how children learn

142: An Unschooler Talks About Life, Work and Dreams

This week, my teenage daughter Sophie (17) joins me to talk about:
How she balances her busy unschooling life with work
Why it's important to trust kids and not squash their ambitions
Why she is choosing not to go to university
Sophie's dream to be self-employed and how she plans to achieve it
How a lot of people react when they hear Sophie is working full time in a cafe
NaNoWriMo events and making friends
How we need to believe in our kids and cheer them on
 
Show Notes
Podcasts
Episode 133, A Balanced and Productive Unschool Life
Episode 139, Unschool Socialisation: Making Friends, Being Different
 
Instagram
Sophie Elvis
thetechnomaid
tough.turtle
 
Sue Elvis
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything we talked about in this episode. Perhaps you have a question for Sophie. Or you could just stop by and say hello. And join me on Instagram!

141: When a Child Is No Longer Gripped by a Passion

This week, I'm answering the question: "Have your kids ever been between interests?"
I talk about:
Exciting times when kids are gripped by a passion
Quiet times when they appear to be drifting along
How we can help our kids during quiet times by trusting and strewing
Some strewing ideas
 
Show Notes
Blog Posts
When Excitement for Learning Appears to Disappear
Regaining Her Enthusiasm for Learning
Preparing our Kids for an Unknown Future: Can We Do It? 
What Happened When I Strewed a Painting on the Wall
Unschooling, Strewing, and Unplanning
My Unschool Unplanning Strewing Notebook
 
Podcasts
Episode 4: Exciting Times, Slow Times, and Unschool Holidays
Episode 83: How to Start a Great Art Conversation
 
Novel Writing
Camp NaNoWriMo
 
Coding Lessons
Codecademy
 
 Youtube Exercise Channel
Fitness Blender
 
My Unschooling Newsletter
Subscribe
 
Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Perhaps you have a question or topic you'd like me to discuss. Or just stop by and say hello. And join me on Instagram!

140: Difficult Things

This week, I'm talking about things that are sometimes difficult:
Letting kids do what they want even if there is a risk of failure
Taking risks so that we continue to learn
Not pushing kids to use their talents
Balancing the role of school teacher with that of unschooling father
Talking to reluctant spouses about a desire to unschool
Listening and building up trust
Writing a 50,000-word novel
Losing a child
Reaching out to those who are grieving
 
Show Notes
 
Pam Laricchia's Podcast
Exploring Unschooling
Episode 150 of the Exploring Unschooling Podcast: Stories of an Unschooling Family with Sue Elvis
 
Novel Writing
NaNoWriMo
 
Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Or just stop by and say hello. And join me on Instagram!
 

138: Is Unschooling More Than a Method of Homeschooling?

This week, I'm discussing the question: Is unschooling a method of homeschooling? Or is there more to unschooling than that? Could it be a way of life?
I'm sharing and discussing a story, Why Unschooling Isn't Just Another Method of Homeschooling
I'm also talking about
the issue of unlimited screen time again
criticism and the power of love
how can we encourage kids to become the people they are meant to be?
 
Show Notes
 
Blog Post
Why Unschooling Isn't Just Another Method of Homeschooling
 
Podcast
Episode 70: Trust, Respect and Love Unconditionally
 
Article
 Unschooling 101 by Bridget Bentz Sider:
 
Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Or just stop by and say hello!

132: When an Unschooler Isn't Interested in Maths

This week, I'm sharing and discussing the post When an Unschooler Isn't Interested in Maths. It's the promised update to my daughter Gemma-Rose's unschooling maths story. 
Also, I have a maths resource to share.
And I tell a couple of stories. One involves a huge kangaroo and the other ponders the questions: What is success? How do we measure it?
 
Show Notes
Blog Post
When an Unschooler Isn't Interested in Maths
 
Maths Youtube Channel
Eddie Woo
 
My Youtube Channel
Sue Elvis
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. 
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Or just stop by and say hello!
 

131: Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case

This week, I'm sharing a story called Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case. And I'm discussing the main points in it.
Is it sensible to make all kids learn maths just in case they might need it?
What if kids need maths to go to university?
What if they decide they want to go to school?
 
Show Notes
 
Blog post
Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case
 
Videos
Are You a Curious Unschooler?
What Will You Strew Today?
 
Youtube channel
Sue Elvis
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. 
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Or just stop by and say hello!

130: Are You a Curious Unschooler?

This week, I'm sharing a story called Are You a Curious Unschooler?
I'm also discussing the following questions:
Is everyone curious?
Or can we lose our curiosity?
Can we strew verbally?
Do we have to be good examples of learning for our kids?
Does our curiosity make homeschool recordkeeping easier?
How can we unschool and also be registered homeschoolers?
 
Show Notes
 
Podcast
Episode 58: Responding to Unschooling and Other Critics
 
Blog posts
Are You a Curious Unschooler?
Saying Yes: Unschool Bits and Pieces
 
A Resource
The House with Annabel Crabb
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. 
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Or just stop by and say hello!
 

120: Unschooling and University: Learning from Our Own Experiences

This week, I'm sharing my husband Andy's and my university experiences, and what we learnt from them:
 
The Opportunity to Discover, the Freedom to Learn
My Dean's Medallist of a Husband
 
I discuss the following questions:
 
Can unschooled children study successfully at university?
What is the best motivation for successful learning?
Should unschooling teenagers be allowed to continue exploring their interests?
Or should we structure their education in the final years so that they are prepared for university?
Is it ever too late to follow our dreams?
Is it ever too late to learn new skills?
 
Something I didn't mention: If a child knows what she wants to do, making a plan in order to achieve that goal seems to be a sensible thing to do. My daughter Imogen made a plan for getting into university. And it was successful.
 
My Youtube Videos:
Imogen Talks About Unschooling
From Unschooling to University and Work (Part 1)
From Unschooling to University and Work (Part 2)
 
Unschooling and university is a big topic. I didn't cover all aspects of it in this podcast, but maybe I offered a few ideas we can discuss.
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment on today's episode. Or just stop by to say hello!
 
Podcast music: Twombly by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
 

116: Why it's Important to Allow Kids to Follow Their Passions and Interests

 
This week, I'm discussing the following questions:
Does planning have any place in unschooling?
Can we make attractive planners using Evernote?
Will I continue my Evernote workshop series?
How does balance fit into an unschooling life?
Why is it very important that we let our kids follow their passions and interests?
Is it okay to acknowledge our kids' talents?
Can we praise our kids?
Are we obliged to develop and use our own talents?
Can reality, lifestyle and documentary TV series provide us with lots of wonderful learning experiences?
How do we make homeschool record notes about TV shows we've watched?
 
Show Notes
 
My Evernote workshop series
50 Coloured Evernote Background Note Templates (to download)
Evernote and homeschool record keeping
My unschooling book series
Are We Incomplete Without Our Interests and Passions?
Should Unschooled Kids Live Balanced Lives? 
Unschooling Sausages
The Big Painting Challenge (episodes available on Youtube at time of posting)
Blog posts about The Big Painting Challenge
Imogen Elvis on Youtube
 
Podcast music: Twombly by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider writing a review and sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment on today's episode. Or just stop by to say hello!
 
 

114: All About Strewing

This week, I'm sharing and chatting about two strewing stories: 
Time for Some Strewing
What to Do When Strewing is Rejected
 
I discuss the following questions:
What is strewing?
When do we need to do it?
How do we do it?
And what if our kids reject our strewing?
 
Show Notes
Blog post: Unplanning Notebooks for Strewing and Unschool Record-Keeping
Podcast episode 82: How to Start a Great Art Conversation
Blog post: What Happened When I Strewed a Painting on the Wall
My unschooling book series
 
Podcast music: Twombly by Podington Bear, (CC BY-NC 3.0)
 
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider writing a review and sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment on today's episode. Or just stop by to say hello!