Episodes

Amy Milstein’s two children have grown up unschooling. Last year, her eldest decided she wanted to go to college. We dive into how they handled the legalities of unschooling in New York, her daughter’s journey to college, and the lovely flow of their unschooling days along the way. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did! Questions for Amy Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What did your family’s move to unschooling look like? Your family lives in New York state...

Anna Brown joins me this week to dive into listener questions! Question Summaries Mom hears many parents on the podcast talking about hanging out with their kids so much more now that they’re unschooling. But since she stopped limiting screen time back in January, her boys, 15, 13, and 10, play online games. Her question: “Will they ever stop playing computer games so we can hang out together?!!! Nothing is as enticing as disappearing off into a fantasy land with their mates online ALL day. I f...

Sue Patterson joins me this week to dive into five popular unschooling memes. Memes can be quick, inspirational pick-me-ups, but we don’t need to stop there—we can use them as a springboard to learn more about both ourselves and unschooling. It’s so worth doing the work. The five popular memes we discuss 1. “You cannot raise your children as your parents raised you, because your parents raised you for a world that no longer exists.” 2. “Not every place you fit in is where you belong.” 3. “I d...

Amy Martinez joins me this week to talk about her family’s move to unschooling. Amy is a mother of five, who range in age from 15-29. They had time in public school, homeschooling, and ultimately moved to unschooling. Her insights on those transitions, on living in a big family, and on the connections and amazing relationships that have developed with unschooling are inspiring! Ten Questions for Amy Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What did your family’s move to unschooli...

Jen Keefe joins me this week! Jen was on the podcast almost three years ago and I really enjoyed learning a bit about how their unschooling lives have grown and changed since then. We dive into what she found challenging as they moved to unschooling, how it’s been life-changing for her as well as the kids, video games, unschooling resources, the podcast she’s started, Real Women’s Work, her favourite thing about their unschooling days right now and lots more! Questions for Jen Can you share wit...

I originally wrote this essay for Rosemary Magazine, for their winter issue, which had the theme, “wildschool.” I loved playing with that idea! There’s the outer wildness of living outside the structure of compulsory school. In the world, rather than in the classroom. Kids in the grocery store in the middle of the day. Running around the local park in the middle of the week. In most places, that’s decidedly outside the box. And then there’s the inner wildness. Learning on their own timetable. ...

Teresa Hess is an unschooling mom with three kids and the family—Teresa, her husband, and the kids—live in a cool co-housing community on an island in Washington state. Teresa and I had a wonderful conversation about their unschooling lives, diving into the shift to peaceful parenting, the ever-deepening spiral of mothering and self-awareness, the concept of “joy,” and lots more! Questions for Teresa Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What did your family’s move to unschool...

Talia Bartoe is an unschooling mom with four young children who have never been to school. We have a wonderful conversation about her deschooling journey—as someone who excelled in school, she had no idea this would be in her future. Her excitement and gratitude for finding this path and for the beautiful connections that have blossomed with her family is contagious! Questions for Talia Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What did your family’s move to unschooling look like?...

Shannon Loucks joins me to talk about unschooling, parenting, and her new book, Love More: 50+ ways to build joy into childhood. Shannon’s an unschooling mom with two boys and she believes in the power of play and partnership as a way to bring more joy and love into our children’s lives. We dive into the story behind the book, the value of patience in our relationships, the deschooling shift to seeing the child rather than the behaviour, what she loves most about their unschooling lives right no...

Anna Brown joins me this week for another Unschooling in Context episode! This time we’re diving into unschooling in the context of life. And what I mean by that is, we’re exploring how unschooling eventually weaves so tightly into our lives. Which is beautiful! Unschooling IS living our lives. Yet, as challenges arise, it can also be valuable to ask ourselves, “Is it the unschooling?” Consider this: The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions. Ralph Wald...

It’s time for another compilation episode! This time, let’s dive into video games. Video games are a common topic of conversation in unschooling circles because, when it comes to questioning conventional advice, this topic is a hot bed of widely varying perspectives. For me, when I find myself in that conundrum, I look to my reality. What does it look like for me, for my kids, for my family? And with this episode, I’m widening that a bit to ask, what does it look like for other unschooling fami...

Jack and Sean O’Brien both grew up unschooling. Sean chose to continue unschooling during his teen years and Jack chose to go to high school. Now they’re both in college and we have a wonderful conversation about the ways that unschooling has woven its way through their current college experiences. Questions for Jack & Sean Can you guys share with us a bit about you and your family? What were some of your bigger interests growing up and how did you pursue them? Jack, you chose to go to high s...

Nick Bergson-Shilcock joins me this week! In a nutshell, Nick grew up unschooling and now runs the Recurse Center in New York. It’s a wonderful space for both new and experience programmers to take a sabbatical and vastly improve their programming skills. It was fascinating to hear the story of how the Recurse Center came to be and how it really has its roots unschooling. Questions for Nick Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What were some of your bigger interests growing u...

Joan Concilio joins me to share some of her family’s wonderful unschooling stories. We dive into her journey to unschooling, the learning that happened along the way, the profound changes it brought to their lives and the deep connections that it forged. She also talks about what it’s like to live in a highly regulated state and how unschooling can still fit right in. So many nuggets for people at any stage of their journey! Questions for Joan Can you share with us a bit about you and your fami...

Anna Brown joins me this week to answer listener questions. We talk about finding ways to live together when we have different styles and needs, considering diplomas and next steps, allowances and family money, and how learning looks different in unschooling families. Question 1 [00:00:20] How do I make a minimalist, quiet home dynamic enough for a lively and curious sociable 10 year old? Question 2 [00:10:49] How to support a child who is considering school, with concerns from family and co...

Alyssa Patterson joins me this week to chat about growing up unschooling! Alyssa and I dive into her interests growing up, her choice to go to high school for a year and a half, how she came to open her own business a few months ago, what she appreciates most about growing up unschooling, and lots more! Questions for Alyssa Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What were some of your interests growing up and how did you pursue them? You chose to go to high school for a year a...

Tara Soto-Regester, an unschooling mom with two children, joins me for a wonderful conversation about her family’s journey from school to unschooling. We dive into how she discovered unschooling, her son’s transition from school to coming home, what’s surprised her along the way, her new podcast, and lots more! Questions for Tara Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? How did you discover unschooling and decide that was where you’d like to go? When your son left school and cam...

Leah Rose joins me this week to share her unschooling experience. Turns out, our conversation had such a lovely, organic flow that we soon left the questions behind! Show Notes In our conversation,we wove our way through these ideas: intrinsic motivation the pitfalls of comparison transitioning to unschooling breaking down deschooling conversations taking the place of “no” the dance of relationships letting go of outcomes healing sibling relationships choosing curiosity over fear Link...

Laura Bowman is the founder of the East Tennessee Unschooled Summer Camp for teens and previous guests have said wonderful things about their camp experience. We dive into Laura’s unschooling journey, how the camp came to life in 2010, what a day at camp looks like, the idea behind the Mentor Groups, reluctant campers, and lots more. Questions for Laura Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? How did you discover unschooling and what did your family’s move to unschooling look li...

Anna Brown joins me this week for a conversation with a twist: we’re not talking about the ins and outs of unschooling itself but about how it fits in the bigger picture. Hence the title of the episode, Unschooling in Context. It’s a topic I’ve been wanting to do for a while, but I really needed to let a bunch of things percolate, like: the kinds of questions I get from people, how they relate to each other, the missing bits of information or connections behind the questions, the conversations ...

Heather Clark joins me this week! I first met Heather a few years ago at an unschooling conference and I love the way she and her family have slowly but surely woven an interest in travel into their lives. We dive into her journey to unschooling, the story behind embracing travel, the value of embracing curiosity, the joy and power of embracing interests, and lots more. Questions for Heather Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? How did you discover unschooling and what did yo...

It’s time for another compilation episode! This time I went with a topic rather than a particular question: the topic of learning to read naturally. Listen to ten different guests share their experiences around unschooling and learning to read. Hearing their stories in this new context—side by side—may well spark helpful new connections and insights for you. I hope you enjoy it! Audio Snippets Taken from These Episodes … EU014: Ten Questions with Joyce Fetteroll EU023: Learning to Read in Thei...

Kelli and Rhanna Lincoln, unschooling mom and daughter, join me this week on the podcast. I had so much fun chatting with them and hearing about their unschooling lives—from both their perspectives. We talk about their journey to unschooling, living and learning with four kids (or three siblings!), their family’s RV travels, their latest business adventure and lots more! Questions for Kelli & Rhanna Can you guys introduce yourselves and share a bit about you and your family? Kelli, how did you...

Alicia Gonzales-Lopez joins me this week to talk about her deschooling journey. We dive into how she discovered unschooling, the emotional healing that’s happened for her, what she’s found challenging along the way, connecting with our kids, what has surprised her most, and lots more. Questions for Alicia Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? How did you discover unschooling and what did your family’s move to unschooling look like? For many parents, deschooling and shifting a...