This morning, after a long break, I dusted off my mic, sat down and made a new podcast episode!
I enjoyed doing this, but I don’t know if I’m back permanently. Can I afford to keep podcasting? Can I afford to keep blogging? (I recently received some huge hosting bills.) Do I still have enough stories to share? Does anyone still want to listen? I talk about these questions in episode 190.
In my latest podcast,
I also read one of my stories called Clock Watching and comment on it.
I share some news. After a year’s break, I have a few things I want to tell you about.
I mention a couple of resources that I hope you’ll find interesting.
And, along the way, I share loads of unschooling thoughts!
Show Notes
Things Mentioned in This Episode
Blog post: Clock Watching
Podcast episode 178: Strewing Unschooling and Charlotte Mason
Blog post: Unschooling when Charlotte Mason Appeals to Our Hearts
Book: The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
Book: Fingers in the Sparkle Jar by Chris Packham
Documentary: Aspergers and Me by Chris Packham
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
Where You Can Find Me
Youtube: Sue Elvis
Blog: Stories of an Unschooling Family
Instagram: stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily
Error: I received enormous bills for my blog hosting and podcast hosting. I didn’t receive two bills for my podcast!
Photo
A clock in Sydney, Vladimir Haltakov, Unsplash (All my Sydney photos are clockless!)
If you listen to episode 190 of my podcast, thank you!
Please leave me some feedback: are you interested in listening to more podcasts? How about reading my blog? Would you miss it if it disappeared?
I’d love to hear from you!
I’m new to your podcast and new to homeschooling/unschooling. Just wanted to say that your podcast and resources are needed more than ever! Have you thought about consultations for new unschooling families?
Erika,
I’m so grateful for your feedback. Thank you! I’ve been blogging/podcasting for a long time so it’s good to hear people are still interested in what I’m sharing.
Consultations? Yes, that’s a great idea. I know other experienced unschoolers who do that very successfully. I just wonder though if I’d be any good at it. Do I have the right skills? Or am I better at writing and speaking? I will definitely think about that some more!
So good to chat with you. Have a great weekend!
I would definitely miss you blog if that disappeared! I don’t often comment, but I love to read your thoughts and hear your stories both of the past with younger children and of the present with grown up children. It gives me hope and brings me joy and peace – especially when I start to worry if we are ‘doing it right’ . I also really enjoyed reading your recent blog re gaming…. it really challenged me and my thoughts and attitude towards my children and gaming and screen time. I haven’t changed anything yet…. but the thoughts are simmering in my mind. I need to go back and re read your blog and do some more processing. I haven’t quite gotten to your podcasts yet…. but I plan to!
Some things I thought of….
Maybe you could drop one and not the other? Which one has the biggest following? Is there some kind of tech thing that would be able to tell you which gets looked at/ listened to the most?
A thought I have had before…. would you be interested in offering mentoring sessions (at a cost) to other unschooling parents or children or homeschoolers? Would that help pay the blog and podcast bills? I would definitely consider something along the lines of the above.
Just some thoughts…. sorry I got a bit carried away! But in short – I would miss your thoughts and sharing!
Oh I posted my thoughts before reading Erica’s comment too!
Sandie,
Hello! Thank you so much for your encouraging words. Oh yes, there are times when we all need the support and reassurance of other people. I’m glad sharing my experiences is helpful.
I could indeed concentrate on just one thing: podcasting or blogging. My podcast reaches more people than my blog. But my blog is doing okay and there is more interaction here. I also love writing so would lean towards the blog regardless of the numbers. Social media is definitely my least favourite way of sharing unschooling but that’s free or appears to be free. I suppose we pay for our accounts in other ways. We become the product even if we don’t have to part with any money.
Mentoring is something that I could do though I wonder if it’s the right thing for me. Small support group get togethers might be an option. I’ve been thinking about Patreon too. I’ve tried that before, but maybe I need to revisit this idea. I have a few things to think about!
The gaming post…I’d never thought about games being a safe retreat for kids until I experienced the same thing myself. It’s amazing what we learn when we find ourselves in our kids’ shoes, isn’t it? Joining in with their interests, talking with them, listening, trying to understand where they are from the outside, and then sometimes finding ourselves in similar situations and getting an inside view.
Sandie, I’m glad you shared your thoughts. Don’t worry about getting carried away. A long comment gives me a good excuse to enjoy a chat with you! Thank you for stopping by!
I never comment but I wanted to give you some encouragement that your blog posts and podcasts would be sorely missed if they disappeared. There is so much advice here, and practical ideas to consider. I’m pretty new to unschooling and it was reading your blog that put meat on the bones of ideas I had been considering after reading Suzie Andre’s books. I bought both of yours straight afterwards! I agree with the others that consulting could be a good idea, or a ‘buy me a coffee’ donation tab. Not sure how much money that would drum up but it’s an idea!
oli2021,
I appreciate your feedback very much! Thank you! Sometimes we don’t see the value in what we’re doing. I’ve been thinking that my time is over. I was wondering if, after all these years, my words are past their use by date, especially as there are many, many younger bloggers/podcasters/social media people who are doing a fabulous job of sharing unschooling online. There’s no shortage of ideas, support and encouragement which is wonderful.
Suzie Andres is an old friend and I’m delighted and honoured you bought my books after reading hers. Did you know Suzie used to share a bit of my blog until she created a blog of her own? I loved hosting Susie’s posts etc.
I will check out the ‘buy me a coffee’ donation button!
It’s been wonderful chatting with you. Thank you so much for your comment!
Thanks for your reply Sue. I think you have something to share which is very valuable, your experience as an older mum. Younger bloggers are great for ‘in the moment’ inspiration, activities etc. But your life experience and perspective as a Christian unschooler is something I haven’t found anywhere else yet! I always have something meaningful to think about after reading.
I think you can tell I hope you keep going! ?
Rebekah,
I appreciate your kind feedback very much. It’s always encouraging when I hear that what I’m doing is helpful. Christian unschooling? Yes, I’d like to write more about that. Ponder it more deeply. I guess different people share unschooling in different ways. We all have our own angle. Mine seems to be unconditional love which has its foundation in God. I’ve got a blog post idea about ordered lives, love and unschooling going around inside my head. I hope I can find the right words to share my thoughts.
It makes such a difference knowing you’d like me to continue writing about unschooling. Thank you so much for letting me know!
I would miss your blog, I dont always have the concentration levels or time to listen to the podcasts, although i’m slowly working through them. I love your blog and i’ve found it very helpful
actually i think its touching that you reply to these comments, its sweet and makes me feel less alone. A long time ago I had a vicar friend who felt a bit helpless and like he wasnt doing much and i told him that he was like an ink pen that you put on blotting paper. He put the ink on but it keeps spreading out. I’m not religious or anything and as you can see i’m not very eloquent, but its often the same with blogs like this, youre being the ink and the pen doesnt see the blot spreading out, but that doesnt mean its not connecting to others and still spreading good in the world. I promise I’m not drunk, I know what I mean. x
That said though you should only carry on if you want to, if you feel youve had enough then absolutely do you!
Willcress,
I really appreciate all the comments that readers leave on my blog and I enjoy answering them. It’s good to chat!
Your words about the spreading ink blot are perfect! Oh yes, I can see exactly what you mean. Sometimes I do feel alone and wonder if my words are helpful. Am I talking to myself? But, as you said, we don’t always see the good we’re doing in the world. Your comments are so encouraging. They make me want to keep writing here on my blog! Thank you!
Willcress,
I’m smiling because you love my blog! Thank you for your kind feedback! I enjoy both blogging and podcasting, but if I had to choose only one of these, I’d choose to keep writing on my blog. I’m glad you find my posts helpful. I’ll probably write more of them. I haven’t yet solved the money problem, but I don’t think my husband Andy will let me delete my blog because he knows it’s important to me. I do hope I can find a way to make the blog self-supporting, but in the meantime, we’ll just have to juggle our family money to cover the costs.
Hello, Sue!
I’m a home schooling mum from UK, with two kids aged 11 and 9, one of which is now in a delightful state of fascination with all things Jane Austen. It struck me, having watched the 1995 adaptation again recently, that the Bennett girls in Pride and Prejudice were sort of ‘unschooled’. (Although their father could have done more strewing in the younger daughters – sadly no podcasts on the subject existed back then- and, sadly, the mother didn’t have a clear view of values and education at all.)
I did a search on unschooling and Jane Austen, in the hope of finding that someone else has already written the article I might one day write myself if I get to it. And so, by some google algorhythm, I happened upon your lovely website, which I thoroughly enjoyed and passed on to a couple of friends.
I very much enjoyed the podcast about clock watching, and also listened to the one on Bad haircuts, and to one on unschooling maths (something I am not at the moment).
I’m writting to encourage you to keep the content online, and to keep adding to it when you feel inspired to do so. It is really refreshing to hear people talk about their stories as you do. I also feel there is a strong connection between unconditional love and unschooling. And that somehow unschooling is like grace (while school is like the Law) if you think of the Christian doctrines of law and grace.
Thanks for putting all this wealth of experience out there, and I will dip into more of the podcasts and posts when time allows. It’s a joy to be welcomed into your conversations and musings. Your podcasts are hospitality of a very nurturing kind.
Blessings,
Ioana
Ioana,
Thank you so much for your delightful comment! Your words are very kind and encouraging and make me smile. I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying my posts and podcasts.
Yes, my girls are big Jane Austen fans. They also watched the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice recently. They’ve seen it hundreds of times but never tire of it. It’s the best!
Unschooling and unconditional love: they’re tightly bound together, aren’t they?
I’ve neglected both my podcast and blog recently because I’ve been working on a new unschooling book. But now that the book – The Unschool Challenge – has been published on Amazon, I’m looking forward to creating some new posts (and maybe a podcast as well). It’s lovely to know they will be read by some new readers. Thank you for sharing my blog with your friends!
I hope we’ll chat again another day. May God bless you and your family, Sue
Hi, Sue! I loved hearing you talk about CM. I have been drawn to her methods and used them for a while until I burned myself out checking all the boxes and feeling guilty for the subjects I wasn’t doing at all or incorrectly. I scaled it way back but it still didn’t feel right requiring my kids to follow the assignments I was still giving them. We are back to having the kids learn what they want and how they want. Also. I enjoy the podcast! It’s like sitting and chatting with a friend.
Lisa,
There’s something very attractive about Charlotte Mason, isn’t there? Maybe our souls yearn for all that beauty, truth and goodness she promises. But, yes, implementing CM ideas can lead to burnout or conflict. Because there are lots of people who like the idea of unschooling but are drawn to Charlotte Mason as well, I’ve wondered if we can encourage beauty, truth and goodness in our days without resorting to an organised method. I can’t remember everything I said in my podcast, but I did write something about this for my new book, The Unschool Challenge. It’s an interesting topic, isn’t it?
Lisa, I really appreciate your kind feedback about my podcast. Chatting with a friend? Oh yes, I love your words!
Thank you so much for stopping by. I’ve enjoyed swapping comments with you!
I should add that maybe coaching new to unschooling parents would be something you could do.
Lisa,
I appreciate your suggestion and your confidence that coaching is something I could do. I’ve noticed a lot of unschoolers pass on their experiences by mentoring others but haven’t seriously considered it for myself. At the moment, I’m trying to promote my books because this feels a more comfortable way for me to earn some money, but I’ll think more about your idea. Sometimes we end up doing things we never expect to do!