respect, and Love Unconditionally
Yesterday, I wrote a blog post called A Few Raw Thoughts on a Crumpled Piece of Paper. In this post, I explored some thoughts…
Unschooling: Impressing Other People
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
How an Unschooling Life isn’t Perfect and Why That’s Okay
I take a look at my drafts file. I have SEVENTY half-written blog posts! Can I finish any of them? How about this one?…
How to Respond to ‘Unlovable’ Kids and Cats
Poppy died, and I cried despite not liking the cat. Poppy was a grumpy animal. She was messy and unkempt, preferring not to groom…