To Grieving Mothers…..
On this Mother’s Day, I wanted to write a special message to all those mothers everywhere who have sadness in their hearts today. The heartbreak of burying a child is beyond the understanding of one who hasn’t done so. The grief of a parent is totally unique, and feels completely backwards. If a mother never [...]
A Relaxed Road to Reading
Not one worksheet. Not one piece of curriculum. Not one phonics lesson. Actually, I tell a lie. There was a very brief experience with “Reading Eggs” once, but she didn’t enjoy it, so never did more than a few games and activities. I am speaking of my ten year old daughter. She woke me this [...]
The Rainbow Warrior, Aquarium, and a Win-Win
It is incredulous to think that the Great Barrier Reef, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is at risk due to the impact of coal mining. Recently we heard that the Greenpeace ship, “The Rainbow Warrior” was on its way to the Great Barrier Reef so the activists can do whatever possible to help [...]
Shy Shmy
Many people would consider my daughter to be shy. I simply consider her to be herself. Yes, she tends to be rather quiet and reserved in a group setting or with new people. She will often speak quietly in an unfamiliar setting. She is not talkative with strangers. So I guess she qualifies as “shy”, [...]
Radical Unschooling and Food
I was thinking, tonight, while preparing green quiche and salad for dinner, about how the principles of unschooling actually apply to food, in the simplest of terms. I mean, I get that they do, and it’s how we live, but I think many people don’t necessarily understand why food gets included in the radical unschooling [...]
Food that says, “I Love You”
Today my daughter, who is ten, said that she wanted to make me some special food and that it was going to be a big surprise. She asked me to take her to the local supermarket to purchase supplies, which I happily did. She took her own basket and wanted me to make sure I [...]
Instead of Teaching
Let me introduce you to Suli Breaks. The man with the voice. The speaking voice. The voice of insight, perspective and wisdom. I’ll let him do the talking and I really, really hope that as many people as possible do the listening. With ears wide open. Here’s a teaser: “If education is the key, then [...]
A Gamer Self-Limits
My 13yo son is passionate (and I mean VERY passionate) about computers. Initially we thought he would follow a path towards the practical side, building his own computer, etc, and so we got a couple of old broken computers off Freecycle for him to pull apart and play with. He enjoyed doing that, and learned [...]
“Return to Nim’s Island” World Premiere Movie Event!
Recently my youngest child, aged ten, decided to create a list of things she wants to do before she’s twenty. At the top of the list was a desire to meet Bindi Irwin, of Australia Zoo fame. Molly is an enthusiastic advocate for animal health and well-being, as is Bindi, they are both home schooled, [...]
When a Child becomes an Environmental Activist
We bought our daughter a microphone, because she loves to sing while she plays the guitar. Little did we expect that it’s first public use would be for this little bit of environmental activism (from the relative safety of our front veranda): She is so enthusiastic to do whatever she can to stop a fourth [...]
Do “Violent” Games Make People Violent?
I am a pacifist, yet my children have all played with toy guns, swords, and now “violent video games”. Yes, the two things can go together! My children are not me! They have their own interests and values, and I have mine, and that is okay. In fact, it’s awesome! Not always easy, but definitely [...]
Toys: Science at Play
Our local (free! did you read that? free!) museum has just had a pretty cool exhibition on all about toys. We decided to go check it out with some other homeschooling friends (and one unschooling friend). I was hoping to see some “old fashioned” toys from when I was a kid (back in the “olden [...]
“Not Back to School” Big Day Out, 2013
A new homeschoolers’ social group has been formed, for people across quite a broad area (the “Sydney Basin”), for the purpose of the teens and tweens in particular broadening their social circle a bit, to help meet their need to connect with other tweens/teens who don’t go to school. The first event we’ve managed to [...]
First Ever Protest March
I have always been a passionate person, whether it be about unschooling, faith, environmental issues, social justice…. Molly (10) seems to be following in my footsteps, all of her own volition. And to be honest, she gives me a run for my money in terms of passion and commitment! It is wonderful to be able [...]
An Unschooled Child Learns to Read
I didn’t teach my son to read. He never did a workbook or followed a learn to read program. He never used “readers”. You know the ones: The cat sat on a mat. The cat was fat. Does that make me a bad homeschooling parent? I don’t think so. In fact, it was a conscious [...]
Food Freedom in Action
I wrote recently about our journey to Food Freedom. Tonight after a bit of Valentine’s Day food fun, I realised it was a good example of what I was talking about before, so here is a snapshot of Food Freedom in action. A sleepover on Valentine’s Day seemed like a good excuse to try out [...]
Passing It On
I remember my father’s last Christmas well. He had terminal cancer and very little time left. The whole family gathered together and created a beautiful memory, even though he was so sick. At one stage, in spite of Dad’s deteriorating state, the inevitable game of indoor cricket took place in the lounge room, using a [...]
An Imperfect Unschooling Life
So, here’s the deal. I’ve been thinking of deleting this blog, or at least taking it offline. Why? Because, well, I’m not perfect. And neither is my family. Bet you thought we were, huh? I mean, don’t all bloggers have this amazing, perfect, ideal life? I guess you could be forgiven for thinking they do, [...]
Food Freedom
We did an elimination diet once. We were convinced that our children reacted to certain foods, and being unsure which ones, we figured we had to either ban all suspect foods (which we’d been trying to do), or work out which ones were causing the problem. Like with most diets, we found it incredibly restrictive, [...]
Message in a Parachute
You know the old “message in a bottle” scenario? Well, today I got a message by parachute. A message of love. A message I really appreciated hearing right now. I was busy in the kitchen and heard a sweet little voice from upstairs calling out, “INCOMMMIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!!!!” I looked up and saw her toy parachute flying [...]
