Episodes

This week I’m sharing part six of the audiobook edition of my book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. Last week, we covered stages ten, eleven, and twelve, ultimately reaching the holy grail of our quest: unschooling with confidence and grace. Let’s do a quick review to set the stage for the final leg of our journey. In Stage Ten, Accepting Others Where They Are, we ask ourselves, who still holds power over us? Why do we continue to engage with them on the see-saw of resisting their cont...

This week I’m sharing part five of the audiobook edition of my book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. Last week, we covered stages eight and nine. And while our deschooling story to that point was working through much of the nuts and bolts of unschooling, in stages eight and nine we begin the personal growth and transformation aspects of our journey in earnest. In Stage Eight, Accepting the Value of All Experiences, we come to recognize the connections between the ups and downs of life a...

This week I’m sharing part four of the audiobook edition of my book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. Last week, we entered the deschooling phase of our journey and found ourselves on the aptly named road of trials: a series of tests and challenges that the hero faces as they begin this personal transformation in earnest. On our unschooling journey, this is when we find ourselves challenging so many of our existing beliefs around learning and parenting. And these areas are distinct and me...

This week I’m sharing part 3 of the audiobook edition of my book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. One thing I love about looking at our unschooling lives through this lens is how intimately it connects us to the human journey, which can help us feel less alone. Recognizing that yes, other people really do go through these stages and struggles and they come out the other side. We will too, even if we don’t yet know how our particular path may unfold. It’s fascinating how universally human...

This week, I’m sharing part two of the audiobook edition of my book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. Inspired by Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey framework, The Unschooling Journey is a weave of myths, contemporary stories, and tales from my journey. It’s not a “how to” book—no two paths through the world of unschooling have the same twists and turns—yet having a general sense of where you are on your journey can bring valuable insight as you navigate the challenges that will inevitably...

This week, I’m sharing part one of the audiobook edition of my book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. Published in 2018, here’s a bit of the description: Inspired by Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey framework, The Unschooling Journey is a weave of myths, contemporary stories, and tales from Pam’s journey. It’s not a “how to” book—no two paths through the world of unschooling have the same twists and turns—yet having a general sense of where you are on your journey can bring valuable ins...

My son Michael joins me this week to talk about his experience growing up unschooling! We had a lot of fun diving into his varied interests, the threads that weave through them, and how they have helped shape the person he is today. We also talk about his experience with type 1 diabetes and our unschooling approach, he shares what he appreciates about growing up unschooling, and lots more! Questions for Michael Can you share with us a bit of an introduction? As you were growing up unschooling,...

This episode was first shared in November of 2017, and I want to share it again now as the Black Lives Matter movement gains important momentum to bring Erika’s valuable experience and insights about diversity and racism through the lens of unschooling back into our conversations. Erika and her husband, Michael have four adult children—they unschooled for many years and loved it. She has spoken at many unschooling conferences over the years and in our conversation we talk about the value of dig...

The idea with the unschooling in context episodes is to deepen our understanding of unschooling by exploring it in the context of other, related things. In this episode, we dive into unschooling in the context of parenting and examine some of the paradigm shifts around parenting and parent/child relationships that are integral to helping unschooling thrive in our families. I had to think about it a bit to choose how I wanted to represent the relationship between parenting and unschooling in the...

This week, I’ve put together a compilation episode! This time, the lens is on parenting and the shift away from control and toward connection and engagement with our kids. I think you’ll get a lot out of this deep dive. Audio clips taken from these episodes … EU027: Ten Questions with Teresa Graham Brett EU084: Enjoy Parenting with Scott Noelle EU111: Ten Questions with Jan Fortune EU113: Deschooling with Megan Valnes EU186: Sparkle and Zest and Unschooling with Teresa Hess EU202: Unschooling a...

Pam Sorooshian is a veteran unschooling mom of three now adult daughters. Originally broadcast as the second episode of the podcast, I wanted to bring this gem back into the light! In our conversation, Pam shares so many incredible insights from her experience. She talks about the early years of unschooling, tips on navigating sibling conflicts and reluctant spouses, how she worked through her bias against TV by exploring her husband’s love for it, and we also dive into her well-known essay, ‘E...

This week, I’m sharing the third and final part of the audiobook recording of my book, Free to Learn: Five Ideas for a Joyful Unschooling Life. This episode dives into the fourth and fifth ideas: instead of ‘no’ and living together. If you haven’t read it yet, this is an opportunity to learn more about the paradigm-changing ideas that I found to be truly fundamental on my unschooling journey. And if you have read it, I think it’ll still be wonderful to revisit. You’re in a different place on y...

This week, I’m sharing part two of the audiobook recording of my book, Free to Learn: Five Ideas for a Joyful Unschooling Life. This episode dives into the second and third ideas: that learning is everywhere and that choices are key to learning. If you haven’t read it yet, this is an opportunity to learn more about the paradigm-changing ideas that I found to be truly fundamental on my unschooling journey. And if you have read it, I think it’ll still be wonderful to revisit. You’re in a differe...

For the next while, I’m doing something a little different on the podcast. With many people sheltering in place worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s become increasingly challenging to arrange interviews. At first that seemed curious because people are connecting online even more so during these uncertain times. But as I thought more about the things I was seeing, it made so much sense. Personal circumstances are changing so quickly right now that guests have been needing to reschedu...

Liz Brady joins me this week to share some of her family’s unschooling stories. Liz and her husband live with their four boys in Western Australia. We dive into how she discovered unschooling, her parenting journey, and the gift of sharing her life with so many unique and dynamic personalities. The love and joy shines through in every story! If you are looking for the Top Real Estate Agents in Canada, in getagent.ca you can find all what you need. Questions for Liz Can you share with us a bit ...

Fiona Munday joins me this week. Fiona and her husband live with their 4.5-year-old son in New Zealand and she dove into researching unschooling when her son was a baby. We have fun exploring her journey and she shares some of the wonderful insights and a-ha moments she’s already experienced—including applying the same principles to the adults in the family! Questions for Fiona Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What is everybody interested in right now? How did you discove...

Eva Whipple joins me this week! With children ages four and two, she and her husband have always known that they wouldn’t send their kids to school. We have a wonderful conversation diving into their journey, how she discovered unschooling, what their days look like, how capable and emotionally intelligent their children are, and how they are thriving in their loving environment. Questions for Eva Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What is everybody interested in right now? ...

This week’s episode is a special one for me. For a few months now, I’ve been percolating lots of thoughts and possibilities around building an engaging and supportive online unschooling community. Finally, it’s HERE! And Anna Brown is an integral part of it all, taking on the role of Community Advocate. We are well into our “soft opening,” things have been going swimmingly, and we are so excited to open it up to anyone who is interested! Anna joins me this week to talk about how the Living Joyfu...

Tara McGovern Dutcher joins me to talk about neurodiversity, how we are all unique in our experience of the world, and how unschooling creates an amazing environment from which our individual gifts can shine. Questions for Tara Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What is everyone into right now? How did you discover unschooling and what did your family’s move to unschooling look like? I’d love to hear more about your journey around neurodiversity. How do you define it and w...

Susan Bhadury, an unschooling mom with two children, joins me this week. She shares some wonderful stories and insights as we dive into deschooling challenges, the joys of technology, helping our children follow their inner compass, how curiosity weaves its way through their lives, and lots more! Questions for Susan Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What is everyone into right now? How did you discover unschooling and what did your family’s move to unschooling look like? ...

For any parents who find themselves at home with the kids during these uncertain times, Anna Brown and I dive into the value of using this time to embrace and strengthen our relationships with our children, tips for navigating sibling conflicts, and some ideas to get your brainstorming juices flowing for fun things to do at home! Discussion topics Acknowledging the challenge and stress of these uncertain times Embracing relationships over “being productive” Letting kids be themselves Navigat...

Jayn Coburn joins me this week to talk about her experience growing up unschooling. Her mom, Robyn, joined me back in 2017 so it was great to connect with Jayn! She openly shares her unschooling experience and insights. We talk about video games, learning, food controls, and touch many of the big topics that come up for families new to unschooling. It’s wonderful to hear her perspective and see how unschooling has influenced her life. Questions for Jayn Can you share with us a bit about you and...

Jason and Kim Kotecki are back! We had a great time catching up and hearing about what’s going in their unschooling lives. I love Jason’s new book, ‘A Chance of Awesome: How Changing the Way You See Changes Everything’ and found so many parallels to our unschooling lives. The lens of unschooling changes how we see things and that changes everything! Questions for Jason and Kim Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What is everyone into right now? You shared your journey to uns...

Nikki Zavitz joins me this week to talk about her deschooling journey. She talks about how her life as a teacher influenced her decision to unschool, and how it also created challenges in her deschooling journey. She shares stories from what she calls the “messy middle,” and the beautiful moments that come alive everyday, and the deep connections she has with her girls and her husband as they move through this life together. Questions for Nikki Can you share with us a bit about you and your fam...