Reaching the Finish Line: Achieving Our Dreams
If we’re willing to learn new skills, persevere through any problems, put in a lot of effort, and ignore our fears, we can achieve our dreams and inspire our kids to do amazing things of their own. So, what’s your dream?…
Encouraging Kids to Say Thank You
How do we encourage our younger children to say thank you? Do they need only our good example to copy? Is learning good manners enough? Our kids could just repeat the polite words. But is it better if their response comes from their hearts? Do our kids need to be…
Christian Unschooling: Do Kids Need Silence and Space to Hear God?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
Does Christian Unschooling Interest You?
I’ve written three unschooling books: I focused on the educational side of unschooling in Curious Unschoolers. I extended the unschooling story in Radical Unschool Love by sharing parenting thoughts and stories. And I offered practical suggestions for turning all those interesting unschooling ideas into something real in families’ lives in…
Choosing an Exceptional Unschool Life and Other Things
Do we sometimes want to use someone else’s plan for our lives? Or are we willing to embrace adventure? Do you journal? Analogue or digital? How do we achieve our goals? I’m sharing podcasts, books, videos and thoughts that I’ve been pondering this week.…
Is It Wrong to Love Without Limits?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
How to Parent So We’ll Have No Regrets
When I look at family photos from a few years ago, I remember those chaotic and messy days when I was at the centre of my children’s lives. I felt like those days would last forever. Sometimes, that was good: I wanted to stay firmly in the love-filled middle of…
The Problem of Introverted Kids and Blogging Mothers
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.…
Would You Like the Key to the Secret Unschooling Garden?
The other day, I stumbled across a ‘hilarious’ radical unschooling collection on someone’s blog, and there was the graphic for my post When Rules for Teenagers Aren’t Necessary. People online were laughing at me. Now, I’m not surprised when others think my ideas and opinions are ridiculous. In a way,…
Our Unschooling Morning Routine
Just before Christmas, Karen asked me if I could write about our typical unschooling days. I spoke about this topic in a podcast a few months ago, so I thought I’d share some of what I said in a short series of posts. Today, I’m…
When Unschooling Doesn’t Seem to be Working
We decide to unschool. Everything goes really well. Our kids are learning. Our family bonds are strengthening. Life is full of joy. Then one day, things change. Something happens. Maybe a child makes a mistake. She could choose to go her own way. Do something…
Peering out of the living room window, Quinn spots the postman approaching our house. She barks deep and loud. I abandon my iPad, tossing it on the sofa, push my [...]
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 [...]
Some Not-Your-Average Maths Websites for Unschool Strewing
Do you strew maths resources for your kids? I used to. I offered books, games, links to websites, and videos because I was legally…
Parent and Friend: Unschool Bits and Pieces
Parent and Friend A lot of people say our kids need us to be their parent and not their friend. “There’ll be plenty of…
When an Unschooler Isn’t Interested in Maths [Podcast]
Every morning, I lace up my running shoes and then grab our dog Nora’s leash before sliding the kitchen door open and stepping out…
Aiming for Love, Not Perfection
I had a vision… By the age of 18 all my children were going to be perfectly brought up and perfectly educated. I wanted…
The Dead Body and Other Stories
At the moment, it’s the school holidays here in Australia. My school teacher husband, Andy, is home from work for a couple of weeks.…
Unschooling Siblings and Other Stories
I started writing this blog post last Friday. This is all I managed to write before I was interrupted: I didn’t make a podcast…
Helping a Child Discover Her Talents
If a child has a talent won’t it just appear without any encouragement? If you’re meant to be an artist, it will be very…
Unschooling and University: Learning from Our Own Experiences
Years ago, I completed a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in botany. I did okay. I was awarded an honours degree. Eventually, I got…
Chatting with My Unschooled Author Daughter
It’s been a while, but I’m back with a new podcast episode! My author daughter Imogen is back too. In episode 205 of my…
Real Life Maths: Designing a Dream Home
“Anyone want to watch Grand Designs?” I shout. My family appears. “We do!” We turn on the TV, slip a disc into the DVD…
Unschool: Aqua Waves and Awe
Be Curious The aqua waves rise high and then fall, rolling towards the shore as we watch with awe and wonder: why is the…