difficult times - Page 2

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A Message We Can All Share Even if Our Unschooling Lives Aren’t Picture-Perfect

When we’re posting photos or writing stories or talking about unschooling directly with our family and friends, do we ever stop and wonder if it’s necessary to have perfect kids when we’re sharing this way of life? Lots of people want to promote or defend unschooling. I do as well. So we all share social media photos and stories of our thriving, happy kids doing wonderful things. We want to…
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When the Outside Looks Wrong Because We Don’t Understand

My daughter Imogen knows I love proteas so when she saw a bouquet of native Australian flowers while shopping, she decided to buy them for me. A day or two previously, I’d told Imogen about the magnificent native flower garden that was in front of the house where we lived when she was five years old. I loved that garden. I spent many hours peering out the living room window,…
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When You’re Tempted to Leave Unschooling and Try Something Else

Every evening of our recent holiday, Imogen and I swished through the warm waves as we walked along the beach, waiting for the sun to set. One evening, I noticed a group of birds on the sand. At first glance it looked like a gathering of seagulls, but there were two imposters in the lineup. The word imposter makes me think of all the times I’ve felt like an unschooling…
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Could a Lack of Freedom Damage Our Kids’ Mental Health?

On the first morning of my recent holiday with my daughter Imogen, I got up early, grabbed my camera and headed to the beach. I sat alone on the sand, waiting for the sun to rise and thought about freedom. The last couple of years have been hard, haven’t they? In 2020, here in Australia, we endured a lockdown of several months. Last year, I was confined to home for…
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Delights: An Unschooling Challenge

I‘ve experienced many dark days over the last couple of years. There have been lots of times when I’ve wanted to run away, but that hasn’t always been possible. Where can one go when no one is allowed to leave home? I’ve had to find another way to survive the strange times we’re living in. I decided to search for the beauty that I was sure was still in our…
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An End of the Year Unschooling Challenge

At the end of 2020, which was a very tough year, I wrote the following unschooling challenge. 2021 turned out to be a difficult year too. I think we could substitute 2021 for 2020 and do the challenge again! This week, we’re going to think about 2021 and write our end-of-the-year reviews. Maybe we don’t want to do this. It’s been a tough year, hasn’t it? We might just want…
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Criticism, Reviews, and Paying It Forward

  Sometimes I’m not very sensible: I try to do too much. I want to blog and vlog and podcast and write books and host a community and occasionally sign in to Instagram. But I really don’t have time to do all that. So I wonder what I should give up. Before I can make up my mind, I fall in a heap, feeling overwhelmed. And I resolve to give…
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Giggling in the Cemetery

Three little stories to celebrate our son Thomas’ birthday. he worst day of my life could have been the day that Thomas died. Or maybe it was the day we buried him because it was then that I knew I’d never see my son again. But perhaps, it could have been the day after the funeral when all the busyness was over, and I was alone with my sorrow. Would…
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Searching for Daily Delights

In episode 178 of my podcast: Strewing, Unschooling, and Charlotte Mason, I mentioned a book called The Book of Delights, written by Ross Gay: ‘In The Book of Delights, one of today’s most original literary voices offers up a genre-defying volume of lyric essays written over one tumultuous year. The first nonfiction book from award-winning poet Ross Gay is a record of the small joys we often overlook in our…
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Strewing , Unschooling, and Charlotte Mason

In this week’s podcast, episode 178, I’m sharing and discussing two stories about strewing: Time For Some Strewing Unschooling When Charlotte Mason Also Appeals to Our Hearts I’m also talking about overwhelming times, how we don’t have to be perfect, and looking for the delights in our days. Show Notes   A Blog Post Unschooling When Charlotte Mason Also Appeals to Our Hearts   Podcasts Episode 151: All About Strewing…
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The Problem With Being Too Nice

Are you too nice? I am. I want to help everyone. Support and encouragement are my middle names. Send me an email and I’ll spend hours answering it. Write me a comment and I’ll always reply. Ask for some mentoring and I’ll do my best even though you tell me you can’t pay. I write a book. And another. Then I decide I need to offer something extra. How about…
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Could This Be Your Best Unschooling Year Ever?

You can find the following words on the back cover of my unschooling book, Curious Unschoolers: Have you ever wondered how unschooling works? What do unschoolers do all day? Perhaps they don’t do much at all? Or do unschoolers live amazing lives full of love and learning? In Curious Unschoolers, Sue Elvis discusses all aspects of unschooling including starting unschooling, passions and interests, trust, technology and screen time, maths, reading,…
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