radical unschooling

91: How Unschooling is About Being Connected With Our Kids

This week, I discuss the following questions:
How do our children learn right from wrong?
Why is it so important that we are connected with our kids?
Why am I reluctant to ask people to review my children's novels?
Do parents have to be perfect or is there something more important than perfection?
What is a family?
Is my new podcast series idea a good one? Perhaps it's ridiculous!
I tell lots of stories along the way:
Why did I regret crying while I was watching a biology film at school?
Did my husband Andy become a singing superstar with his very own backing group?
Did I used to be a good surgical assistant or did I quake in my boots every time I was asked to help?
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)

89: Saying No and Other Things

This week, I talk about:
Adding joy to a powerless afternoon
Why sometimes it's good to leave our cameras at home when we go out
Social media again
Deciding whether our work is good or not
Allergic cats and daughters
A delicious gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free chocolate tart
How we sometimes need to put our families first and say no
Our unique back-to-school supplies
Buying what our kids need to further their passions
Unschoolers and planning
Listening to Jane Austen
Redwork embroidery
Shakespeare
 
Please visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family.
And join me on my Stories of an Unschooling Family Facebook Page.
 
My children's novel, 'The Angels of Gum Tree Road', is now on Amazon, Kindle, and Lulu. 
 
Podcast music: Twombly 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! 

88: Can We Force Kids to Exercise?

This week, I'm talking about:
What mothers have to do even when the weather is very hot
The place of last resort
Children that don't seem to fit into the world
Earning coffee money
A trap door accident
Father and daughter time
Gym buddies
Video dance workouts
Encouraging kids to exercise
Forcing kids to do things
A perfect subscription for all the family
Christian running music
My Australia Day baby
An unschool science resource
 You can find the show notes on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family.
Please join me on my Stories of an Unschooling Family Facebook Page.
 
My children's novel, 'The Angels of Gum Tree Road', is now on Amazon, Kindle, and Lulu. 
 
Podcast music: Twombly 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! 

87: The Catholic Radical Unschool Cheese and other stories

This week, I answer the following questions:
What is unschooling?
Why is unschooling different from other methods of homeschooling? Could it not be a method at all?
Should we make kids do things they don't want to do? Would that be good for them?
Is there such a thing as providing a too happy life for our kids? Should we get them used to the fact that life in the bigger world won't always be happy?
Are we easily distracted? Have most of us lost the ability to concentrate and do deep work?
Do we need social media? What if we have something we want to share with the world?
Can series such as Downton Abbey lead to some wonderful learning experiences?
Are quiet times valuable and even essential?
What is The Catholic Radical Unschool Cheese?
Can unschooling kids work hard?
Is a parent's attitude important when it comes to chores and other mundane tasks?
What have my children been doing recently?
You can find the show notes on my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family.
Please visit my new blog The Catholic Radical Unschool Cheese.
 
Podcast music: Twombly 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!

84: Are We Living a Second Best Kind of Unschooling Life?

This week, I talk about:
How we can look at both school and unschooling with romantic eyes
Moving to a yurt or a farm or travelling around Australia in a campervan
Our experience on a 100-acre fish farm
What our kids need if they are to be world changers
The latest blog and Elvis news
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! 

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)