Today, on my birthday, I’m chatting about ageing, experimenting, taking risks, encouraging others, and other things. 

Show Notes

I mentioned:

The Self Directed podcast with the Conrads

Episode 65 of the Self Directed podcast: Sue Elvis / Stories of an Unschooling Family 

The Unschooling Together community

Podcast episode 3, Getting Older, Admitting One’s Age, Lines and Wrinkles

The Video Version of this episode on YouTube 

My Unschooling Books

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

The Unschool Challenge: Kindle

The Unschool Challenge: paperback 

My Amazon Author Page

Where You Can Find Me

Unschooling Community

The Unschooling Together community

Youtube

Sue Elvis

Blogs

Stories of an Unschooling Family

Wholy Souly

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily/stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

I’m back with my author daughter Imogen!

In this episode, we’re chatting about…

• Writing and how Imogen is promoting and selling her YA novels
• Collaboration and how we achieve more when we work together
• The ups and downs of social media

We also share some news and tell a couple of stories, including the one about my frightening Frida Kahlo eyebrows!

Show Notes

We mentioned

The Virtual Kitchen Table podcast

The Self Directed podcast with the Conrads

The Unschooling Together community

The Christian Unschooling group and Zoom discussions within the Unschooling Together community.

Writing podcasts with Imogen: episodes 181 and 183

My Unschooling Books

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

My Amazon Author Page

Where You Can Find Me

Unschooling Community

The Unschooling Together community

Youtube

Sue Elvis

Blogs

Stories of an Unschooling Family

Wholy Souly

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily/stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

Where You Can Find Imogen

Blog

Write.Rewrite.Read

Instagram

write.rewrite.read

Youtube

Imogen Elvis

Books

The Crystal Tree

The Shattering Song

Frost Hands

Thank you for listening to this episode!

This week, I’m talking about:

Desires and Expectations

Are desires good? Are expectations about control? Can our expectations spoil our family celebrations?

Challenges

Should we give our kids space to set their own challenges? Do we need to challenge ourselves too?

Books

Do people judge us on our book choices? Can sharing the books we’re reading lead to some stimulating unschooling conversations?

The Santa Myth

Is it wrong to pretend Santa brings gifts to our kids? Is that lying? Should we eliminate Santa from our Christmas celebrations? Or is it possible to include the magic of Santa with the true meaning of the season?

2023

What were the highs and lows of my year? Does blogging about our kids lead to problems? Should adults make time for their passions and interests? Can we feel lost when our kids grow up? How do we move on? What do we do while we’re working out what to do next? Is it important we’re successful in a big way?

Stories

I’m sharing a story about books, people’s opinions, and the difficulties of parenting: Is it Risky to Share Our Book Collections? What Will People Think?

I’m also sharing a story about the Santa myth and family traditions from my book, The Unschool Challenge.

Please visit my blog, Stories of an Unschooling Family, to leave a comment or say hello.

This is my last episode for 2023. Thank you for listening. I hope you have a very happy Christmas!

My Unschooling Books

The Unschool Challenge: Kindle

The Unschool Challenge: paperback

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

My Amazon Author Page

This week, I’m talking about right and wrong…

If we think something is right, should we do it? Do we have to push through any difficulties we might encounter? Perhaps we can’t give up unless we’re willing to do something we know is wrong. And if we do that, we won’t feel at peace.

The big question is: is unschooling the right thing to do? If it is, we shouldn’t be concerned about the future. Whatever happens, regardless of the outcome, we’ll know we did what we should have done. 

Also, how do kids learn right from wrong if we always love them regardless of their behaviour? Are the critics right? Are unschooling parents irresponsible? Or do our strong connections allow us to guide our kids?

I have lots of stories and comments to share with you!

Show Notes

Please visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family, to read my blog post, Unschooling: Doing What Is Right. It contains this episode’s show notes!

My Unschooling Books

The Unschool Challenge: Kindle

The Unschool Challenge: paperback

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

My Amazon Author Page

Do good parents stay firmly in control of their children, demanding obedience, good behaviour and respect? Do they practise tough love? Or are there problems with this method of parenting? Is there some other way of raising kids to be good people who want to do what is right? Is it okay to parent with unconditional love?

This week, I’m sharing a few stories on this topic. I also have a request or plea for help.

Show Notes

Please visit my blog, Stories of an Unschooling Family, to read my post,  Tough or Unconditional Love?Parent or Friend?  It contains today’s show notes.

My Unschooling Books

The Unschool Challenge: Kindle

The Unschool Challenge: paperback

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

My Amazon Author Page

Is unschooling about drifting aimlessly through each day?

Do unschoolers waste time? Or do they live intentionally responding to their needs and making sure they achieve the things that are relevant and important to them?

Do unschoolers direct their lives instead of letting life direct them? Is that the meaning of true freedom?

Does the word ‘planning’ have a place in unschooling?

This week, I’m discussing these questions and more while telling a few stories.

Show Notes

Please visit my blog, Stories of an Unschooling Family, to read my post,  Do Unschoolers Drift Aimlessly Through Each Day? It contains today’s show notes.

My Unschooling Books

The Unschool Challenge: Kindle

The Unschool Challenge: paperback

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

My Amazon Author Page

It is what it is. An interesting episode or not. I don’t suppose it matters. All that’s important is love.

Show Notes

Please visit my blog, Stories of an Unschooling Family, to read my post, Preventing Childhood Trauma with Unconditional Love. It contains today’s show notes.

My Unschooling Books

The Unschool Challenge: Kindle

The Unschool Challenge: paperback

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

My Amazon Author Page

Is it irresponsible to trust and unschool teenagers? When unschoolers reach the teenage years, is it time for something else? Or could unschooling be exactly what our older kids need? Could it keep them safe?

This week, I’m discussing these questions and more, sharing lots of thoughts, stories and resources.

Show Notes

Please visit my blog, Stories of an Unschooling Family, to read my post,  Could Unschooling Be Exactly What Teenagers Need to Do? It contains today’s show notes.

My Unschooling Books

The Unschool Challenge: Kindle

The Unschool Challenge: paperback

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

My Amazon Author Page

Should children be responsible for their own educations? Or is that an irresponsible idea?

This week, I’m exploring lots of questions including:

Is learning an active activity that needs the learner’s cooperation?
Is it impossible to force knowledge into a child without resorting to teaching methods that ultimately destroy their natural love of learning?

Is forced learning real learning?

Is it better to unschool and let children learn what’s important to them?

But if we choose unschooling, will our kids, one day, accuse us of side-stepping our duty and not providing them with a good education?

Show Notes

Please visit my blog, Stories of an Unschooling Family, to read my post, Who Should Be Responsible for a Child’s Education, the Parent or the Child? It contains today’s show notes.

My Unschooling Books

The Unschool Challenge: Kindle

The Unschool Challenge: paperback

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

My Amazon Author Page

Is unschooling about staying in bed late, spending lazy days in the forest, and baking cookies?  Or is there more to unschooling than that? What does a typical unschooling day look like? Will it be different in different families? Will it change over time? Whatever it looks like, will it always be packed with deep learning, the kind that matters and makes a difference?

I discuss these questions and more in episode 197.

Show Notes

Please visit my blog, Stories of an Unschooling Family, to read my post, What Do Unschoolers Do Each Day? It contains today’s show notes.

My Unschooling Books

The Unschool Challenge: Kindle

The Unschool Challenge: paperback

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

My Amazon Author Page

Are kids more likely to suffer mental health problems if they experience excessive control?

Could video games provide safe spaces for kids to retreat to when life becomes too difficult?

If we insist kids leave their games and they get upset, could it be the real world that we’re forcing them to return to that’s the problem and not the video games?

And if kids do have genuine trouble handling games and protest loudly when we take them away, how will they learn to deal with their feelings if they’re not allowed to play?

I discuss these questions and more in episode 196.

Show Notes

Please visit my blog, Stories of an Unschooling Family, to read my post, Video Games, Control, Mental Health and Freedom. It contains today’s show notes.

My Unschooling Books

The Unschool Challenge: Kindle

The Unschool Challenge: paperback

Curious Unschoolers: Kindle

Curious Unschoolers: paperback

Radical Unschool Love: Kindle

Radical Unschool Love: paperback

My Amazon Author Page