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

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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

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

Empowering Your Child: Why You Should Encourage Them to Have a Voice

Here is an excerpt from Parenting the Future. The other day we had another friend here (she is 12 and also an unschooler) and it was the kids turn to make lunch. The friend didn’t want to make lunch, so neither did the kids. I was all hooked and triggered and so was Anthony, so he bounded in saying ‘Well, if your friend doesn’t want to make lunch she can go home’ then I bounded in and talk to her and said ‘ I love having you here but if

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