Yesterday, I was brave. When I tell you what I did, maybe many of you will think, “Is that all Sue did?” You might not be impressed. However, I did something that was difficult for me.
I hosted my first Zoom meeting!
Two or three weeks ago, I’d tentatively suggested to my community friends that we meet up via a Zoom call. Half of me was hoping that no one would think this was a good idea. I’d be let off the hook due to a lack of interest. I wouldn’t have to step out of my comfort zone. But I received responses saying, “Yes!” and “I’ll be there!” and “I’d love to come!” My brave half was delighted. I was going to meet my unschooling friends almost face to face!
I was a bit concerned about the technology side of things. Although I’ve joined Zoom meetings, I’d never been in the driver’s seat. It’s also been a very long time since I last hosted any kind of meeting. I needn’t have worried. My daughter Sophie stayed close in case I needed help, but I worked things out on my own. I admitted everyone who’d accepted my invitation to the meeting, and then we had a great conversation.
So I’ve conquered a fear. I’ve gained a new skill. And now I’m going to host regular unschooling Zoom meetings!
It’s good to challenge ourselves, isn’t it? Stepping outside our comfort zones may feel difficult, but the rewards are immense. If only we can persuade ourselves to take that first step, who knows what will happen?
Starting unschooling could seem difficult. We might need a lot of courage to step off the well-trodden path and do something different from the crowd. But one small step, followed by another, and then another, might lead somewhere amazing. If we’re brave, we could end up living an unimagined life!
In this week’s podcast, episode 175, I’m talking about starting unschooling. I’m sharing how we left our old life behind and moved to unschooling. I’m talking about a few other things as well. Here are the episode details:
0.00 Intro
0:53 My First Unschooling Zoom Meeting
11:07 A New Podcast Series
19:20 Time to Unschool
32.25 There Has Never Been a Better Time to Start Unschooling
44:10 End Things
I hope you will listen!
Show Notes
Blog Post
There Has Never Been a Better Time to Start Unschooling
Podcast
Episode 151: Stories from Curious Unschoolers
The Homeschooling Global Summit
The Homeschooling Global Summit
Our 2019 Homeschooling Global Summit Interviews
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
Fusebox Podcast Player
Pat Flynn’s website: Smart Passive Income
Where You Can Find Me
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Photos
Yesterday afternoon, Sophie and I walked to our village cafe. We sat on the cafe’s veranda and drank hot chocolate, and talked about my Zoom meeting and my upcoming plans. We also chatted about Sophie’s achievements and what she’d like to do in the future. I love how my children and I share our dreams and help and encouragement with each other.
Things You Could Do
Please consider sharing the podcast or blog post link so that we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Don’t forget to register for the Homeschooling Global Summit 2020 which starts on June 29 and runs until July 8.
Here’s the promo video for my interview. I hope you’ll watch the full interview when it’s available next week.
You could join my unschooling community. Perhaps you’d like to join me for our next Zoom meetup!
Please feel welcome to leave a comment. Have you stepped outside your comfort zone lately? Are there new things you’d like to try? Are you thinking about starting unschooling? I’d love to hear from you!
Thank you for listening to my podcast!
That is a big deal!! Kudos to you for hosting your own Zoom meeting. So proud of your initiative and following through on it.
I get uncomfortable with Zoom interactions and I wonder if it’s even worth the anxiety. After Zoom, I feel more connected and happy to have interacted, but the lead up to it is anxiety filled. Seems we need to become more comfortable with it now.
Great that your daughter was on standby for technical assistance. 🙂
Esther,
You understand! Oh yes, the anxiety. Is it worth it? Sometimes I think I should just avoid all the worry and not do things that make me feel uncomfortable. Then afterwards, when I’ve pushed myself to do something difficult, I feel so good! I did it! I think you’re right: we need to be able to communicate using video calls. I don’t like using the phone. Zoom is even harder. But I think I’m conquering my fear. I’m sure it will get easier every time I host a meeting.
Sophie is wonderful. I didn’t need her help, but I was glad she stayed close. She ended up joining me onscreen.
It’s so lovely to chat with you!
It’ll take some getting used to with this new mode of communication! But it’s here to stay! I’m glad you stepped out of your comfort zone and just went with it. If you held back, not knowing what would’ve happened would linger in your head.
You had a positive experience facilitating it, and you can look back on that for future reference.
Zoom is becoming part of daily vocabulary and life. This younger generation has it interesting and will have some dramatic stories to tell later.
I’m glad Sophie was able to join you onscreen! It’s nice that kids can take part in their parent’s work and contribute their help to it. Empowering for growing kids!
Esther,
You are so right: if I hadn’t tried Zoom, I would have kept thinking about it. I would have had a nagging thought at the back of my mind. Now I can move on and look forward to our next Zoom meetup!
I’m also happy we are now blogging friends!
It’s great you overcame your fear and did something new! Have a great next Zoom meeting. It’ll inspire others to try new things they fear.
Have a good rest of the week and stay well this fourth of July weekend. 🙂 talk to you soon.
Thank you, Esther! We recently had a Queen’s birthday long weekend. Now you have a Fourth of July holiday! Enjoy!
And I forgot to mention: thank you for following my blog!! Happy to be blogging friends with you.
Nice to hear that you’ll be focusing on Curious Unschoolers on your podcast, Sue. Even for those of us who have read it, there is always a new piece that pops up in our lives that might not have been there at first reading, so I think it will be helpful all the way around:). Congratulations on a successful navigation of Zoom!
Erin,
Thank you so much for always encouraging me when I have a new idea. I hope podcast listeners will enjoy hearing some of the Curious Unschoolers stories. I will enjoy knowing what I’m podcasting about each week! It was so good to see you on Zoom!