by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

HOLD THE BIGGER PICTURE

Anthony We all get focused on those small important things in our lives. We become focused and attached to behaviours and things that we have decided are either important and that feel compelling, or that are in some way addictive. We can get stuck in our thinking and beliefs, our attitudes and emotions. How easy it seems for us to start believing that the world that we see close-up around us is the only world there is. How much do we expand our view beyond the current crisis? Why is

Continue Reading
by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

SELF DIRECTED LEARNING & LIVING

What does it mean to be self directed? Most people consider that they are self directed. They will believe they make decisions freely for themselves and their families and that they are autonomous in their lives to a large extent. This confidence in the idea of being self directed extends to beliefs. Most of us argue that our beliefs are our beliefs because we chose them. It seems that way I know but it is not hard to understand that we are highly influenced by family background and social conditioning.

Continue Reading
by Lehla Eldridge in

Letting go of Perfect

This is a post I am writing in seven parts, so my aim is to do one a day for a week, as a reminder to myself as well as to other homeschooling/unschooling parents who are out there doing their best to raise their kids at home. Right now some of you have been thrown in to this crazy but beautiful world. It isn't always easy, so here is day one!! This is for me as much as it is for all of you!These are short snippets, so feel free

Continue Reading
by Lehla Eldridge in

Unschooling and Homeschooling: The Power of Connecting with Like-Minded Parents

If you are totally overwhelmed with homeschooling or unschooling and what is going on in the news right now, connect up with others. I hear this a lot from parents who are isolated and who are not in connection with other people. I think community is so very important, even if you are physically a long way from any one else. Use the phone, the internet, zoom, whatsapp. Don’t tough it out and isolate yourself, connect up with others and make time to chat. Even if it is for twenty

Continue Reading
by Lehla Eldridge in

Be Nice to Yourself

This applies to everybody. If I am not nice to myself as a mother I am not really nice to anyone else around me. So this means listening to what I need to do for myself. So this can  be anything as simple as making time to jump into a candlelit bath at night, to going for a walk at some point in the day to taking time to meet a friend or cooking something really lovely for myself. Carve out time for yourself and give yourself permission to enjoy

Continue Reading
by Lehla Eldridge in

Enjoy What You Have

Sometimes, having one or both parents at home means that your finances can run extremely low, resources can totally deplete and this can be stressful. Make use of what you have, this sounds simple but it is true, that the less I have in life, the more I make use of what I do have. You don’t have to spend a fortune to feel good, so even if it means buying something small to pepper up your day or your mood, a nice soap, a candle, a really good book,

Continue Reading
by Lehla Eldridge in

Day 6 – Do Exercise you love!

I am not good at running, I often think, why I am running? Nothing is chasing me, is it? The truth is when I go running I don’t massively enjoy it, I know people that do but it has never clicked with me. I think if I was hunter gatherer type I might be the one that gets eaten by the lion…So the trick I have found is to do exercise that I actually like. I LOVE dancing and swimming. If there is exercise that you love then find that and

Continue Reading
by Lehla Eldridge in

Tis the season not to be triggered.

A loving reminder/question for all of you entering in to the Christmas season with family and friends. Can you stay in your truth and not get triggered? Can you be aware when you are getting stressed?This can be a time of year when tensions rise. So for any of you out there who are mixing with the button pressers remember this, breathe through any awkward questions. Remember to lovingly keep your boundaries and be gentle with others and yourself. Sometimes people can be curious about different ways of raising kids and

Continue Reading
by Lehla Eldridge in

Unschooling Demystified: Tackling Your Top Questions

This is an extract from Parenting the Future, a revised version of our original book Jump Fall Fly, coming soon Are you taking the kids out of society if they are not in school? Schooling is not the only gateway to social interaction or societal involvement. So yes we are definitely part of society. If you see society as a much bigger all-encompassing picture, which is how we see the word, then no we are not taking them out of society. Do your children have any friends? Yes, our children

Continue Reading
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

Continue Reading