Thoughts on rules
As a parent, I put a lot of thought into rules, maybe more than most. This may surprise many of my friends and family, since what they saw from the Continue Reading →
Unschool Parenting 101
It’s August. School is either about to start or has already started where you are. If you’re unschooling, life doesn’t change much except for the reappearance of school buses and Continue Reading →
Happiness vs. Success
One of the greatest discoveries I made as a new mother was the feeling of connection with every woman who was now or had ever been a mother. I went Continue Reading →
Librarians
Librarians have always been among the most thoughtful and helpful people. They are teachers without a classroom. –Willard Scott Libraries have always held a special place for Continue Reading →
One Smart Apple
Yesterday afternoon, I felt hungry and wandered into the kitchen for a snack. I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl. It not only looked appealing, but that sweet, crunchy, Continue Reading →
Do unschoolers ever do things they don’t want to do?
I frequently describe unschooling or self-directed learning as kids doing what they want to do all the time. Because I chose not to put my kids in school, nor did I make any Continue Reading →
Year-round freedom
Lots of people would ask me if I gave my kids the summer “off”, which always amused me. This question gets right to the heart of the difference between schooling and child-directed learning. Continue Reading →
Proofreading hope
A few weeks ago I found Pat Farenga’s blog and read through a few of his most recent posts. Pat worked closely with John Holt at Growing Without Schooling, the newsletter Continue Reading →
Bargain Benefits
If you want to feel rich, count the things you have that money can’t buy. Soon after our daughter was born, I chose to leave my 14-year corporate career to stay at Continue Reading →
Strategies
Recently I was playing a board game with four elementary-school-aged kids each teamed with their volunteer Big Brother or Big Sister. I noticed at each turn that three of the Continue Reading →