Carla

Unschooling 101

When I first heard of unschooling, I was not part of some radical, anti-vaccination group of hippies. I was studying a Master of Teaching at University. Yes, in a teaching degree, I heard about unschooling. Not only did the course mention it, it was discussed in detail as a philosophy which could improve the currentContinue reading “Unschooling 101”

Becoming

Motherhood shatters my identity. My face felt heavy as I stumbled out of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). My baby was connected to so many tubes and wires. Questions raged, and my heart raced, sweaty palms pulsing with anxiety. How could this be my life? How had this happened? That morning, I had drivenContinue reading “Becoming”

Acceptance

Home education neurodivergent (autistic, ADHD etc) kids is a lesson in acceptance. Part of the unschooling philosophy is to follow your child’s lead. If you are the parent of an autistic or other neurodivergent diagnosis, actually doing this in practice is actually really difficult. One of the ways to accept the less than ‘educational’ interestsContinue reading “Acceptance”

Books I recommend

Becoming intentional is about learning how to value your time and money and use it in the best way you can. As a former high income earner, who is now a low income earner, I know what it is like to have to evaluate everything in terms of how useful it is. Becoming intentional beganContinue reading “Books I recommend”

We can’t say we didn’t know

I’m listening to a library audiobook copy of Sophie McNeil’s book “We Can’t Say We Didn’t Know”. I’ve followed her for many years and the book does not disappoint. I am equally in awe of her career (I did have aspirations of being a war correspondent after I finished uni), but it’s hard to thinkContinue reading “We can’t say we didn’t know”

Racism

Did you know that skin colour is caused by different exposure to UV in different parts of the world? Did you know humans share more DNA with each other than penguins? To us, penguins look very similar, and humans look more different. But it’s just an evolutionary adaptation. To think that systematic racism based onContinue reading “Racism”

The feminist cause

Growing up I was not really aware of feminism. It wasn’t a topic of discussion in my house. In my early university days, I came across it a little but it wasn’t until I became a mother that I began reading more in earnest. Gloria Steinem’s documentary on SBS called ‘Women‘ is fantastic and I’veContinue reading “The feminist cause”

Why?

I get so many questions about the choices we are making in parenting our kiddos. I’ve learned not to argue or justify. I just ask, why? Why does it matter if they don’t go to school? Why do they need to wear shoes? Why do they need to cut their hair? Why can’t they wearContinue reading “Why?”

Turning 37

This week I am turning 37 and I was reflecting on what I’ve learned thus far in life and what that would mean to a 17 year old me. In our world heavily influenced by busy lives, media portrayls of perfection and the ‘good life’, I wondered, what would I do differently if I couldContinue reading “Turning 37”

The rebel, the black sheep

Growing up, the black sheep of the family was always considered a rebel and not a favourable person to be within an extended family. Looking back on people I’ve known to be the rebel, I feel a respect for their confidence in eschewing social norms, the things that are expected of them. Perhaps being aContinue reading “The rebel, the black sheep”