The Unschool Space

I’m so delighted to be talking today with Peter Gray, author and research professor at Boston College. Many of you will have read his wonderful book, Free to Learn, or his regular writing for Psychology Today about children, play and learning. Among many things, we talk today about his experience of self-directed education through his son, what self-directed children are doing that makes their learning so different from what happens in schools, what he learned through his research into unschooled children, and his inspiring vision for learning in the future.  You can find Peter Gray's writing at: Peter Gray Ph.D. | Psychology TodayYou can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest today is Lou Westall, who lives in Brighton, in the UK, (though she was travelling in South Africa when we recorded this episode). Lou and her husband have two daughters, who are 6 and 8. They had never considered home education until their eldest daughter began school, and things just didn’t feel quite, particularly regarding the early approach to academic subjects. After deregistering her from school, they spent a while finding their feet, first trying some school at home, then finally reaching an unschooling way of life. We talk today about the importance of community, how living in partnership with our children is a far more joyful approach to life, and how learning naturally occurs. We also talk about the inevitable challenges and triggers that are likely to come up in anyone’s journey. Connect with Lou on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discovering.wonder/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 Ashley Short. who lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two sons, who are 6 and 9. Ashley is a former teacher, and her family came to unschooling during the pandemic, when her son, who had always found the school environment difficult, refused to engage in any school-like work. Among other things, we talk about prioritising relationships above everything, living a slower, more intentional life, and how we can meet everyone’s needs, including of course, our own. I hope you enjoy the conversation. You can connect with Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyasmama/You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest this episode is Amanda Diekman. Amanda lives in North Carolina with her husband and three sons, who are 6, 8 and 10. Amanda’s journey to unschooling started with her 8 year-old who is autistic, PDA and the reality that school was a difficult and traumatic experience for him. Her 10 year old son, who is also autistic later chose also to leave school. We talk about how we can meet the needs of a PDA child, and how essential it is that we leave behind any mainstream ideas about parenting and education that are unlikely to serve us. Amanda talks us through how adopting low demand parenting has helped both her and her son heal, and about how unschooling looks very different according to each child. You can find out more about Amanda's work at https://www.amandadiekman.netConnect with Amanda on Instagram: @lowdemandamandaYou can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

Today’s conversation is with Emma Hosfeld from Illinois. Emma lives with her husband and three children, who are 7, 5 and 4. Emma traces the roots of her journey to unschooling back to when she was pregnant and the sense of disempowerment she felt within the medical system, and the choices she then made for a more empowered birth experience. She describes how unschooling has affected many areas of her life, and how it has given her the confidence to create a lifestyle that feels authentic to her, from leaving her 9-5 job to building a thriving community around her. Among many things, we talk about how children naturally learn, how to tend their needs and our own, and the huge importance of community. You can connect with Emma on Instagram: @emma_hosfeldEmma also publishes her writing at: growwiththem.substack.comYou can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

Today, I am beyond thrilled to be chatting with Pam Laricchia. Pam lives in Ontario, Canada and has three adult children, who are now 30, 28 and 25, and I came across her website about unschooling, which is called Living Joyfully,  early on in my own journey, when I was still a little shaky. I found her so incredibly warm and reassuring. So, it was such a huge delight to be able to invite her to The Unschool Space and to have this wonderful conversation with her. Pam has written extensively about unschooling, both on her blog, and also in several published books. She also runs a podcast called Exploring Unschooling, and has just begun a new podcast called Living Joyfully. Today, we really talk about what it means to live joyfully and about how the way we live in relationship with others is at the heart of all of this. You can find Pam's work at https://livingjoyfully.caConnect with Pam on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pamlaricchia/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 Lainie Liberti. Lainie is originally from California, but, in 2008, decided to go travelling with her 9-year-old son for a year. She closed the business she had been running for some years and took her son out of school. He is 24 now and they never went back. They’ve travelled extensively, given a Ted talk together on worldschooling, and they now both live in Mexico. Lainie has recently published a book about partnership parenting with teenagers, and she and her son run twice-yearly retreats for teenagers. Today, Lainie shares her experiences of travelling with her son, her realisations around learning and education, and how, as parents, we have the obligation to dig deep into our own conditioning in order to allow our children to be  free to be their authentic selves. And, of course, Lainie shares some of her insights around parenting teenagers. Find out more about Lainie's work here: https://projectworldschool.comTedX talk by Lainie and her son, Miro:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH-kQJ10WWoContact Lainie on Instagram: @ilainieYou can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest today is Marni Kammersel from Boulder, Colorado. Marni lives with her husband and three children, who are 13, 10 and 6. She tells us about her family’s recent transition from an eclectic homeschool style to full-on unschooling, a move inspired by her oldest entering his teens, and her youngest having a huge need for autonomy. We talk about how nuanced some of this shift can be, and how so much of it is more about our intention than what we actually do. She also talks about how dropping time limits on screen use was a major part of this shift, and her observations on how that is playing out with her children. 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 Erin Rosemond in Ontario, Canada. Erin has four children, who are now aged between 17 and 23. Erin came to unschooling when her oldest child reached school age, after connecting with home educating parents and realising that school would be a bad fit for her son. Today we talk about what unschooling looks like as our children get older. How highly individualised it is to each child and their particular interests, and how their own motivation moves them naturally forward on their path. We also talk about our changing roles as parents and what it means to look after ourselves whilst accompanying our children on their journeys.You can follow Erin on Instagram at @_everlearning_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 Katy, who lives in Connecticut with her husband, her five year old son and her two year old daughter. Katy and her family have just started out on their unschooling journey. As a teacher for many years, Katy had frequently felt uneasy about many aspects of mainstream education, but felt she had no other option for her children. When her son began preschool she realised how bad a fit for him school would be and that they had to look at alternatives.   We talk today about how deeply conditioned we are by our time at school, how the school lens can negatively affect how we see and interact with our children, and how unschooling our children can lead us to rediscovering ourselves and living in a more connected way.You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:www.esther-jones.comOr, connect with me onInstagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace