Stories of an Unschooling Family

Stories of an Unschooling Family

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Stories of an Unschooling Family episodes

  • 208: Why This Unschool Mother Doesn’t Care

    Why don’t I care? Is there nothing I care about? Or do I no longer care about the things that could prevent me from doing what I feel called to do? Have you also learnt not to care?

    In episode 208, I share:

    • Additional thoughts about episode 207
    • My new passion for classic cars
    • Why we should take an interest in our kids’ interests even if we don’t think we will like them
    • Why we shouldn’t let other people’s opinions decide how we live our lives
    • A couple of books and a TV show
    • Jumping rope or skipping for exercise
    • How we learn by diving into rabbit holes and having conversations
    • Fabulous ways to learn art history
    • And loads of unschool thoughts about loads of things
    •  

      Show Notes

       

      Podcasts

      Da Ladies Fixing the World podcast

      Virtual Kitchen Table podcast

       

      Books

      Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton

      Practical Theology by Peter Kreeft

       

      TV Series

      Fake or Fortune?

       

      People

      Mel Robbins 

       

      Music

      Camouflage by Joseph O’Brien

       

      Blog Posts

      How to Beat Time Who Jolts Us Forward Without Permission

      Strewing to Share Passions and Keep Our Bonds Strong

       

      My Unschooling Books

      Curious Unschoolers

      Radical Unschool Love

      The Unschool Challenge

      My Amazon Author Page

       

      If You’d Like to Support My Work

      Buy Me a Coffee: Sue Elvis

      Receive access to my password-protected blog posts and my thanks!

       

      My Blog

      Stories of an Unschooling Family

       

       

      1 hr 8 min
    • 207: The Unschool Fangirl Returns

      I’m back and I’m fangirling!

      Will I stay? Will I find a new focus for my podcast? Will I find a co-host? Will I get enough sleep? And who am I fangirling over?

      This week, I’m sharing thoughts on 

      unschooling as a business

      doing things for free

      ageing unschoolers who might have unique skills to offer

      our superpower- unconditional love

      competing and persuading 

      social media

      and lots of other things.

       

      Show Notes 

       

      Websites

      Stories of an Unschooling Family

      Sandra Dodd’s website

      Cecilie Conrad’s website

      Erin’s website, Everlearning

       

      Podcasts

      Da Ladies Fixing the World podcast

      Self Directed podcast

      Virtual Kitchen Table podcast

       

      Unschooling Community

      Virtual Kitchen Table Community


      Book

      From Strength to Strength by Arthur Brooks

       

      Blog Posts

      Why I’m Content to Be a Blogger and Not an Instagram Influencer

      Do You Need to Follow an Older Unschooler? (Part 1)

      Do You Need to Follow an Older Unschooler? (Part 2)

      How to Write a Million Unschool Love Stories

      A Genuine Invitation for Christian Unschoolers

      The Problem with Being Too Nice

       

      If You’d Like to Support My Work

      Buy Me a Coffee: Sue Elvis

      Receive access to my password-protected blog posts and my thanks!

       

       

       

       

      1 hr 1 min
    • 206: A Birthday Chat

      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

       

       

       

      26 min
    • 205: Chatting with My Unschooled Author Daughter

      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!

       

       

       
       

       

      1 hr 8 min
    • 204: Santa, Books and Expectations

      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

      1 hr 10 min
    • 203: Unschooling: Doing What Is Right

      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

      49 min
    • 202: Tough or Unconditional Love?

      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

       

      46 min
    • 201: Unschooling, Drifting, Planning and True Freedom

      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

       

       

       

      38 min
    • 200: Unconditional Love and Parenting

      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

       

       

      46 min
    • 200: Unconditional Love and Parenting
      Recently, from the bottom of the misery pit that I seem to have fallen into, I’ve had doubts about the worth of what I have to say. Blogging and podcasting haven’t seemed important. But despite questioning the value of what I’m sharing, there’s one thing I’m absolutely sure about: kids need unconditional love. Adults do too.
      This episode starts with an extra introductory bit where I share a few personal things and a couple of extra stories. Then I get into the real episode about unconditional love and parenting.
       
      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
      1 hr 8 min

    About Stories of an Unschooling Family

    From the publisher's feed

    Want to know more about unschooling? How about radical unschooling? (It’s not as scary or as wild as some people make out!) Join me as I share ideas, stories, homeschool record-keeping tips and…