#44 From high school teaching to unschooling, with Angela Harders in Maryland

Once in a while it felt like it could be helpful to take a moment to answer some of the most common questions that I get. Of course, every family is completely different, so if any of these questions or worries are relevant to you, you might want to take my thoughts as a hopefully useful starting point for your own reflections. 

Let me know if this is helpful for you and if you’ve any particular questions you’d like to hear discussed in the future.  You can drop me a line at contact@esther-jones.com

So, today, I am going to dive into four questions that come up a lot

- What if my children don’t want to do anything?
- What about exams or if they want to go back to school?
- What if my partner isn’t on board?
-  What can I do if I'm feeling tired or lonely?

In this episode, I mention Peter Gray. You can find his blog on Psycology Today here and the link to his research about grown unschoolers here.

You can also find The Unschool Space episode in which Peter Gray was a guest here.

And, the episodes of The Unschool Space in which I talk with fathers are:
#10 Unschooling teens, the importance of mental health, and a father's perspective, with Anthony Eldridge-Rogers
 #17 The right environment and lots of trust - two essential ingredients for unschooling with autism/PDA, with Simon Crummay
#52 Intentional deschooling and lining up with our values, with Daniel Moeller in Pennsylvania

You can find my blog, workshop and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: @_esther.jones
Facebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest today is Adrienne Miller who lives in Vancouver with her husband and three children who are 10, 7 and 4. Adrienne was a teacher, and realised when her oldest child turned school age that it wasn’t a choice they wanted for him. After growing up in a strict, religious home, Adrienne also  shares her journey of unravelling her deep conditioning, and the freedom it has given her and her family. And we chat about natural learning, trusting our children and lots more. I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Connect with Adrienne on Instagram

You can find my blog, workshop and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: @_esther.jones
Facebook:@theunschoolspace

In this episode, I’m chatting with Julie Walter from Ontario, Canada. Julie has three children who are 9, 11 and 13 and have never been to school. As a former teacher, Julie  talks about how impacted she was by the differences between the resistant nature of  learning in a classroom and the kind of natural learning she was seeing unfolding happily at home.

We talk about what it means to accompany our children in this journey, and why our relationships with our children are at the heart of this. And, we talk about how we can  stay trusting during the inevitable ebbs and flows and quiet moments, and how deep our own deschooling journeys often need to go.

You can connect with Julie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/familyyields/

You can find my blog, workshop and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: @_esther.jones
Facebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest today is Missy Willis from Charlotte, North Carolina. Missy is a former teacher who lives with her husband and two children, who are now 21 and 16. They chose to unschool when their eldest child reached school age as it felt like a better fit for their family. Missy’s experience in the classroom as a teacher had also made her question a model in which adult coercion was understood to be essential in learning. 

We talk about the fear many parents have in the beginning and how important it is to hear other people's stories. We also talk about how we can support our children with compassion and curiosity and let go of the need to control outcomes. And, Missy shares how she sees how this way of living has allowed her children to become practised at touching in with their own values and knowing what’s important to them.

Connect with Missy
Instagram - @letemgobarefoot
Website -  https://letemgobarefoot.com/

You can find my blog, workshop and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: @_esther.jones
Facebook:@theunschoolspace

In this episode, I'm  chatting with Lucy Aitkenread. Lucy is originally from the UK, but 10 years ago, set off travelling with her partner Tim, and their two young daughters. They settled in New Zealand, which is where they live now. Their daughters are now 10 and 13 and haven’t been to school. So, today we talk about the culture of school and what a huge impact it has on our lives, even as adults. And how, it often takes our children to take us back to the roots of many limiting beliefs we have about ourselves, which is why the deschooling process can run so deep. Lucy tells us about their lives in New Zealand, how she has found and created a rich community around them, and how our very different children really open us up to so many possibilities.

Connect with Lucy:
 Instagram
Facebook 

You can find my blog, workshop and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: @_esther.jones
Facebook:@theunschoolspace

Today, my guest is Ruth Macallan. Originally from Edinburgh, Ruth now lives for most of the year in Zambia with her husband and her two children, who are 2 and 5. We talk about what Ruth’s child-led days look like, what it means to allow a child the freedom to go at their own pace, and how living in rural Zambia has helped Ruth to learn how to  slow down and to appreciate the beauty in the moment. And, we also chat about the importance of creating community, travelling with children, and of course, taking good care of ourselves.

Connect with Ruth on Instagram

You can find my blog, workshop and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: @_esther.jones
Facebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest today is Claire Gillespie from Hertfordshire in the UK. Claire lives with her husband and two sons, who are 15 and 13, and they’ve been unschooling for four years, after their oldest son asked to leave school. Amongst other things, we talk about the fascinating learning journeys children embark on when they’re in charge, how different we all are from each other and the inevitable ebb and flow of the days. And Claire shares how this way of living has impacted her and the choices she makes in her own life.

Connect with Claire on Instagram
Visit her website 

You can find my blog, workshop and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: @_esther.jones
Facebook:@theunschoolspace

Today I’m chatting with Daniel Moeller from Pennsylvania. Daniel is a former teacher and has a 10-year old son, called Kai who has been unschooling for four years. Daniel came across unschooling whilst struggling himself to reconcile many parts of the school system, and in particular the power over dynamic that he was expected to conform to as a teacher. Today we talk about how our own beliefs and responses are often rooted in our own experience of this dynamic as children, and how, to unpack it all and to reconnect with our deeper values, we need to have a lens of openness and curiosity, as well as being intentional about our actions and choices. You can hear more from Daniel and Kai on their podcast, Unschooling with Kai.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniel.t.moeller/

You can find my blog, workshop and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: @_esther.jones
Facebook:@theunschoolspace

My guest today is Donna, from East Sussex in the UK. Donna has two daughters, who are 13 and 11. Her eldest daughter had always struggled with school, and it wasn’t until Covid that Donna realised just how deep the school stress was embedded in the whole family. Eventually feeling that there was no alternative but to try something different, she took her daughter out of school. Today Donna talks about how easy it is to get blinkered and stuck in that space of stress and deficit. And, about how liberating it has been for both of them to shift into a new place of possibility, trust and curiosity. 

You can find my blog, workshop and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: @_esther.jones
Facebook:@theunschoolspace

Today, I’m chatting with Dr Emma Svanberg. Emma is a clinical psychologist, author of Parenting For Humans and mother of two children. As well as exploring unschooling with her family, Emma helps other parents on their own parenting journeys. We talk about how the deeply held narratives we all have about ourselves often don’t serve us as parents, and can keep us reactive and disconnected. And, how our children offer us an incredible opportunity to unravel these stories and to find the courage it can take to fully embrace and support them. We also talk about neurodivergence in an unschooling home, ways to regulate our nervous systems, and learning to embrace the unknown.

Website: www.dremmasvanberg.com
Book: Parenting for humans
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mumologist/

You can find my blog, workshop and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: @_esther.jones
Facebook:@theunschoolspace