by Lehla Eldridge in

Key One; Nurturing Curiosity, a wonderful gift for your child and yourself

When we went to live in Italy, I was the one who could speak Italian. There was a moment where I didn't understand a joke that the kids were sharing in the car with their friends. In that instant I knew that they had surpassed me in their Italian, I knew from then on I would always be keeping up with them. That they are now fluent in two languages is, to me, invaluable. They will always now have that skill. I think that giving kids the opportunity to learn

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by Lehla Eldridge in

Community, Parenting and Reaching Out to your Tribe

My husband tells me that according to a book that he has just read that monkeys raise their young not always knowing who is who, they look after each child like it was their child. That years ago before the age of agriculture patriarchy and that the need for one’s own child was irrelevant, that men looked after other children as if they were their own.That children were raised in troupes or flocks and that every child was everyone’s child. I am not entirely sure how I would feel about

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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

A Free Ebook on Learning to Read as a Self Directed Learner

I stopped worrying about making my daughter learn to read, at aged 10, once I listened to her words. She said 'Please can you stop worrying about me reading and just leave me alone' and this was unheard of for me, as I hadn't quite got the unschooling thing. I was chasing her around, trying to get her to sit down with me, the stress levels were high, I was being annoying. She knew it, I knew it.She told me to stop! I did and it was amazing. It was

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by Lehla Eldridge in

Outside the Classroom: How Unschooling Redefines Learning

I am sitting here at my desk, it is grey outside and I am thinking back to my schooling, it was a long time ago. I struggled at school. That is where I used to think all learning happened. But as this unschooling journey has unfolded I have realised that schooling is not the only way.Kids just keep learning whether they are in school or not, they are designed to learn, they learn to walk, talk, eat, go to the toilet. They learn all these things naturally and when outside

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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

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

No Such Thing as a “Late” Reader: The Power of Self-Directed Learning

A story about reading from when our kids were younger. We pack the car to go on a family trip, our girls need to go back to the library to renew books. The library is a new thing we haven’t been in English speaking countries for a while, now we are, the library is exciting. Our son says ‘I don’t have a book for the journey’ we say ‘Use the library’ he chooses three books, he marvels that it is a free service. ‘What, for free? A book? Really? Amazing!’

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by Lehla Eldridge in

Barefoot and Unbound: The Power of Breaking Rules in Unschooling

‘Please put your shoes on’ were the words that came out of my mouth, we were about to walk to the beach. My son in his pyjama trousers, bare footed, free spirited. There are days when I just want him to put his shoes on, it is simple. But the shoe less days are there to teach me something. ‘Mum, I was born without shoes, shoes were invented after feet were, I don’t want to wear them’ In Spain or Italy, not wearing shoes socially is a thing. In South

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