Did you hear the story of the photographer who visited the Grand Canyon and took millions of photos of the awe-inspiring sights, and then later realised that he hadn’t seen a thing despite having his eye glued to his viewfinder the whole time? He retraced his steps, his camera dangling idly by his side, and looked at everything properly. I wonder: do we fail to see the bigger picture when we view the world via our cameras and phones? Perhaps we don’t look carefully and take in what’s before us. We might not breathe deeply and inhale the smells. Are The post Challenging Ourselves to Put Away O ..read more

I have another eyebrow story! Do you remember the last one? Ordinary Frida Kahlo Eyebrow Days was an embarrassing tale about two giant, hairy, black caterpillar brows and a policeman who appeared unexpectedly on my front doorstep. A few days ago, when I arrived at my weekly parish women’s group meeting, I greeted my friend Anabelle, and the first thing she said was: “What do you do to your eyebrows?” My brows? Oh no, did they look bad? I gulped before saying, “I usually dye them, but when the dye begins to fade, I use a brow mascara to darken The post Taking Risks, Looking Strange first appea ..read more

Recently, two of our daughters moved out of home, leaving behind two empty bedrooms, which my husband and I are turning into a study and a studio. For the first time ever, I will have my very own space where I can write, record audio and video, and join in with Zoom calls. For many years, our home was crammed full of children, toys, books, pets, clothes and everything else a family gathers. My kids shared bedrooms, sleeping in bunk beds. They even shared beds, but that was a preference, not a necessity. There was no room for a studio The post An Almost Empty Unschool House first appeared on S ..read more

I used to pride myself on my mental strength. I could cope with anything. Then covid arrived, and the anxiety that I used to hide and ignore shot to the forefront of my life. It had nothing to do with fearing illness. What bothered me was my lack of freedom. Overnight, my life changed. I was no longer in control of what I could do or even say. There were penalties for expressing opinions and resisting the rules. I might have adapted and accepted the new situation if the rules had made sense, but they didn’t. A few years later, The post Too Anxious to Unschool? first appeared on Stories of an ..read more

Do you ever have mixed emotions about big events in your family’s life? A few days ago, my feelings were all over the place. “Today’s an exciting day,” I told two of my daughters on Thursday morning. “I bet you can’t wait to pick up the keys to your new home.” Then, my following words were: “Today is a sorrowful day. How will I survive without you?” As Imogen stretched out her arms to engulf me in a comforting hug, she noticed I was wearing my cardigan inside out. I turned it the right way, saying, “I told you I The post When Children Move Out of an Unschool Home first appeared on Stories of ..read more

Poppy died, and I cried despite not liking the cat. Poppy was a grumpy animal. She was messy and unkempt, preferring not to groom herself. An unpleasant odour followed her wherever she went. We bathed the cat, clipped her long fur, and sprinkled deodoriser all over her body, trying to make her an acceptable family member. She protested. Poppy died, and we no longer have to deal with a messy, unkempt animal. I should have cheered, but I cried. I cried over an unlovable pet. Unlovable: do we sometimes regard our kids as unlovable? Do we fail to accept their The post How to Respond to ‘Unlovabl ..read more

There are so many things we could fear. We might be too afraid to send our kids to school if we listen to the loud voices telling us how bad traditional education is. We might choose homeschooling because of that fear. If we decide to homeschool, we’re still not safe. Fears could follow us. We might be too afraid to trust our kids will learn all they need to know when they need to know it because we’re worried about their futures. We might fear letting go of control. We might fear our kids will get into trouble and make The post Love or Fear? What Guides Our Lives? first appeared on Stories ..read more

Lying in bed, trying to conquer insomnia, I noticed bright intermittent flashes of light illuminating the night sky. I slid from under the quilt, padded to the living room, and peered out the window, trying to locate the source of the light. White, blue, and green electric balls of light, accompanied by loud bangs, were exploding from the power line strung high on the other side of our road. Showers of red embers were falling to the ground. My imagination went wild: what if the explosions caused a fire while the street was asleep? What if our homes burnt down? The post Does Love Keep You Awa ..read more

Quinn barked, alerting me to the policeman striding along the path towards our house. After securing the dog, I opened the front door, my heart racing, my hands shaking, thinking, “The police only make house calls when they’ve bad news to share.” “Have you seen any strangers lurking recently?” the officer asked. “Your neighbour reported some broken windows.” My heart rate slowed as I realised the man was talking about windows and stones and not car accidents and deaths. I hadn’t seen anything or anyone unusual on our quiet road, so I couldn’t help the officer. He left, and I The post Ordinar ..read more

Do you ever look back – a few years, months or even days – at your younger self and wish you could have done better? Perhaps you remember dragon parent days when you failed to be gentle. Could you have said things you now regret? I know I do. Sometimes, I want to go back and put things right. But even if it were possible to retrace my steps, perhaps it’s unnecessary to begin again. Maybe I just need to reassure myself that I did my best at that time. It might not have been what my kids needed, but The post Parenting: Doing Our Inadequate Best first appeared on Stories of an Unschooling Famil ..read more