The Unschool Space

I am very happy to be chatting in this episode with Shannon Stolz from Texas. Shannon has four children who are now all in their 20s. Shannon describes how in their early years, as their dad wasn’t yet onboard with unschooling, they would have some days that were more traditional school at home, and others that were self-directed. Shannon could see how different these experiences were for all of them, and finally, when her oldest daughter was 13, they just embraced unschooling. Among lots of things, we talk about navigating this with a skeptical partner, the importance of relationship, and about all the golden threads that weave through our children’s lives. And how sometimes we only notice them when we look back. Connect with Shannon on InstagramYou can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

INTROI'm chatting in this episode with Pat Farenga from Massachusetts. Pat is the father of three now adult unschooled daughters, and he worked with the late John Holt—the New York Educator who coined the term unschooling and wrote several books about learning. Pat worked with him on his magazine Growing Without Schooling and continued the magazine for many years after John Holt passed. We chat about his experiences with John Holt, how unschooling looked back in the '70s and '80s and how things have and haven’t changed in the last 50 years.Connect with Pat at https://www.johnholtgws.com/who-was-john-holtPat mentions the following educators and authors in this episode:John Holt, author of How Children Fail, How Children Learn, Learning All The Time, Teach Your Own, Instead of EducationIvan Illich, author of Deschooling SocietyJohn Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down, Weapons of Mass InstructionSugata Mitra, TedX talk School in the CloudYou can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

In this episode, I'm chatting with Rose from Oxfordshire in the UK. Rose lives with her husband and her six-year-old son who is Autistic PDA. They chose not to send him to school, realising that it was just not an environment that could work for him. Rose talks about how life unfolds for them at home and what socialising and learning look like, the value of being able to go at their own rhythms, and the huge importance of placing connection at the centre of everything. And, Rose describes how she supports Leo when things feel particularly challenging for him. Follow Rose on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unschoolingwithpda/You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest today is Coralie who lives in Cambridgeshire with her partner and two children who are 9 and 5. Coralie’s own experiences of school made her realise that life and learning need to feel meaningful and driven by our own unique passions and interests not by external requirements. That, coupled with her son’s diagnosis of Autism and PDA, led her family first to a Steiner school and then to unschooling. Coralie describes what unschooling looks like for her family, how they work together as a family to try to meet everyone’s needs, and what community looks like for them. And just to let you know that Coralie’s family dog is with us for the first ten minutes and giving his two cents in case you are wondering what the sound is. I hope you enjoy the conversation. Connect with Coralie on InstagramYou can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest today is April Scully. April is a former teacher, who is originally from Toronto but now lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children who are 6 and 9. We talk about how doing well at school doesn’t necessarily help us know who we are or what we want to do, and what it is to have the time and space to explore our passions. And we chat about what that means for us and the impact that unschooling has on our own lives, from taking better care of ourselves to following our own interests. Connect with April (@modern.homeschoolers)InstagramFacebookhttps://modernhomeschoolers.comIn this episode, April mentions: Life Without School podcast Blog post in Zen Habits You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

Today I’m chatting with Helen Stuart of Rochdale in the UK. Helen lives with her husband and between them have six children. Although the older five children had challenges at school, it wasn’t until their 7-year-old daughter who is Autistic PDA was born, that they considered taking a different path. We talk about how essential it is for children to feel safe and regulated in order to engage freely with life, what learning looks like when we take a low-demand approach to life, and why co-regulation and modelling are so important.Connect with Helen on InstagramYou can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest today is Alice Bramhill, a psychotherapist from Nottingham in the UK, who lives with her husband and two sons who are ten and 13. They went to mainstream school until six years ago, then after trying a Steiner school for six months, finally left the school system altogether. We talk today about how unravelling our own stories is an essential part in all of this. And, about how, if we want our children to be free to live into their whole selves, then we have to allow them to have agency, which means learning to trust them and to trust ourselves. I hope you enjoy the conversation. Connect with Alice on InstagramYou can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

Today, I’m chatting with Nicole Vito who lives in California with her husband and 6-year-old daughter. Nicole describes how she began to question how we rush children when her daughter was just two, realising that everything that needed to happen did happen when her daughter was ready and allowed to go at her own pace. In her professional work as a psychologist, Nicole was also noticing how many of her clients who suffered from depression or anxiety seemed to have lost their connection to themselves, with them often pinpointing to a time in their childhood. We talk about how unschooling can help our children stay authentic to themselves and often lead us back ourselves too. I hope you enjoy the conversation.Connect with Nicolehttp://drnicolevitoclinicalpsychologist.com/https://www.drnicolevitoclinicalpsychologist.comInstagram @selfdirectedmamaYou can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest today is Lizzie, who lives with her husband and three children, aged 8, 9 and 12  in Hampshire in the UK. Lizzie’s family came to unschooling three years ago when their youngest son, who is diagnosed Autistic PDA was in burnout after a very difficult time at school. Now, both her sons are unschooled, whilst their daughter has chosen to stay at school. Among lots of things, we talk about how difficult and liberating it is to challenge our old conditioning and all the shoulds that we have in our heads and Lizzie shares how this way of life was key to her son’s recovery from burnout. She also tells us what community and learning look like in her family and what it means to always be looking for the joy in everyday life.Connect with LizzieInstagram www.instagram.com/lizziepb1You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

Today I'm chatting with Melissa Crockett-Joyoue from New Zealand. Melissa was on the podcast about two years ago, so it’s great to catch up with her again. Melissa and her partner have two neurodivergent children, who are now 6 and 9 and they came to unschooling after their son had an extremely challenging time at school. We talk particularly about the challenges of learning beyond school when that is never how you expected life to look, the importance of being able to regulate our own nervous systems, particularly when we have a PDA child or one who struggles to self regulate, and how essential it is to have a supportive community. And we also talk about Weave, the wonderful online community that Melissa runs for unschooling parents of neurodivergent children. Weave community link Weave InstagramConnect with Melissa on Instagram You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace