Stories of an Unschooling Family

This week, my daughter Imogen and I are chatting about unschool writing. How do unschoolers learn to write? We share my writing unrules which are based on my observations of my children who all love writing. We talk about: Imogen's writing story: how she learnt to write, her university degree, how she is turning her passion for writing into YA novels How free play is the foundation for creative writing How drawing is a form of writing How we learn by following someone else's example How motivation for writing must come from within a child Books and reading How English workbooks are unnecessary The progress of my unschooling books And lots more!   Show Notes   Imogen Elvis Website Write.Rewrite.Read Youtube Write. Rewrite. Read Imogen's novel The Crystal Tree Instagram Write. Rewrite. Read   Podcasts Homeschool Solutions with Pam Barnhill Episode 150 of the Exploring Unschooling podcast with Pam Laricchia.   Books and Authors Mentioned Jackie French Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak Rick Riordan Alice in Wonderful by Lewis Carrol   My 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 we talked about in this episode. You could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram!  

My daughters Imogen and Sophie join me to talk about unschooling teenagers: What do teenagers need? Should parents introduce more structured learning during the high school years? Or do teenagers need to be free to continue to explore their passions? What should we do if a teenager doesn't appear to have any particular passions? What about university? Do parents keep teenagers safe by keeping a tight hold on them? Is this the responsible thing to do? Or do we keep teenagers safe by giving them their freedom to discover who they are? Should parents be friends with their teenagers? Is it never too late to build close relationships with our teenagers? Is it essential we do this? These are just a few of the many questions we discuss during our big chat about unschooling teenagers!   Show Notes   Imogen Elvis Website Write.Rewrite.Read Youtube Write. Rewrite. Read Imogen's novel The Crystal Tree   Sophie Elvis Instagram thetechnomaid tough.turtle Youtube Sophie Elvis   My 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 we talked about in this episode. You could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram!

This week my daughters Imogen and Sophie join me to talk about: Imogen’s novel ‘The Crystal Tree’ and its sequel ‘The Shattering Song’ YA or Young Adult novels Imogen’s book review videos How parents hold the key to a child’s happiness How some parents push their kids to fulfil their own dreams The YA novel ‘A Thousand Perfect Notes’ Imogen’s opinion of my first unschooling book ‘Curious Unschoolers’ How we’re getting on with the formatting and publishing of my unschooling book  A progress report for my second unschooling book ‘A Radical Unschool Love’ How Sophie is teaching Imogen photography The joy of sharing passions Creativity and learning  How we all have bad days How our family isn’t perfect Sophie’s new job Sophie’s transition from unschooling to structured learning Sophie’s beta personal training clients How it can be difficult for parents to accept help and advice from their children How kids can outlearn their parents   Show Notes   A Novel A Thousand Perfect Notes by CG Drews   Imogen Elvis Youtube Write. Rewrite. Read Imogen's novel The Crystal Tree Instagram Write. Rewrite. Read Website Write. Rewrite. Read   Sophie Elvis Instagram thetechnomaid tough.turtle Youtube Sophie Elvis   My 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 you could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram!  

This week, my teenager Sophie joins me to test drive my new Yeti mic! Hopefully, our conversation sounds good! We talk about: Sophie's vlogging plans Encouraging children's ideas How we shouldn't be afraid to try new things The temptation to edit our pasts and rewrite our stories The temptation to delete early blog posts to eliminate our unschooling mistakes The problem of looking like we've never made any mistakes How we can impact other people's lives in a positive way Do I have an online persona? How we can capture our life stories How choosing the right gift can make a difference to the receiver's life Planning our year instead of making New Year's Resolutions Things I want to achieve in 2019 My unschooling book news Things Sophie wants to achieve this year   Show Notes   Imogen Elvis Youtube Imogen Elvis Imogen's novel The Crystal Tree   Sophie Elvis Instagram thetechnomaid tough.turtle Youtube Sophie Elvis   My Instagram stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily My Unschooling Newsletter Subscribe   Philip Mott's Podcast School's Out   Sallie Borrink's Blog Post Should Bloggers Edit Their Past   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 you could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram! Perhaps you have a question or topic you'd like me to discuss in a future podcast episode. Please let me know so that I can add it to my planning notes for next year.

This week, I'm answering some questions about reading out loud: What is our reading out loud process? Should we have a time (for reading) built into the flow (of our day)? What if this time crowds out other projects our children are working on individually? How do we choose books?   I talk about Why I never enjoyed listening to books being read aloud as a child How I used to regard reading out loud as the dessert of my kids' education rather than the main course. How we should move over and let our kids occupy the reader's chair How we have to be patient while our kids are learning how to read out loud My reading-out-loud experiment: What happened when I stopped correcting my daughter when she made reading-out-loud mistakes   I also return to the topic of Christmas presents: Do presents belong only to the commercial side of Christmas or do they have spiritual significance? Can we tell others to be generous? Or do we only learn about generosity by experiencing it ourselves?   Show Notes Blog Posts Respecting Kids and Christmas Presents The Reading Out Loud Experiment A Main Course of Reading Out Loud Listening   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 you could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram! Perhaps you have a question or topic you'd like me to discuss in a future podcast episode. Please let me know so that I can add it to my planning notes for next year. This is my last episode for 2018. I'm taking a break over Christmas. Please join me again in 2019!  Happy Christmas!

This week, I'm sharing some news about my unschooling book. I'm also sharing two stories, one about respecting children, and the other about perfect Christmas presents and love. And I'm discussing the following questions: Is it the right of every child to be respected? How do we show respect to children? Do we sometimes do things for our kids only because we want them to do things for us? Is it okay to buy and enjoy giving Christmas presents? Is it okay to look forward to receiving them? Can choosing and giving presents be an act of love?   Show Notes Blog Posts My Perfect Christmas Present Secret Making an Aussie Bush Christmas Tree   YouTube Imogen Elvis Imogen's Christmas Music Playlist   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 please join me on Instagram!

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!

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!

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!  

This week, I'm talking about unschooling and friends. Is it sometimes difficult for unschoolers to find kindred spirit friends because we're different? What if our kids don't have many friends? If someone doesn't want to be our friend, is there something wrong with us? How do you become a cool kid? Should we pretend to be someone we're not so that we'll be accepted and have friends? Or is it better to be ourselves? Do we need lots of friends in order to learn good communication skills and how to get on with other people?  Or maybe some 'socialised' people who have no trouble talking don't actually have many communication skills? Of course, some unschoolers may be part of big unschooling groups and have no trouble finding like-minded friends! I'm also talking about NaNoWriMo and friends My unschooling book How I stepped outside my comfort zone and had an exciting adventure!   Show Notes   Podcast Episode 48: Do Unschoolers Mind Being Different   Novel Writing NaNoWriMo   Video Gemma-Rose (9) Talks about Novel Writing   Pam Laricchia's Podcast Exploring Unschooling   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!