Reschooling Posts // June 25 - July 1,2023
How Do You Know When To Stop Trying School?
July 1, 2023 from Think Again
When Nicola Leyland’s son was eight, he was kicked in the head by a horse. Everyone told her that he must get back to school, but when he did, everything was different. She could see how much things had changed and how distressed he was, but it seemed like the solution was always more school.
Consent Should Matter in Teaching
July 1, 2023 from Happiness is Here
Children deserve the right to learn what interests them, when they’re ready, when they want to, in the way that works best for them, and without judgement. When I say anything along these lines, or even just mention homeschooling, I will get teachers telling me, “But I’m passionate about teaching, I love to teach, I adore children”.
What to Do When Unschool Kids Complain, “It’s Boring!”
June 30, 2023 from Stories of an Unschooling Family
What if we think something is boring and don’t want to know about it? Is this a problem? It isn’t for parents because we’re free to pick and choose what we’re interested in. But what if it’s our kids who are saying, “That’s boring!”? Are they missing out on potentially interesting experiences? What if these words are their response to something that’s in the school curriculum or program that they’re legally required to follow? What can we do?
Must Moms Be Everything to Their Kids?
June 29, 2023 from Freedom to Learn
No wonder the birth rate is going down. If I were a young woman today, I would think long and hard before setting out on the journey of birthing a child. [Of course, I’m not a young woman; I’m an old man. But one can imagine.] Today, if you read what the “experts” say, parents (and you would usually not be mistaken to read that as "mothers") are supposed to not just feed, shelter, and comfort their offspring, but also be their conversation partners (even when they are newborns and have no idea what you are saying), playmates, security detail (guarding them always until they are, what, 12, 14, or 17 years old?), shuttle drivers (to and from school and all sorts of other “enrichment” activities), homework monitors, and on and on.
Boundaries and building partnership with Blimie Heller
June 28, 2023 from Consent-Based Everything
I chat to Blimie Heller, parenting coach and educator at Unconditional Parenting, about the ways we often frame gentle parenting, ideas of trust and partnership, our never-ending journey as parents and boundaries (and why the way we manage them is unhelpful in many ways!).
Teens Are Not Lazy
June 28, 2023 from Happiness is Here
I came across an article recently that started with this line… “Why are teenagers such moody, lazy, selfish nightmares?” Rude, right? Would we find it acceptable to speak about any other group of people this way? No. But when talking about children and adolescents apparently this kind of behaviour is totally fine. And very common. We have all heard ‘just wait until they are teenagers!’ as if this is some inevitable development. They will all become moody, lazy, and selfish.
What Those Kids Who Survived 40 Days in The Amazon Jungle Have that Our Kids Don’t
June 27, 2023 from Free Range Kids
When it turned out that four siblings, aged 1 to 13, had survived in the jungles of Colombia for 40 days after their plane crashed, killing all the adults on board (including their mom), the world was dumbstruck with awe. How could kids that young be that resourceful? “My responses is: ‘They do this routinely,’” says anthropologist David Lancy, author of “Child Helpers: A Multidisciplinary Perspective,” and a number of other books about kids in other cultures.
#45 Healing from school and holding our children's journeys lightly, with Rhonda Ziman in East Sussex
June 27, 2023 from The Unschool Space
My guest today is Rhonda Ziman. Rhonda lives in East Sussex with her husband, 14-year-old stepdaughter and 11-year-old daughter. I’ve known Rhonda and her daughter Martha since last year, when her daughter finally left school after struggling to attend for a long time.
Three Webinars in July
June 27, 2023 from Think Again
Hi, this is just a brief post in case any of you are interesting in coming to my webinars in the next couple of weeks. On July 3rd I’m doing a new Art of Low Demand Parenting webinar with Eliza Fricker - it’s about how to manage other people when your child doesn’t follow the parenting manuals.
The problem with Grit.
June 27, 2023 from Radical Mothering
I recently finished Angela Duckworth’s book, Grit: the power of passion and perseverance, and I have so many thoughts! I’m going to try to write some of them down. I was at a dinner some time ago and we were talking about schools and education, and someone mentioned how important teaching grit was. It stuck with me, because I feel like this is just the same conversation that happens over again: what we’re teaching isn’t working, we should teach this other thing!
Supporting Project Work
June 27, 2023 from Happiness is Here
At any given time, there are at least 10 projects on the go in our house, I would say. The majority of our days at home are based around project work. The kids have so many ideas and they are always busy creating something! I just love seeing them so inspired and it’s fascinating to me how everything unfolds. At school, we were taught that life was divided into subjects and you needed to work on each one every day.
Unschooling Charlotte Mason
June 27, 2023 from Stories of an Unschooling Family
There’s no way Charlotte Mason could have imagined the impact her ideas would have on the homeschooling community. Her name has become a method. Mention it, and words such as narration, nature journals, short lessons and living books instantly come to mind. Parents wonder if they should ‘do’ Charlotte Mason. Is her method the perfect way to educate homeschooling kids?
Ghost Children
June 26, 2023 from Think Again
What about the ghost children? The newspapers are full of them. The radio is discussing them. These apparitions who have apparently disappeared from our schools. Invisible children, calling us for help, tapping on the windows and wailing at night.
I Want Them to Be Thrilled With Their Lives
June 26, 2023 from Happiness is Here
“What were my dreams for them? I wanted them to be thrilled with their lives.” – Carleen Sing
I read this quote in an article about unschooling recently and loved it so much! As an unschooling parent, I am often questioned about my children’s future.
“Feathering in”
June 26, 2023 from Brave Writer
It’s okay to “feather in” subjects. Pick a subject, get to know it a bit, explore with your kids how it might work. Leave the others aside. Get the one subject going, then when some space and energy frees up, add the next one. Our kids come out of the womb like little aliens—having to master all kinds of nonsense to fit in with the big humans who live around them.
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