Unschooling Conversations

Heidi Steel talks with Iris Wong about her unschooling journey, neurodivergence, and supporting children's unique learning experiences.Highlights:Navigating Neurodivergent Unschooling: Challenges traditional educational models that don't support neurodivergent childrenRecognising and Healing from Educational Burnout: Iris's son experienced early school burnout, leading them to unschoolingGaming as a Learning Platform: Discusses gaming as a valuable learning and exploration toolExecutive Functioning and Neurodiversity: Emphasises the importance of validating children's experiences and providing autonomyGuest Bio: Iris Wong is a late-diagnosed autistic and ADHD parent, speech therapist, and executive functioning coach from Northern California. She's unschooling two children and brings a compassionate, neurodivergent-affirming perspective to education.Connect with Iris: https://eftoolkit.com/Listener Takeaways:Education can look different for every childSupporting a child's interests is crucial to their learningNeurodivergent children need flexible, understanding environments

In this episode of Unschooling Conversations Essie Richards talks about the real journey of unschooling beyond the Instagram moments. Embracing the entire spectrum of experiences is key to a successful education approach and leaning into the complex, nuanced journey that includes both beautiful moments and challenging times.Key Highlights:Exploring the authentic challenges and experiences of unschoolingBreaking down the myth of constant joy Navigating neurodivergence and family learningMain Discussion Points:1. The Pressure of PerfectionChallenging the narrative that unschooling must always be joyfulRecognising the importance of embracing difficult momentsUnderstanding that not every learning experience is Instagram-worthy2. Community and SupportThe critical role of supportive unschooling communitiesSharing real experiences and challengesFinding validation through shared experiences3. Neurodiversity and UnschoolingHow ADHD impacts perception and interpretation of learningThe importance of flexibility and understanding individual learning stylesDecolonising educational expectationsYou can find Essie and her offerings in the following places:https://www.instagram.com/unschoolingcircle/https://discocircle.mn.co/https://www.instagram.com/essiejrichardshttps://www.essierichardscoach.com/

Unravelling in Unschooling - A Conversation with Makeba GarrawayIn this deeply personal and insightful conversation, Heidi Steel and Makeba Garraway explore the concept of "unravelling" - a metaphorical journey of questioning, discovering, and transforming personal beliefs and societal systems.This episode is accompanied by a sensitivity warning as we discuss the recent shooting and subsequent death of Victor PerezKey Themes:The Metaphor of UnravellingCompared to pulling a thread in a knitted sweaterVoluntary process of questioning and explorationEmbracing the messiness of personal growthProfessional and Personal TransformationsMakeba's transition from doctor to full-time unschooling parentChallenging traditional career and education narrativesDiscovering personal interests and passionsUnschooling and System QuestioningChallenging educational normsSupporting children's autonomyAddressing intersectionality in parentingNavigating Cultural and Social ExpectationsDiscussing race, neurodiversity, and safetyCreating safe spaces for childrenHaving difficult conversations about systemic challengesPersonal Growth and Self-DiscoveryLearning to trust intuitionValuing internal validation over external expectationsEmbracing continuous learning and changeTakeaways:Unraveling is a lifelong, non-linear journeyCuriosity and compassion are essentialCommunity support is crucial in personal transformation

The teenage years are undoubtedly a whole new phase even for unschooling parents. We come equipped with unschooling principles but they take on a whole new meaning as your young people naturally develop, grow, and change in new ways. Heidi Steel is joined in this episode by Esther Jones from  Esther Jones | Mindful parenting and learning beyond school to explore unschooling through the teenage years. We share the importance of trusting teenagers' agency and allowing them to take ownership of their learning and future choices. We compare our experiences with guiding teenage children towards independence and self-discovery, while also respecting their limits and autonomy. We discuss the importance of flexibility and adaptability in navigating these paths, and highlight the need to support teenagers in pursuing their interests and passions in ways that they choose and are suitable for them. 2.30 Expectations for unschooling in the teen years 6.30 When your teen meets the wider world and outside expectations. 7.35 Moving naturally towards independence 10.30 Experiencing college as an unschooler 13.01 Different routes and learning pathways 19.04 How can we support our teens who are studying GCSE’s at home 21:40 Always about relationship and open communication 24.00 The challenges that parents of unschooled teens face 28.30 Finding one’s true path in life

In this insightful episode, Heidi Steel sits down with conscious parenting and living coach Sarah Parkes to explore the transformative power of conscious parenting. Sarah shares how the foundations of unconditional love, radical acceptance, and emotional regulation can profoundly impact families. They discuss the practical ways conscious parenting looks in daily life, including allowing big emotions to run their course and repairing relationships after past mistakes. Sarah emphasizes that it's never too late to make positive changes, even for parents who feel they've damaged their connection with their children. The conversation also delves into the pressure many parents feel to be "perfect" and how embracing our own humanity models important lessons for our kids. Sarah and Heidi share powerful stories of children's wisdom and the healing that can occur when we approach parenting with self-compassion. Whether you're new to conscious parenting or seeking to deepen your practice, this episode is filled with invaluable insights that can transform your family dynamics. Tune in to discover how you can cultivate the strong, connected relationships you desire with your children. Here are the key highlights from the conversation with Sarah Parkes and where they can be found: Defining conscious parenting as unconditional love and acceptance (0:02:30 - 0:02:52) How conscious parenting creates strong attachment and reduces anxiety in children (0:04:25 - 0:05:01) Allowing big emotions to run their course, rather than controlling behavior (0:07:22 - 0:08:32) The importance of self-compassion and compassion for children (0:10:07 - 0:10:37) Repairing relationships after past mistakes through apology and collaborative conversations (0:14:06 - 0:15:32) Conscious parenting being beneficial for all families, including those with neurodivergent children (0:21:28 - 0:22:45) Embracing imperfection and not striving for perfection as parents (0:24:47 - 0:26:56) The speaker's personal story of repair and wisdom from her 9-year-old daughter (0:28:55 - 0:30:17) Breaking unconscious cycles and creating a conscious parenting legacy (0:30:33 - 0:33:40) The key message that it's never too late to make positive changes (0:34:25)

Are you worried about your child’s mental health and feel that they (and you) need a little extra support? Unschooling allows for you to prioritise your child’s mental health and your relationships, and whilst the principles of unschooling and the lifestyle are naturally therapeutic, they are not therapy. This episode of Unschooling Conversations introduces you to the work of NLP4Kids as I interview the lovely, and knowledgeable NLP4Kids practitioner, Naomi Emison. She shares with us the work that she undertakes with families and insights on NLP techniques for improving mental health in children and families. She demonstrates how unconscious thought patterns can be effective and non effective in your child’s day to day life and how, working in partnership with parents and children, these thought patterns can be changed. That’s really a fancy way of saying that I was the Guinea Pig whilst she demonstrates these things with practical examples and I experienced a moment of euphoria at the magic of our minds!! You’ll have to listen in to experience the magic for yourself.   Skip to the good part: Naomi introduces herself and her work as an NLP for kids’ practitioner. (01:30)   Unconscious and conscious mind, and decision-making. (07:32) - Naomi explains the difference between conscious and unconscious mind, highlighting their roles in decision-making and problem-solving.   Identify problem areas, set goals, and reframe issues using NLP techniques. (12:36)   How unschooling aligns with supporting children's mental health and wellbeing. (16:06)   Naomi discusses workshops for parents to improve communication with children. (22:37) - Focusing on communication, connection, and positive parenting in workshops.   Using anchoring technique to manage emotions in children. (27:57) - Naomi explains a technique called anchoring to help children manage anxiety by associating a positive memory with a specific body part. Guest Contact details: Website Email Facebook Guest Information: I am an NLP4Kids Practitioner offering therapy and personal development tools and techniques to help children, young people, parents and families to flourish and to be the best versions of themselves. My favourite moment when working with children and young people is when they overcome a challenge ( either personally or with their learning) and become confident to use strategies, tools and techniques to be the best version of themselves. I love working with and seeing children, teenagers and families flourish. I have taught all year groups from Reception to year 6. I have first -hand experience of working with children at different developmental stages and have worked alongside many children and families to build confidence both socially and academically and help them take the next positive in managing feelings, behaviours and relationships. I have been a member of the school senior management as Deputy Headteacher, KS1 lead, KS2 lead and Eary Years lead. I have led the development and learning of both children’s personal and social behaviour within schools that I have worked in. I currently work part time as safeguarding officer and a personal tutor. My volunteer work has been in a Church context as a children’s worker, youth worker and pastoral group leader. In all of these areas of work, I have travelled alongside people of all ages and listened with care to worries and concerns and worked together on positive solutions. I enjoy walking, swimming, singing , cooking, playing the piano, listening to all sorts of music and spending time with friends and family.

Welcome to the first in a new series of episodes The Voices of Unschooling. We know that unschooling looks different in every family and that there is no curriculum, manual or blueprint for what unschooling looks like. Unschooling families are drawn together by their ideas on how learning happens and their focus on building and establishing a family culture based on shared principles. This series is a way of showcasing how those ideas are put into practice in unschooling homes and what unschooling can look like on any given day. The Voices of Unschooling episodes are an invitation to celebrate and share what life and learning can look like and how families made the change from schooled to unschooled. This episode I am joined by Martha, parent to one beautiful child who struggled with various mainstream and alternative educational settings and found their way to unschooling. Martha has been part of the LivePlayLearn Membership for two years and openly shares her families journey in this familiar story. If you feel able and willing to contribute your lived experience and to encourage others along their way by sharing your family story, please get in contact and together we can shine a light on this most fabulous way to live and learn.   Skip to the good part: 130 how Martha came to Home Education 830 how Martha first discovered unschooling and what she thought of it. 1100 The changes that unschooling made for Martha’s child 1430 Deschooling and managing burn out 1900 Initial expectations and the reality   2200 The difficulty with unschooling. 2500 The joy of the membership

How essential is SALT and when should we seek their help? Many families leave the school system behind often wondering which elements of support they still need as they begin unschooling. With concepts such as 'being behind' (which your child is not) and 'early intervention' (which causes its own problems with neurodivergent children) it can be hard to know what to do for the best and when. As a Speech and Language Therapist and an unschooling parent Kate Appleby sits beautifully at the intersection between one of the busiest services in early education. Her insight, wisdom, and warmth will calm your soul and clear the muddy waters for you and all in half an hour!! Plus you can skip to the good part: 400 Introduction to SALT and their role. 600 Is there a need for SALT in an unschooling home and when should parents consider a self-referral? 1000 Key indicators that a referral should be considered. 1300 Developing and establishing communication between a child and their parent or main caregiver. 1500 Communicating with their friends and close family members. 1700 How to approach SALT with neurodivergent and PDA children aka is it possible to wait until they are older/ ready? 2400 How parents impact the child and how they view themselves 2500 What are they key elements of a child centred approach to therapy?

Screen Addiction: How to Support Your Teen's Healthy Relationship with Technology Tea and Guest Episodes are on 'Early Release' to LivePlayLearn Monthly members. You can find out more and join at https://ko-fi.com/liveplaylearn/tiers In this episode Dr Naomi Fisher and Heidi Steel discuss the complexities of Screen Addiction. So, pop the kettle on, grab a cup of tea, and listen in. We jump straight in with answering the question that we all need the answer to:  How can we tell if our child is addicted to screens? But you won’t find any gaming shaming here.  Listen to the whole conversation if you can, or jump to the part that peeks your interest: 1:00 The signs of screen addiction 9:00 Why do teenagers engage in online gaming with such ferocity?   11:00 Social Media and red flags of negative engagement.   15:00 What to expect and the process of lifting restrictions around screen use, including the myth of self regulation.   29:00 Four Signs that technology use is problematic   32:00 What happens when things go wrong?

SUPPORT THE PODCAST ON Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/liveplaylearn Lainie Liberti joins Heidi Steel this month, to talk about her journey into radical unschooling and her recent book Seen, Heard and Understood. As a result of the 2008 California economy crash, Liberti closed her Los Angeles based branding agency. Liberti and her then 9-year-old Miro decided to “be the change” instead of victims and chose a life of adventure. After, selling all of their possessions, Lainie and her son hit the road for what was to be a one year adventure in 2009. After thirteen years and almost 50 countries, the pair calls Guanajuato, Mexico their home. Lainie published the Amazon best-selling book Seen, Heard & Understood, Parenting and Partnering with Teens for Greater Mental Health in May, 2022. Lainie Liberti is the founder and creator of Transformative Mentoring for Teens that launched in early 2020 offering virtual 1:1 coaching for teens as well as a 12-week course designed to transform lives. Lainie is a certified life coach, specializing in transformational coaching. We discuss: · The cult of busy-ness · The importance of core values within our homes. · What partnership parenting means to us both and the AHA! moments that led us to find a more peaceful and connected way to be with our children. · The art of learning as a by-product of a vibrant, connected life. · The importance of continued support through the adolescent years. · What we as parents can do to continue living in respectful and collaborative families with our teens. · What makes the teen years so extraordinary and the benefits of consciously seeing, hearing and understanding your teens during this time. · And, of course, the all-important tips for parenting through the teen years. GUEST MEDIA LINKS: https://transformativementoringforteens.com/ and my personal facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilainie/ LIVEPLAYLEARN LINKS: Website Liveplaylearn.org Facebook Live. Play. Learn

SUPPORT THE PODCAST ON Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/liveplaylearn Tamsyn Fortune-Wood joins Heidi Steel this month, to talk about her experiences as an unschooled person. We discuss: · Making the decision to Home Educate her own children and ditching those school registration forms in the bin 3:00 · What are the most common questions that Tamsyn is asked when people find out that she was home educated 7:00 · A listener question is answered: What did learning look like for you, including how it changed as you grew up? 9:40 · The experience of structured work and taking exams after being autonomously educated 12:30 · Reflections on interests and life in the former years and any correlations between her life choices now 14:00 · A listener question is answered: How do you feel about the choices your parents made for you? 16:30 · Considering what life would have been like had school been part of childhood 18:00 · How we both respond to our children if/when they are curious about school 20:00 · What Tamsyn thinks she may do differently with her own children 30:00 · A listener question is answered: What are your relationships like between you and your siblings? 33:10 · How home education has influenced and formed a world view 35:00 · What parents really need to know about home education and unschooling 37:30 LIVEPLAYLEARN LINKS: Website Liveplaylearn.org Facebook Live. Play. Learn YouTube Live Play Learn

SUPPORT THE PODCAST ON Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/liveplaylearn Alice Khamisia joins Heidi Steel this month, to talk about Creating Community We discuss: · How to begin finding the community that you need and the snowball effect 3:00 · The necessity of finding the right community for encouragement and support 10:00 · Dealing with discouragement, the reality of not having a ready made group given to us, and the effort required from us 12:00 · Our success stories and positive experiences of finding learning communities 13:00 · Genuine relationship building that is enriching 14:00 · Unexpected and unpredictable successes, regular connections and forging relationships 20:00 · Claiming spaces and utilising local hubs and venues 24:00 · The sub-culture that unschooling is and how to find other like-minded families 25:00 · Changing with the seasons of your child’s life and our proactive role 26:00 · Building community 30:00 · Sharing the weight of responsibility, our human need to be in a regular community, sharing time, expertise, knowledge and skills, as well as care for each other 41:00 GUEST MEDIA LINKS: Organic Education LIVEPLAYLEARN LINKS: Website Liveplaylearn.org Facebook Live. Play. Learn YouTube Live Play Learn

SUPPORT THE PODCAST ON Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/liveplaylearn Rachel Evans joins Heidi Steel this month, to talk about How our Children Learn without Curriculums We discuss: · Snapshot of our households 3:00 · What does learning look like? 8:10 · Move from discovery to mastery learning, unconscious and conscious learning · Web of learning and individual learning journeys 12:40 · Creating a rich and supportive environment 14:50 · Knowing our children well 15:30 · A reflective activity when it looks like our children have been only interested in one thing, forever 17:30 · How do our children learn new things without a curriculum to plan content? 18:00 · Supporting children’s learning, linear learning, and the web of learning connections 22:20 · Gaming as a gateway to learning 25:00 · How will children learn everything they need to know? · And, the four things that drive children’s learning 32:00 · Setting the tone for life learning and loving learning beyond the age of 18 46:00 · Intrinsic motivation and removing the judgement, and fear connected with continuously grading, measuring, and evaluating creative work and instead producing it for the passion of doing it 48:00 · Foundational beliefs about how children learn organically 52:00 · Real deep learning that stays for years and leads to further skills, knowledge, and understanding 55:00 GUEST MEDIA LINKS: Connectandrespect.co.uk Facebook: Connect and Respect LIVEPLAYLEARN LINKS: Website Liveplaylearn.org Facebook Live. Play. Learn YouTube Live Play Learn

Angela Harders joins Heidi Steel this month, to talk about Gentle Parenting, our journeys into unschooling, and the importance of community. Angela is a bilingual special education teacher near Washington DC, she has been teaching for over twelve years. She is a single mum to two children, Sophia aged 7, and Benjamin aged 3. SUPPORT THE PODCAST ON Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/liveplaylearn We discuss: · What a typical unschooling day looks like in Angela’s household 4:00 · UK Guidelines for HE parents and the Local Authority 5:00 · Further info on responding to the LA for UK listeners 12:00 · How gentle parenting led Angela to unschooling 16:00 · How graphing quadratic equations led to Angela to question the education system. · Realising that the decisions that we make today don’t have to be forever 22:00 · The power of observing our children. · The joy of unschooling, sharing life together with our children, and having fun 23:20 · Angela’s top recommendations for those new to unschooling 26:20 · It’s okay to simply do more of the things that you love 30:30 · What caring for ourselves might look like 32:40 · How community support contributes to our self care especially as a single parent 35:00 · The myth of school socialisation 40:00 GUEST MEDIA LINKS: Tales of a Toxic Teacher: Exposing the Cycles of Abuse within Our Schools Books Peaceful World Schoolers Podcast RESOURCE LINKS: John Taylor Gatto : Dumbing us down John Holt: How Children Learn Pam Laricchea’s Podcast: Exploring Unschooling The local Authority and Home Education Elective Home Education: Guidance for Parents EHE: Departmental Guidance for Local Authorities LIVEPLAYLEARN LINKS: Website Liveplaylearn.org Facebook Live. Play. Learn YouTube Live Play Learn

SUPPORT THE PODCAST ON Ko-fi: Jyoti Imix joins Heidi Steel this month, to talk about recording evidence, observing children, and research on Self-Directed Education in light of the Portsmouth Judicial Review. We discuss: · Children’s Rights and advocating for children as a minority group 2:30 · Heidi gives a detail outline of her background 7:30 · PCC Judicial Review 12:00 · What documenting learning could look like 12:50 · Paragraph 94: “As can readily be seen, in the present case the defendant did not reject the claimant's reports because they were not in a particular form. The defendant's concerns were substantive ones. Despite the length of the claimant's reports, they were wholly assertive in nature. They contained nothing by way of actual work produced by the children. To take the example of work on To Kill a Mockingbird, which featured in submissions at the hearing, there was no material showing the degree of comprehension of the appellant's daughter concerning the novel; merely a series of statements from the claimant.” 19:00 · Adulteration and observation change the behaviour of the observed 22:00 · Involving our young people in problem solving and being part of the solution 26:00 · Research and evidence base for self directed education 28:30 · Deschooling 38:50 · Feminist Theory 44:00 · What happens when we remove structure and direction from people’s lives? 48:30 · Anarchist theory and collaboration 52:20 · Fear responses and connecting with our own selves first instead of (over) reacting 57:00 · Focusing on our children and this moment before us in this space 1:00:30 LINKS: PCC Judicial Review Portsmouth Judicial Review decision explained by Fiona Nicholson from edyourself Portsmouth JR summary and read through Summerhill After Summerhill Ivan Illich Deschooling Society Sugata Mitra The hole in the wall Peter Gray Free to Learn 36:30 Gina Riley Unschooling: Exploring learning beyond the classroom 42:00 Suitable-Education website GUEST MEDIA LINKS: Jyotiofferings.com LIVEPLAYLEARN LINKS: Website Liveplaylearn.org Facebook Live. Play. Learn YouTube Live Play Learn