by Lehla Eldridge in

Ten Things I Tell Myself to Remember Around Parenting

How do kids learn things that connect with their souls and set their imagination on fire?How do the fireflies of inspiration spark their spirits? Can I help keep those iridescent lights of creativity shining?I ask myself these questions...they are big questions.I know that for me putting the kids in a schooling environment stopped being an option when I saw them shrinking and the sparkle diminishing from their eyes.I also know that this may not be easy to read, especially if in your heart you feel through my words that there is

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by Lehla Eldridge in

Uplifting the Next Generation and Gently Changing the Course of History

How we show up is so important for our children and we are shaping who they are to become.  I was struck by this thought the other day. I am raising children that will most likely go on to have children and I am modelling for them how to be as a parent. We as parents have a choice as to how we show up and we can change script for future generations. If you stop and think about it that is an amazing thought! I was brought up in

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by Lehla Eldridge in

Unschooling vs. Homeschooling: What’s the Real Difference?

This is a question I get asked a lot and there is a very big difference between the two. Have a look below as here is an excerpt from our book that breaks it down from our persepective. Home schoolingHome schooling is teaching school subjects and following a curriculum outside of a learning institution such as a school, usually at home. Home schooling parents may collaborate with other home-schooling families. A home-schooling family can have widely varying approaches to learning but the core principle is the teaching of children to a

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by Lehla Eldridge in

Breaking the Mold: When Our Unschoolers Took Exams

A quick story about when our girls took their first exams. This morning I woke up at 6am in an Airbnb room, the girls were asleep and I was convinced that I had left the lights on in the car and that the battery would be flat and that I wouldn’t be able to get to the exam room on time. Like in a bad dream. In a panic, I stepped outside and checked the car, the car was fine. I wasn’t, I was anxious, knowing that the girls were

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by Lehla Eldridge in

The First Step towards Unschooling is Unschooling yourself

Three sentences ring out when I think back on our journey of unschooling ‘Just let me live my life’ ‘Mum, the best thing you could do with my reading, is leave me alone’ ‘Mum, we are fine’ I used to lesson plan, I used to day plan, I used to lie awake at night thinking about what I could do with the kids the next day to broaden their learning. I made the perfect classroom, put loads of work up on the walls. I put the subjects in sections, art

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by Lehla Eldridge in

When Sending Your Kids to School Isn’t Working—Time for a New Approach

Perhaps it is time to jump? Whilst sending our children to school I had a nagging feeling that I wasn’t telling the truth, to them or to myself. Do I have to go to school? Conditioned me; Yes Real Me; (No) Do I have to wear this uniform? CM; Yes RM; (No) Why Do I have to learn this stuff if it doesn’t interest me? CM; You Just do RM; Actually you don’t… I had this feeling that I was lying, that I was dumbing myself and my kids down

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by Lehla Eldridge in

A Letter to a Parent About reading

This is what I would I have told my worried self about reading and my children about three years ago. One of children was diagnosed with Irlen’s syndrome and so I was very stressed about whether she would be able to read or not. As time went by she did. But here is a letter that I would have liked to have read as worrying  served nothing for me. Dear Lehla, Please stop it, stop worrying about the children’s ability to read. Have more faith in them. You have been

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by Lehla Eldridge in

A 22 Year Old Self Directed Learner interviews 3 young Unschoolers

How do you define unschooling? A: It means not going to school! Un-schooling. That’s what it means. J: It’s just really really fun and I love it. O: Unschooling is where you can choose what you want to do. You can choose how you want to learn. So if there is a project you want to do; you can choose it. That’s what I really like about it. What is something that you enjoy getting to do now that you couldn’t do before unschooling? A: I don’t think I could

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by Lehla Eldridge in

The First Step Toward Unschooling: Unschooling the Parents.

‘Just let me live my life’ were the words that came out of my sons mouth yesterday as I tried to teach him about following a recipe. He was furious. He was wanting to cook, I was wanting to help him cook. He was wanting to make biscuits, I was wanting him to follow a recipe. He didn’t want to. I wanted him to. We hit a stalemate. ‘Just let me live my life and let me learn how I want to learn’ I caught myself in that moment, caught

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by Lehla Eldridge in

Self Directed Learners on a Mission: Creative Project Ideas for Hands-On Learning

So last night as I tucked the kids in to bed one of my daughters said. ‘Mummy, I want homework. Could you give me a project, make me do it and if I don’t do it be really mean to me?’ We both laughed. Then the other two chimed in ‘Yeah, me too, me too!’ What I gleaned from this is that they are hungry to learn, they want something to do and they want to be challenged. They also want me to stick to a boundary to make sure

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