gentle parenting

95: Unschooling Siblings and Other Stories

These are a few of the things I'm talking about this week:
Siblings
Acceptance
Encouragement
Labels
Boys
The joy of giving
Essay writing
 
I tell lots of stories and share my new free ebook Unschool Reading. 
 
Please visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family for the show notes. 
Also, I invite you to join me on my Stories of an Unschooling Family Facebook page.
Thank you for listening. And if you enjoy my podcast, please consider writing an iTunes review and sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling! 
 
Podcast music: Twombly by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0) 
 
 

82: How NOT to Be Your Child's Worst Nightmare

This week, I discuss the following questions:
How can we become best friends with our spouses?
Can we be friends with our children?
Or can we be a parent or a friend but not both?
What should we do if our kids get into trouble?
What if we put effort into our relationships and we don't get the response we're hoping for?
Is unschooling just as much about a parent as it is about a child?
I also talk more about being daring and adventurous parents.
 
You can find the show notes on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family.
Join me in The Not So Proper Unschoolers Facebook Group,
and my Stories of an Unschooling Family Facebook Page.
You can find my new videos on my Youtube channel, Sue Elvis.
My new children's novel, The Angels of Gum Tree Road, is now on Amazon, Kindle, and Lulu. 
Podcast music: 60's Quiz Show by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
 
Thank you for listening. And if you enjoy my podcast, please consider writing an iTunes review and sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling! 

81: Are You a Daring and Adventurous Parent?

This week, I talk about:
strengthening bonds between spouses
finding a balance between family life and work
how a parent's fears can hold back a child
how we need to be adventurous and daring parents
being silly as a family
some of the stories in my children's novel, 'The Angels of Gum Tree Road'
guest posting. Would you like to write an article for my blog?
essay writing. Do our kids need to practise essay writing just in case they want to go to university?
my new videos on my Youtube channel
and lots of other things!
You can find the show notes on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family.
Join me in The Not So Proper Unschoolers Facebook Group,
and my Stories of an Unschooling Family Facebook Page.
You can find my new videos on my Youtube channel, Sue Elvis.
My new children's novel, The Angels of Gum Tree Road, is now on Kindle and Lulu. Soon it will be available on Amazon too.
Podcast music: 60's Quiz Show by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
 
Thank you for listening. And if you enjoy my podcast, please consider writing an iTunes review and sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling! 

80: Radical Unschooling

This week, I discuss these questions:
Is radical unschooling about allowing kids to do whatever they like?
But if we stand back and give our kids that kind of freedom, will life become chaotic and unproductive?
Could radical unschooling require an active rather than a passive response from parents?
And how did our family become radical unschoolers?
I also share some family news, some local history, and a few resources. 
 
You can find the show notes on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family.
Join me in The Not So Proper Unschoolers Facebook Group,
and my Stories of an Unschooling Family Facebook Page.
My new children's novel, The Angels of Gum Tree Road, is now on Kindle.
Podcast music: 60's Quiz Show by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
 
Thank you for listening. And if you enjoy my podcast, please share the link so we can spread the word about unschooling! 

77: Reassessing

This week, I'm talking about my podcasts, blog, and videos. What are listeners/readers/viewers looking for? Is what I'm producing helpful? In an attempt to answer these questions, I ponder my ten most popular blog posts ever. Are the unschooling ideas and principles, contained within them, what people want to know about?  My top ten list includes posts about:
chores
getting kids to do 'school' work
parenting mistakes
'proper' unschooling
unschool record keeping
resources and strewing
unschooling misconceptions
I'm wondering: What about you? Do these topics interest you? Or do you listen to my podcast for a different reason? Perhaps you're not searching for information. Could it be you're just looking for friendship with a like-minded family?  I hope you'll listen to this week's episode and then stop by (if you have time) with some feedback. I'm taking a short break while my husband is home on holiday. I'll be back in a couple of weeks with another episode!
In the meantime, you can find me on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family, 
Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest. 
You can find my children's novel The Angels of Abbey Creek on Amazon.
If you'd like to sign up for my newsletter, please do. I'd love you to join us! 
Thank you for listening. If you enjoy my podcast, perhaps you can share the link to help spread the word about unschooling!
Podcast music: 60's Quiz Show by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)

76: Another Typical Unschooling Day

This week, I talk about our unschooling days:
Is there such a thing as a typical unschooling day?
Do our days change over time?
Is it time to share a new typical day?
Along the way, I chat about things related to our days:
How can we share our beliefs (Catholic or otherwise) with our kids?
Do I force my kids to say family prayers and go to church?
Does the Church force me to attend Mass?
Do my girls exercise because I make them?
Do I ever follow my girls' good example?
Can we strew verbally?
Do sibling relationships change over time?
Does position in the family affect relationships?
You can find me on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family, 
Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest. 
You can find my children's novel The Angels of Abbey Creek on Amazon.
If you'd like to sign up for my newsletter, please do. I'd love you to join us! 
Thank you for listening! If you enjoy my podcast, perhaps you can share the link to help spread the word about unschooling!
Podcast music: 60's Quiz Show by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
 

74: Is Play Important for Both Adults and Kids?

This week, I discuss the following questions:
Should we condemn people, including children, who are having a bad day? Or can we help them?
Do adults need to play?
What about teenagers? 
What happens if we don't play?
Is it okay for kids to spend all day playing?
Do kids need time to play without a parent's involvement?
What are the benefits of play?
What are the best toys?
Should we let kids play games that involve risk?
Are our kids in danger of losing their childhoods?
Why am I very glad I let my kids play?
Should parents be daring and adventurous?
How can we increase our enjoyment when playing with our kids?
I also talk about Facebook.
You can find me on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family, 
Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest. 
You can find my children's novel The Angels of Abbey Creek on Amazon.
If you'd like to sign up for my newsletter, please do. I'd love to have you on my team!  
Podcast music: 60's Quiz Show by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
 

73: Helping a Child Discover Her Talents

This week, my 21-year-old daughter, Imogen, joins me. We explore a lot of questions including:
Do children's talents need the right environment in order to be discovered? 
How can parents create that environment? 
How can we support a child's talents?
Should we be worried if a teenager doesn't know what she wants to do as a future career?
Do we put too many pressures on teenagers?
How can we help children who seem to have no interests?
What if children don't want to do anything but watch TV?
What if they don't want to do anything but play?
Is play valuable? How has it helped Imogen as a musician and writer?
Do parents feel pressured to offer their kids impressive learning experiences? Do they feel pressured to show others that their kids are doing impressive things? Are we all too competitive?
How did we cope with multi-aged kids, including babies and toddlers, while homeschooling?
You can find me on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family, 
Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest. 
You can find my children's novel The Angels of Abbey Creek on Amazon.
If you'd like to sign up for my newsletter, please do. I'd love to have you on my team! 
You can find Imogen on Youtube and Facebook.  
 
Podcast music: 60's Quiz Show by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
 

72: Choosing Not to Worry About What Other People Might Think

This week,
I talk about:
ageing, appearance and associated insecurities
video making
Facebook
Livestreaming
resources which might spark off some new learning experiences if life is a bit quiet
I also ponder a few unschooling questions such as:
 
Are some kids so resourceful they have no need of basic skills?
You can find me on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family, 
Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest. 
You can find my children's novel The Angels of Abbey Creek on Amazon.
If you'd like to sign up for my newsletter, please do. I'd love to have you on my team! 
Podcast music: 60's Quiz Show by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
 

71: Tired and Difficult Days

This week:
I talk about tired days: do we plough on when we are overtired, trying to do all we normally do? Should we slow down? Ask for help? How do our tired days affect our children? And how does our attitude affect how we feel about being tired?
I ponder the many different definitions of the word 'unschooling' and 'radical unschooling'. Are any of them an adequate description of unschooling? What ingredient do I feel is essential for unschooling? Does it need to be included in any definition, especially when we're talking about radical unschooling?
I share some thoughts about chores
I revisit podcast 70, clarifying a point my daughter Sophie and I talked about last week. Is it ever okay to talk about our concerns about our children? What conditions do we feel are necessary if we do this?
I share my latest projects: my newsletter and my first it's-not-a-periscope. What is an it's-not-a-periscope? I explain in this podcast or you could hop over to my Youtube channel to find out!
Lastly, I talk about the positive aspects of being tired. Yes, there are some!
Thank you for listening!
 
You can find me on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family, 
Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest. 
You can find my children's novel The Angels of Abbey Creek on Amazon.
If you'd like to sign up for my newsletter, please do. I'd love to have you on my team! 
Podcast music: 60's Quiz Show by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)