Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Why it is that some children love learning and mine is continuing to struggle? Is it possible to leave behind arguing and fighting and learn how to focus on my child’s strengths? If so, I’d like to invite you to the Parenting Your Learning Challenged Child Telesummit, an […]
The Day Durinda Disappeared…The Story Behind My Latest Book
I was four years old when my baby brother entered the world and took center stage in my family – or at least, that was how I felt. Until then, everything I’d said and done had been noticed – celebrated even. Suddenly, my accomplishments were old hat, and all eyes were focused on this small, […]
The John Holt Captioning Project: You Can Help!
If you’ve been part of the unschooling world for a while, the name John Holt is one you will recognize. Holt’s research and published works are a cornerstone of the unschooling movement. Today, Pat Farenga continues Holt’s important work at johnholtgws.com. Recently, Pat has teamed up with Mike Ridgway to implement an exciting new project […]
Let Your Voice Be Heard
As you quite likely already know, there’s no “one size fits all” to unschooling. Different families practice it in different ways. For those of you living in the UK, there is a wonderful opportunity coming up to share your unique voice about unschooling. Kate Graham, a journalist, will be reporting on the rise of radical […]
The Story Behind the Santa Secret
One muggy July evening my eleven-year old son surprised me with a question. “Is Santa real, Mommy?” he asked, with saucer-big eyes. The question itself wasn’t all that surprising. I’d known for quite a while that he was getting ready to say goodbye to that magical part of his childhood. The previous Christmas, his letter […]
The Santa Secret
Last year. Christmastime. My oldest son, nearly 11, was wavering in his beliefs about Santa. Dear Santa, he wrote, It’s getting harder to believe, but I’m trying to have faith. I was pretty sure this was the last Christmas he’d be able to hang on to the magic of Santa. But what then? How would […]
Parenting: A Sky-Diving Kind of Adventure
Several years back, when my youngest was still an infant, we had a mother’s helper with a thrill-seeking streak. Her dearest wish was to experience sky diving. One morning, she practically floated in the door. “I’m doing it! I’m going skydiving this weekend!” she announced. My pint-sized compatriots couldn’t wait to hear how it went. […]
An Open Letter to the Schoolchildren in my Homeschooled Kids’ Lives
My children have been unschooling for five years now. In many ways, our experience has been quite different from those who take a more traditional homeschooling approach. But there’s one thing that homeschoolers of every sort have in common… being misunderstood by the mainstream From the age-old socialization question to worries about how our kids […]
On Unschooling and Math
My oldest, Thomas, has just entered sixth grade – at least, according to the public school that oversees our unschooling adventure. The last time he had anything remotely resembling a formal math lesson was when he was five years old, and I was still in my “we’re doing things exactly like school, but in a […]
The Art of the (Im)Possible
I read an article lately that really resonated with some of my own recent experiences. It had to do with taking our children’s dreams seriously, and resisting the temptation to meet those ideas with our own sensible, grown-up feedback. This is easier said than done, I tell you. Thank goodness we get lots of opportunities […]