Stories of an Unschooling Family

By Sue Elvis

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 resou... more

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FAQs about Stories of an Unschooling Family:

How many episodes does Stories of an Unschooling Family have?

The podcast currently has 222 episodes available.

Stories of an Unschooling Family episodes:

March 25, 2019149: My Unschooler's Homeschool Registration Visit
This week, I'm sharing details of my daughter Gemma-Rose's homeschool registration visit. I discuss the following questions:
Can registered homeschoolers unschool?
How do we write homeschool plans when we don't know what our unschooling kids will be interested in?
How can we fulfil homeschooling registration requirements without forcing kids to learn things they're not interested in?
Is forced learning real learning?
I also talk about:
How we might be tempted to push our kids to use their talents or extend their interests.
How kids can surprise us. They're often not like us. They do things on their own timetables and not ours.
And I share my latest unschooling book news.

Show Notes
Podcasts
Episode 27: The Tricky Business of Registering an Unschooler as a Homeschooler
Episode 45: How Registered Homeschoolers Can Unschool

Blog Posts
My homeschool registration and record keeping posts

Youtube
Sue Elvis

Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. You could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram!
...more
54min
February 24, 2019148: Our Writing Unrules for Unschoolers
This week, my daughter Imogen and I are chatting about unschool writing. How do unschoolers learn to write? We share my writing unrules which are based on my observations of my children who all love writing.
We talk about:
Imogen's writing story: how she learnt to write, her university degree, how she is turning her passion for writing into YA novels
How free play is the foundation for creative writing
How drawing is a form of writing
How we learn by following someone else's example
How motivation for writing must come from within a child
Books and reading
How English workbooks are unnecessary
The progress of my unschooling books
And lots more!

Show Notes

Imogen Elvis
Website
Write.Rewrite.Read
Youtube
Write. Rewrite. Read
Imogen's novel
The Crystal Tree
Instagram
Write. Rewrite. Read

Podcasts
Homeschool Solutions with Pam Barnhill
Episode 150 of the Exploring Unschooling podcast with Pam Laricchia.

Books and Authors Mentioned
Jackie French
Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
Rick Riordan
Alice in Wonderful by Lewis Carrol

My Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything we talked about in this episode. You could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram!
...more
1h 10min
February 09, 2019147: A Big Chat About Unschooling Teenagers
My daughters Imogen and Sophie join me to talk about unschooling teenagers:
What do teenagers need?
Should parents introduce more structured learning during the high school years?
Or do teenagers need to be free to continue to explore their passions?
What should we do if a teenager doesn't appear to have any particular passions?
What about university?
Do parents keep teenagers safe by keeping a tight hold on them? Is this the responsible thing to do?
Or do we keep teenagers safe by giving them their freedom to discover who they are?
Should parents be friends with their teenagers?
Is it never too late to build close relationships with our teenagers?
Is it essential we do this?
These are just a few of the many questions we discuss during our big chat about unschooling teenagers!

Show Notes

Imogen Elvis
Website
Write.Rewrite.Read
Youtube
Write. Rewrite. Read
Imogen's novel
The Crystal Tree

Sophie Elvis
Instagram
thetechnomaid
tough.turtle
Youtube
Sophie Elvis

My Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything we talked about in this episode. You could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram!
...more
1h 11min
February 01, 2019146: Finding Unschooling in Unexpected Places and Other Things
This week my daughters Imogen and Sophie join me to talk about:
Imogen’s novel ‘The Crystal Tree’ and its sequel ‘The Shattering Song’
YA or Young Adult novels
Imogen’s book review videos
How parents hold the key to a child’s happiness
How some parents push their kids to fulfil their own dreams
The YA novel ‘A Thousand Perfect Notes’
Imogen’s opinion of my first unschooling book ‘Curious Unschoolers’
How we’re getting on with the formatting and publishing of my unschooling book
A progress report for my second unschooling book ‘A Radical Unschool Love’
How Sophie is teaching Imogen photography
The joy of sharing passions
Creativity and learning
How we all have bad days
How our family isn’t perfect
Sophie’s new job
Sophie’s transition from unschooling to structured learning
Sophie’s beta personal training clients
How it can be difficult for parents to accept help and advice from their children
How kids can outlearn their parents

Show Notes

A Novel
A Thousand Perfect Notes by CG Drews

Imogen Elvis
Youtube
Write. Rewrite. Read
Imogen's novel
The Crystal Tree
Instagram
Write. Rewrite. Read
Website
Write. Rewrite. Read

Sophie Elvis
Instagram
thetechnomaid
tough.turtle
Youtube
Sophie Elvis

My Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Or you could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram!
...more
1h 8min
January 05, 2019145: Taking the Unschooling Yeti for a Test Drive
This week, my teenager Sophie joins me to test drive my new Yeti mic! Hopefully, our conversation sounds good!
We talk about:
Sophie's vlogging plans
Encouraging children's ideas
How we shouldn't be afraid to try new things
The temptation to edit our pasts and rewrite our stories
The temptation to delete early blog posts to eliminate our unschooling mistakes
The problem of looking like we've never made any mistakes
How we can impact other people's lives in a positive way
Do I have an online persona?
How we can capture our life stories
How choosing the right gift can make a difference to the receiver's life
Planning our year instead of making New Year's Resolutions
Things I want to achieve in 2019
My unschooling book news
Things Sophie wants to achieve this year

Show Notes

Imogen Elvis
Youtube
Imogen Elvis
Imogen's novel
The Crystal Tree

Sophie Elvis
Instagram
thetechnomaid
tough.turtle
Youtube
Sophie Elvis

My Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily
My Unschooling Newsletter
Subscribe

Philip Mott's Podcast
School's Out

Sallie Borrink's Blog Post
Should Bloggers Edit Their Past

Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Or you could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram!
Perhaps you have a question or topic you'd like me to discuss in a future podcast episode. Please let me know so that I can add it to my planning notes for next year.
...more
54min
December 14, 2018144: Reading Out Loud and a Generous Christmas
This week, I'm answering some questions about reading out loud:
What is our reading out loud process?
Should we have a time (for reading) built into the flow (of our day)?
What if this time crowds out other projects our children are working on individually?
How do we choose books?

I talk about
Why I never enjoyed listening to books being read aloud as a child
How I used to regard reading out loud as the dessert of my kids' education rather than the main course.
How we should move over and let our kids occupy the reader's chair
How we have to be patient while our kids are learning how to read out loud
My reading-out-loud experiment: What happened when I stopped correcting my daughter when she made reading-out-loud mistakes

I also return to the topic of Christmas presents:
Do presents belong only to the commercial side of Christmas or do they have spiritual significance?
Can we tell others to be generous?
Or do we only learn about generosity by experiencing it ourselves?

Show Notes
Blog Posts
Respecting Kids and Christmas Presents
The Reading Out Loud Experiment
A Main Course of Reading Out Loud
Listening

Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Or you could just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram!
Perhaps you have a question or topic you'd like me to discuss in a future podcast episode. Please let me know so that I can add it to my planning notes for next year.
This is my last episode for 2018. I'm taking a break over Christmas. Please join me again in 2019!

Happy Christmas!
...more
44min
December 08, 2018143: Respecting Kids and Christmas Presents
This week, I'm sharing some news about my unschooling book.
I'm also sharing two stories, one about respecting children, and the other about perfect Christmas presents and love.
And I'm discussing the following questions:
Is it the right of every child to be respected?
How do we show respect to children?
Do we sometimes do things for our kids only because we want them to do things for us?
Is it okay to buy and enjoy giving Christmas presents?
Is it okay to look forward to receiving them?
Can choosing and giving presents be an act of love?

Show Notes
Blog Posts
My Perfect Christmas Present Secret
Making an Aussie Bush Christmas Tree

YouTube
Imogen Elvis
Imogen's Christmas Music Playlist

Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Perhaps you have a question or topic you'd like me to discuss. Or just stop by and say hello. And please join me on Instagram!
...more
40min
November 30, 2018142: An Unschooler Talks About Life, Work and Dreams
This week, my teenage daughter Sophie (17) joins me to talk about:
How she balances her busy unschooling life with work
Why it's important to trust kids and not squash their ambitions
Why she is choosing not to go to university
Sophie's dream to be self-employed and how she plans to achieve it
How a lot of people react when they hear Sophie is working full time in a cafe
NaNoWriMo events and making friends
How we need to believe in our kids and cheer them on

Show Notes
Podcasts
Episode 133, A Balanced and Productive Unschool Life
Episode 139, Unschool Socialisation: Making Friends, Being Different

Instagram
Sophie Elvis
thetechnomaid
tough.turtle

Sue Elvis
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything we talked about in this episode. Perhaps you have a question for Sophie. Or you could just stop by and say hello. And join me on Instagram!
...more
1h 16min
November 23, 2018141: When a Child Is No Longer Gripped by a Passion
This week, I'm answering the question: "Have your kids ever been between interests?"
I talk about:
Exciting times when kids are gripped by a passion
Quiet times when they appear to be drifting along
How we can help our kids during quiet times by trusting and strewing
Some strewing ideas

Show Notes
Blog Posts
When Excitement for Learning Appears to Disappear
Regaining Her Enthusiasm for Learning
Preparing our Kids for an Unknown Future: Can We Do It?
What Happened When I Strewed a Painting on the Wall
Unschooling, Strewing, and Unplanning
My Unschool Unplanning Strewing Notebook

Podcasts
Episode 4: Exciting Times, Slow Times, and Unschool Holidays
Episode 83: How to Start a Great Art Conversation

Novel Writing
Camp NaNoWriMo

Coding Lessons
Codecademy

Youtube Exercise Channel
Fitness Blender

My Unschooling Newsletter
Subscribe

Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Perhaps you have a question or topic you'd like me to discuss. Or just stop by and say hello. And join me on Instagram!
...more
28min
November 16, 2018140: Difficult Things
This week, I'm talking about things that are sometimes difficult:
Letting kids do what they want even if there is a risk of failure
Taking risks so that we continue to learn
Not pushing kids to use their talents
Balancing the role of school teacher with that of unschooling father
Talking to reluctant spouses about a desire to unschool
Listening and building up trust
Writing a 50,000-word novel
Losing a child
Reaching out to those who are grieving

Show Notes

Pam Laricchia's Podcast
Exploring Unschooling
Episode 150 of the Exploring Unschooling Podcast: Stories of an Unschooling Family with Sue Elvis

Novel Writing
NaNoWriMo

Instagram
stories_ofan_unschoolingfamily

Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to visit my blog Stories of an Unschooling Family to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Or just stop by and say hello. And join me on Instagram!
...more
55min

FAQs about Stories of an Unschooling Family:

How many episodes does Stories of an Unschooling Family have?

The podcast currently has 222 episodes available.

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