homeschooling

189: The Important People in Our Lives

I'm back! Are you surprised? I am!
This week, I'm talking about:
How lack of control makes us feel helpless. Do controlled kids feel helpless? Does control lead to mental health issues?
If we want a society of responsible adults, do we need to listen to kids, give them freedom, and let them learn how to be responsible for themselves?
Difficult times, friends, and our unschooling community
How change can stretch us, and how we learn when we have an interest or a need
Video gaming and what I've learnt since I became a video gamer
My new children's novel, The Angels of Wallaby Way!
Perfectionism, and the fear of criticism, and Marco Polo video messages
The value of feedback, encouragement, and the most important people in our lives
Show Notes
Blog Post
What I discovered When I Became a Video Gamer
 
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
The Angels of Wallaby Way: available very soon!
My Amazon Author Page
 
Where You Can Find Me
Unschooling Community including Unschool Plus and Marco Polo
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Sue Elvis
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Where the Carol Birds Sing
 
Thank you for listening to this episode!
 

187: The Problem With High Expectations and Control

This week, Imogen and I are talking about:
High expectations and control. Do they result in unhappy children? Do controlled kids look for distractions? Does limiting screen time result in an increased attraction for devices?
A novel that Imogen reviewed: Dear Hero
Inspiration and different ways of telling a story
How we can work together, share our skills, and help each other
The Catholic Homeschool Conference (I'm a speaker!)
News of two soon-to-be-produced unschooling podcasts
 
Show Notes
Things we mentioned in this episode:
 
Indistractible by Nir Eyal
Masterchef Australia 2021
Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
Dear Hero by Hope Bolinger and Alyssa Roat
Illuminae Files Book Series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The Catholic Homeschool Conference
 
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
My Amazon Author Page
 
Where You Can Find Me
Unschooling Community
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Sue Elvis
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Where the Carol Birds Sing
Instagram
sue_elvis
 
Where You Can Find Imogen
Blog
Write.Rewrite.Read
Instagram
write.rewrite.read
Youtube
Imogen Elvis
Books
The Crystal Tree
The Shattering Song
Frost Hands
 
Thank you for listening to this episode!
 
 

186: Criticism, Reviews, and Paying it Forward

This week, Imogen and I have a lively conversation about:
The highs and lows that affect our parenting, homeschooling and creative lives
Criticism: why do we let other people's opinions affect what we do? Whose opinions should we listen to? Why we shouldn't let criticism stop us from using our talents
Reviews: why we don't ask for many reviews
Writing about things we have never experienced
Paying it Forward: is free online stuff really free? 
We're also discussing some books and movies.
And we're telling stories about:
how to remove a dead tree
cockroaches
how I might have made a difference to the lives of the world's dogs
and many other things
 
Show Notes
Things we mention in this episode:
 
Tamworth
Botanic gardens and Marsupial Park
Country Music Festival
 
Gunnedah
Silo Art: Dorothea MacKellar and her poem, My Country
Water Tower Art: The Long Tan Battle of the Vietnam War
Silo Art at Barraba
 
Book
Show Your Work: Ten Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon
 
Tin Tin comics and Netflix shows
 
Movies and Series
The Greatest Showman
Les Mis
Oklahoma
Hamilton
The Crown
The Chosen
 
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
My Amazon Author Page
 
Where You Can Find Me
Unschooling Community
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Sue Elvis
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Where the Carol Birds Sing
Instagram
sue_elvis
 
Where You Can Find Imogen
Blog
Write.Rewrite.Read
Instagram
write.rewrite.read
Youtube
Imogen Elvis
Books
The Crystal Tree
The Shattering Song
Frost Hands
 
Thank you for listening to this episode!
 
 

185: Social Media, Hooks, Distractions, and Books

This week, Imogen and I are discussing:
Social media and video games: can we break the hooks that pull us in?
Books: is it okay to use someone else’s ideas and create something of our own?
In particular, we’re talking about the documentary, The Social Dilemma, and the books, Dust by Kara Swanson and The Drover’s Wife by Leah Purcell.
We’re also telling a few family stories.
 
Show Notes
Things we mention in this episode:
Indistractible and Hooked by Nir Eyal
The Social Dilemma on Netflix
Dust by Kara Swanson
The Drover’s Wife by Leah Purcell
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Henry Lawson: poems and short stories
Bleak House and Little Dorritt by Charles Dickens
How to Train Your Dragon: movie and book
The Princess Bride: movie and book
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Jeff Wayne’s musical, The War of the Worlds
 
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
My Amazon Author Page
 
Where You Can Find Me
Unschooling Community
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Sue Elvis
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Where the Carol Birds Sing
Instagram
sue_elvis
 
Where You Can Find Imogen
Blog
Write.Rewrite.Read
Instagram
write.rewrite.read
Youtube
Imogen Elvis
Books
The Crystal Tree
The Shattering Song
Frost Hands
 
Thank you for listening to this episode!
 

184:Trying Not to Complain

This week, as the rain continues to fall, I'm telling a few stories:
 
Wondering Weather I Should Iron
The Elvis Connection
Me? I'm Elvis' Wife
Why I'm Wearing Stiff Undies
 
Show Notes
 
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
My Amazon Author Page
 
Where You Can Find Me
Unschooling Community
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Sue Elvis
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Where the Carol Birds Sing
Instagram
sue_elvis
 
Thank you for listening to this episode!
 

183: Big Ideas and Big Passions,

This week, my daughter Imogen is back, and we're talking about:
Writing: the definition of a story, what to write about, how we use our own experiences in stories.
Superhero movies: the big ideas contained in seemingly trivial stories
Behind-the scenes documentaries.
Rock climbing and glass blowing: creativity, and the lengths (or heights!) some people will go to follow their passions.
We’re also telling lots of stories.
 
Show Notes
Things we mention in this episode:
Camp NaNoWriMo
The A-Z blogging challenge
 
Masterclass:
Neil Gaiman and his writing class
Margaret Atwood and her writing class
 
WandaVision
The Making of Wandavision
Captain America: Civil War
 
Solo Free on Amazon Prime
The Dawn Face on Netflix
 
Blown Away on Netflix
 
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
My Amazon Author Page
 
Where You Can Find Me
Unschooling Community
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Sue Elvis
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Where the Carol Birds Sing
Instagram
sue_elvis
 
Where You Can Find Imogen
Blog
Write.Rewrite.Read
Instagram
write.rewrite.read
Youtube
Imogen Elvis
 
Thank you for listening to this episode!
 

180: Unschool, Martian, and Risque Stories

My daughter Imogen and I are discussing play, writing, books, Martians, and exercise. This episode is jam-packed full of stories, unschooling thoughts and resources.
Episode Contents
0:00-01:56 Intro
01:56-07:53 Excitement 
07:53-10:51 Writing
10:51-18:08 Music
18:08-30:15 Kids’ Play
30:15-42:10 Adults’ Play
42:10-59:18 A Space Phase
59:18-01:03:31 A Novel and Priest Holes
01:03:31-01:07:11 Exercise
01:07:11-01:13:51 A Risqué Story
01:13:51-01:17:01 Listener Questions 
01:17:01-01:21:38 End Stuff
 
Show Notes 
 
Writing
NaNoWriMo
 
Music
Musescore
Garageband
 
Play
Blog Post: Doing What Kids Ought to Do
 
A Space Phase
The War of the Worlds book by H.G. Wells
Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds
The Martian book
The Martian movie
Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets
 
Exercise
Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home
 
Books
The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton
Imogen's new novel : Frost Notes
 
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
My Amazon Author Page
 
Where You Can Find Me
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Sue Elvis
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Where the Carol Birds Sing
Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily
 
Where You Can Find Imogen
Blog
Write.Rewrite.Read
Instagram
write.rewrite.read
Youtube
Imogen Elvis
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so that we can spread the word about unschooling!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family or Instagram to leave a comment. Perhaps you have a question for Imogen? We'd love to hear some feedback about our conversation!
 

179: Unschooling, Plot Holes and Twonk

My daughter Imogen and I are sharing some unschooling thoughts while we talk about what we’ve been working on, what we’ve been reading and watching, and what’s making us feel excited.
0:00 Intro
00:58 Introducing Imogen
01:47 Returning to Podcasting
05:50 Frost Hands and Writing
14:34 Writing Novels and Unschooling Books
21:57 The Inconvenience of Losing Our Videographer 
32:14 Excited About Exercise
41:59 Escaping into a Novel
48:55 Rereading Retold Fairy Tales
53:52 Masterchef and Kids’ Happiness
01:01:29 The Masked Singer and Twonk
01:08:50 End Things
 
Show Notes
 
Imogen's new novel
Frost Hands
 
Podcasts about NaNoWriMo
Episode 153: More Unschool Writing Ideas and Resources
Episode 140: Difficult Things
 
Imogen's Music Youtube Channel
Imogen Elvis
 
Websites
Skillshare
Walk at Home
 
Books
The Lake House by Kate Morton
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
 
Blog Post
Why We Need to Support Our Kids' Choices
 
Video
My 2020 Global Homeschooling Summit interview video
 
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
My Amazon Author Page
 
Where You Can Find Me
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Sue Elvis
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Where the Carol Birds Sing
Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily
 
Where You Can Find Imogen
Blog
Write.Rewrite.Read
Instagram
write.rewrite.read
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so that we can spread the word about unschooling!
 
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment!
 

178: Strewing, Unschooling and Charlotte Mason

This week, I'm sharing and discussing two stories about strewing:
 
Time For Some Strewing
 
Unschooling When Charlotte Mason Also Appeals to Our Hearts
 
I'm also talking about overwhelming times, how we don't have to be perfect, and looking for the delights in our days.
 
Show Notes
 
A Blog Post
Unschooling When Charlotte Mason Also Appeals to Our Hearts
 
Podcasts
Episode 151: All About Strewing
Episode 30: Why Classical Music Is Not Enough
 
A Book
The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
 
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
My Amazon Author Page
 
 
Where You Can Find Me
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Sue Elvis
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Where the Carol Birds Sing
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so that we can spread the word about unschooling!
 
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment!
 

177: Encouraging Unschooling Kids and Mothers

This week, I'm talking about encouragement. I have two encouragement stories to share with you which I'm hoping you haven't heard before. But if you are familiar with them, will you think, "Sue is getting repetitive"? Will you consider giving my podcast a negative review? I hope not. Instead, maybe you'll offer some feedback. 
Do you have any ideas for future episodes of this podcast? What would you like to hear about?
Most of my kids are grown up, so often I don't have any current unschooling news to share with you, (unless, of course, you're interested in hearing about my unschool learning). Over the years, I have explored a lot of unschooling topics multiple times, and sometimes it seems like I have said everything possible. Could it be time to pack up my mic? Move on and do something else?
I'd love to hear your thoughts. I know they will be kind and encouraging! 
 
Episode Details
0:00 intro
1:53 discouraging words and negative podcast reviews
3:46 Crushed by a Label
11:11 story comments
13:07 Encouraging Each Other to Do Difficult Things 
16:08 How I Became a Runner
24:46 what I learnt from my running adventure 
33:01 other encouraging stories 
33:53 I’d love to hear your thoughts!
34:42 Summit interviews worth watching 
38:17 unschooling: something worth hearing about 
38:55 an encouraging unschooling community 
39:48 thank you for listening!
 
Show Notes
Blog Post
Encouraging Each Other to Do Difficult Things
  
The Homeschooling Global Summit
The Homeschooling Global Summit
My 2020 Summit interview
 
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
My Amazon Author Page
 
 
Where You Can Find Me
My Stories of an Unschooling Family community
Youtube
Sue Elvis
Blogs
Stories of an Unschooling Family
Where the Carol Birds Sing
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so that we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick encouraging review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment.  I hope to see you inside my unschooling community. And if you haven't already seen it, perhaps you'd like to check out my Homeschooling Global Summit interview!