Okay, so it won’t really be a secret now – but for the past six months it has been. Given that my daughter Katy has barely been able to keep our soon-to-arrive guinea pig a secret for 2 days, I think six months is pretty impressive! Of course, I do have 33 years on her, […]
Radical Unschooling
Farewell, Sweet Cactus
Those of you who checked my status on facebook yesterday have already heard the sad news. Faith’s cactus is now among the dearly departed. Surprisingly, the sad passing of our cactus is not actually a recent event. The plant should have received its last rites and undergone funeral services at least a month ago. But […]
Saying Sorry in Silence
Earlier this week, I had the remarkable experience of seeing how powerfully my own “inner story” affected my daughter, Katy. Yesterday, I had yet another amazing experience: witnessing the power of a silent “I’m sorry”. These days, my son Thomas tends to be the most mellow of my bunch. But yesterday, I could tell something […]
Peaceful Parenting: It’s All in my Head
My daughter Katy reminds me very much of myself. Nowhere is this more apparent than when she has what many people would call a “meltdown”. I remember what it felt like at her age to experience such enormous, strong emotions. Being a “spirited” child, I experienced all of my emotions intensely, including my anger. Back […]
Unschooling: Coping with Critics
My husband, my son, and my mom are truly unschooling enthusiasts, and they love to talk about it with pretty much anybody. Thomas has even been known to start singing its praises to the cashier at the local grocery store! Being an introvert, I find I’m a little more reticent when it comes to sharing […]
Mother-Daughter Relationships
So I planned to write this as a lovely Mother’s Day sentiment, dedicated to my mom. But then I remembered that I have 4 kids and a house virtually buried under mountains of laundry. Luckily, my mom’s birthday is conveniently located about 10 weeks after Mother’s Day. Since I’m generally about 2 months behind in […]
Unschooling: A Man of Few Words
My husband Ted did not come to the unschooling life as quickly or as easily as I did. It was kind of a long road for him, with some serious doubts and struggles along the way. So it’s been very cool to watch as he has become increasingly confident in the unschooling philosophy and his […]
Radical Unschooling: Works in Progress
My daughter Katy has been the subject of many of my radical unschooling posts. That’s because she’s given me plenty of much-needed opportunities to practice my peaceful parenting approach! But make no mistake – by no means is she the only highly spirited child in this family. So today’s post is about a recent struggle […]
Unschooling: Sharing the Power
Power. Such a loaded word. And with power comes the potential for mis-using it. Recently my daughter Katy has been thinking a lot about power. Specifically, she’s been thinking about how much of it she wields. This has made for some interesting dynamics. A few days ago, after an altercation with her younger sister, Katy […]
Unschooling Lessons from Olivia
It’s no secret: I’m a shameless fan of a couple of children’s tv shows. Olivia is one of them. Olivia is a pig with an unschooler’s instincts (although she probably doesn’t know it) surrounded by parents, teachers and friends who are all pretty mainstream. Sometimes the mainstream view gets the limelight (see Say Goodbye to […]