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

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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

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

Listening with Respect: How Unschooling Elevates Our Children’s Voices

Simply put, if you talk to them with respect, they flourish. I don’t want to go for a long walk. Yes but you have to. Why. Because I said so. If you said that to me you might piss me off. Finish everything that is on your plate. That also might irritate me. Just do as I say. At that point, I would grab my coat and I probably would not come back and visit you. This is the way a lot of children get talked to and I get

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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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by Lehla Eldridge in

Me and the Wood Man.

As I was stacking the wood, Ant, my husband talked about when we should order our next bunch of wood from the wood man. And I said I think ‘I would like to order from another wood man’. And he said ‘WHAT???? After ALL HE GAVE YOU? You should be thanking that wood man!!!’ If you don’t know what I am talking about click here… I gave him a sideways glance and I thought about it, he was right. With out his harsh words I wouldn’t have heard all your

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by Lehla Eldridge in

‘Unless your children go to school they will be NOTHING’ an unexpected lesson from the wood man.

After the wood man had dropped the wood, when I was paying him, he quizzed me about our kids schooling. As they all skipped around the van he was curious as to why they were not in school. After I told him what we do, he went on to do mental Kung Fu on my psyche. If his words were a gun, he first shot my knee, then went on to my arm, he did not let his gun drop and I stood there and I took it. He asked

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