Crime Novels and Priestly Detective Rules
While browsing the books in the library, looking for a new author to read, a man thrust a novel towards me, saying, “You should try Baldacci. I love his books!” A few weeks later, our libraries closed, declared unsafe spaces by those who thought they knew best. We were isolated from our source of unread books. Fortunately, Big W was…
Is it Risky to Share Our Book Collections? What Will People Think?
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Unschooling: Doing What Is Right
Unschooling is the right thing to do. That’s a bold claim that you might challenge if your ideas about what’s right are different from mine. What if my right is your wrong? Is that the end of the conversation? Or could we agree that we must all decide what’s right for our families, and then live by those principles? Knowing…
Tough or Unconditional Love? Parent or Friend?
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Wanted: Passionate Unschoolers
Wanted: Parents who are passionate about sharing unschooling with the world. Do you like writing and speaking? Are you willing to tell some family stories? Do you enjoy pondering new ideas? Are you continually learning and growing? Is unconditional love important to you? Do you enjoy my blog and podcast? Are we kindred spirits? Would you like to work together?…
How Well Do We Love?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
Preventing Childhood Trauma with Unconditional Love
Childhood trauma can follow us into adulthood, affecting what we do, how we feel about ourselves and how we relate to others. We can trace many of our adult problems back to something that happened as we were growing up. If we understand this, we’ll protect our kids, the best we can, from anything that might affect them adversely. But…
Could Unschooling Be Exactly What Teens Need to Do?
When unschooling children reach the teenage years, is it time for them to stop following their interests and do some serious structured work instead? If they continue to unschool, will they fail to gain enough knowledge to get into university? Do they need to learn how to write essays, complete assignments, meet deadlines and deal with exams? Do parents need…
Who Should Be Responsible for a Child’s Education, the Parent or the Child?
Who should be responsible for a child's education, the parent or the child? Is learning an active activity that needs the learner’s cooperation? Is it impossible to force knowledge into a child without resorting to teaching methods that ultimately destroy their natural love of learning? Is forced learning real learning? Is it better to unschool and let children learn what’s…
What Do Unschoolers Do Each Day?
Is unschooling about staying in bed late, spending lazy days in the forest, and baking cookies? Or is there more to unschooling than that? What does a typical unschooling day look like? Will it be different in different families? Will it change over time?Whatever it looks like, will it always be packed with deep learning?…
Growing Kids Who Like to Help
Not so long ago, I posted a photo and caption about kids and chores, and a friend stopped by and left this comment: My kids are only 5 and 2 at the moment but I’m trying to figure out how to help them grow from…
Unschooling: Dishes
This evening, after dinner, I didn’t want to help with the dishes. I just wanted to relax on the sofa and leave everyone else to clean the kitchen. I could have done that. I could have taken advantage of my position as parent. Or I…
Forcing Kids to Learn and to Eat, and Should We Test Them?
“What shall I speak about in this week’s podcast?” I ask my daughters. “What are you thinking about at the moment?” asks Imogen. “Next…
How Ticking Off Boxes Can Be a Waste of Time
Do you ever tick off boxes? When we have a lot of things to do, making a list, and then ticking off the items…
My Unschooler’s Homeschool Registration Visit
It seems like a very long time since I last wrote a blog post. Maybe you were beginning to think I’d abandoned my blog.…
Pondering Trust
I never wanted to be in a position where I had to trust God. I preferred to rely on my own resources. I wanted…
The Problem With Being a Younger Sister
Younger sisters want to do everything older sisters can do. The other Sunday at Mass Imogen was the psalm cantor. I glanced at Gemma-Rose…
Thinking Critically About Unschooling
The other day I was talking about obstacles to unschooling. I said, “So I wonder if there are things about unschooling that bother you,…
Unschoolers, Chores and Rosters
How do parents encourage kids to help with the chores? Is the example of parents important? Do parents have to be willing to do…
Adult Peer Pressure, Clothes, Rules, and Compassion
Have you even made decisions based on other people’s opinions rather than the needs of your own family? I have. I almost ruined my…
A Perfect Method for Keeping Unschooling Records
Last term, this old mother learnt a new trick. After using the same method (my old exercise book) for many years, to record my girls’…
Is Unschooling for Everyone?
A note before you listen to this week’s episode: Episode 107 is only a conversation starter. I’m sure my thoughts are incomplete. Sometimes…
Does the World Need Unschooling?
Kids won’t work hard if you don’t make them. I was thinking about these words as I was getting ready for bed last night.…