Pam Laricchia's Blog, page 11

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The Living Joyfully Network community

The Network is a wonderful online community for parents to connect and engage in candid conversations about living and learning through the lens of unschooling. Our shared goals are to embrace lifelong learning, develop strong and connected relationships with our children, and cultivate a thriving unschooling lifestyle in our families.

This month, our theme is Four Pillars of Unschooling, loosely based on my book, Free to Learn. We’re focusing on one pillar each week: redefining learning, following their interests, making choices, and “Why not yes?”

Consider becoming a patron

I deeply appreciate all my patrons! Your generous support helps pay for the hosting and transcription, as well as my time spent creating new episodes each week. It’s instrumental in keeping the growing podcast archive freely available to anyone who’s curious and wants to explore the fascinating world of unschooling. If you’d like to join my community of patrons and scoop up some great rewards along the way, check out the Exploring Unschooling page on Patreon.

Honey ! I’m Homeschooling the Kids podcast

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Published on February 16, 2022 22:00

EU316: Teens and Passions with Robyn Robertson

Robyn Robertson, unschooling mom of two, joins me again on the podcast this week. Since our last conversation in 2018, Robyn’s kids have grown! We talk about how unschooling changes when our children become teenagers. Robyn shares how supporting their interests and passions looks different now, but that the connection and relationships are still strong.

We dive into the idea of teenage rebellion and expectations that might pop up as our children grow. It’s amazing to see how the foundation of trust that Robyn has built with her children over their years of unschooling has created this rich atmosphere for growth and learning as they move towards adulthood!

Questions for Robyn

Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What is everybody interested in right now?

Since we last spoke, your kids have entered their teen years. Do you feel like your unschooling days have changed from when they were younger?

The idea of teen rebellion is pretty ubiquitous in the parenting world, yet many unschooling parents really enjoy life with their teens. I’d love to hear about your experience!

Supporting our children’s passions continues to be important and that can take on a whole new meaning as our kids get older, can’t it?

What has surprised you most about how unschooling has unfolded for your family so far?

What is your favourite thing about your unschooling days right now?

Things mentioned in the episode

Pam’s session, Helping Kids Find Their Passion, at the 2022 Canadian Online Homeschool Conference

Robyn’s first episode, EU147: Unschooling as Flow with Robyn Robertson

Honey! I’m Homeschooling Clubhouse page

Robyn is on Instagram and Facebook

How to be an Awesome Homeschooler Summit

Robyn’s Patreon Community

Transcript

Video

The Living Joyfully Network community

The Network is a wonderful online community for parents to connect and engage in candid conversations about living and learning through the lens of unschooling. Our shared goals are to embrace lifelong learning, develop strong and connected relationships with our children, and cultivate a thriving unschooling lifestyle in our families.

This month, our theme is Four Pillars of Unschooling, loosely based on my book, Free to Learn. We’re focusing on one pillar each week: redefining learning, following their interests, making choices, and “Why not yes?”

Consider becoming a podcast patron

I deeply appreciate all my patrons. Your generous support helps pay for the hosting and transcription, as well as my time spent creating new episodes each week. It’s instrumental in keeping the growing podcast archive freely available to anyone who’s curious and wants to explore the fascinating world of unschooling. If you’d like to join my community of patrons and scoop up some great rewards along the way, check out the Exploring Unschooling page on Patreon.

Submit your question for an upcoming Q&A episode here!

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Published on February 09, 2022 22:00

EU315: Nurturing Our Children and Ourselves with Teresa Hess

Teresa Hess, unschooling mom of three, joins me again on the podcast this week to explore how her unschooling journey has helped her not only nurture her children but re-parent herself. We talk about Teresa’s spiritual view of unschooling and the upward spiral of connection and love that happens when we see children as whole beings. Teresa also shares her issues with the commonly-used term “boundaries” and how she has created a respectful alternative in her family.

She has found the process of parenthood and unschooling to be deeply impactful and healing and it was so interesting to hear her insights!

Questions for Teresa

Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What is everybody interested in right now?

When we were organizing this call, you mentioned the idea of self-parenting and how it’s been a part of your journey. I’d love to hear more about that!

For many parents, embracing unschooling comes to unearth a spiritual aspect, which you’ve described as “honoring the light and essence of the individual child.” Can you share how that perspective has unfolded for you?

For me, seeing my children’s inherent wholeness blossom with unschooling awoke in me the seed of understanding that I too am whole and worthy just as I am. Which in turn allowed me to nurture and hold space for my kids even more deeply, round and round, cultivating a positive spiral that is so much more valuable than, “What did you learn today?” I’d love to hear your experience!

You wrote a wonderful blog post, titled “True Boundaries,” that so clearly demonstrates the value of understanding and nurturing ourselves alongside our children on this unschooling journey. So much of this work helps us move beyond parenting in unconscious reaction to our own childhood wounds, doesn’t it?

What is your favourite thing about your unschooling days right now?

Things mentioned in the episode

EU186: Sparkle and Zest Unschooling with Teresa Hess

Teresa’s article, True Boundaries

Teresa is on Instagram and Facebook

Teresa’s website, Sparkle and Zest

Transcript

Video

The Living Joyfully Network community

The Network is a wonderful online community for parents to connect and engage in candid conversations about living and learning through the lens of unschooling. Our shared goals are to embrace lifelong learning, develop strong and connected relationships with our children, and cultivate a thriving unschooling lifestyle in our families.

This month, our theme is Four Pillars of Unschooling, loosely based on my book, Free to Learn. We’ll be focusing on one pillar each week: redefining learning, following their interests, making choices, and “Why not yes?”

Consider becoming a podcast patron

I deeply appreciate all my patrons. Your generous support helps pay for the hosting and transcription, as well as my time spent creating new episodes each week. It’s instrumental in keeping the growing podcast archive freely available to anyone who’s curious and wants to explore the fascinating world of unschooling. If you’d like to join my community of patrons and scoop up some great rewards along the way, check out the Exploring Unschooling page on Patreon.

Click here to submit your question for a future Q&A epi s ode

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Published on February 02, 2022 22:00

EU314: Exploring Unschooling Q&A

Anna Brown and Erika Ellis join me this week to dive into listener questions! We explore technology and “screen time,” deschooling, connection, and validation. And as I mention at the beginning of our conversation, our Q&A conversations aren’t focused on giving anyone the “right” answer. That’s because there isn’t a universal “right” answer for any given situation that will work for everyone.

Instead, our focus is on exploring different aspects of the situation and playing with the kinds of questions we might ask ourselves to better understand what’s up. We’re sharing food for thought through the lens of unschooling.

Question Summaries

Our first question is from Ella, a new unschooling mom with three young children. As the family is deschooling, she’s noticing that the children are choosing to watch TV for a lot of the day. Her partner is uncomfortable with the situation and she wants to know about setting boundaries around TV time or how to find a balance of how her children are spending their free time. [starts at 3:51]

Our second question from Tara is concerning avid video-gaming kids who used to spend more time playing outside. Tara feels stuck in a rut and like her children no longer want to do the things that they used to do. Often, when they do go outside, they love their time there, but it’s hard to get them out the door. [starts at 20:20]

Our final question is from Nadia, who is trying to figure out how to support her children as they attend school at her ex-husband’s insistence. She’s wondering what her options are as she believes unschooling would be a better path for them, though it feels like she doesn’t have a choice given the circumstances. [starts at 43:21]

Things mentioned in the episode

Pam’s interview on Clubhouse, hosted by Galileo, How to Invigorate Your Unschooling Journey

Submit your own question for a future Q&A episode

The Living Joyfully Network

Blog post: “You Have to Limit Screen Time”

EU182: Unschooling and Video Games

EU119: Gaming and Growing Up Unschooling

EU068: Unschooling and Technology

Roya Dedeaux’s book, Connect with Courage

EU286: Connect with Courage with Roya Dedeaux

EU305: In Celebration of Unschooling Part 7

EU240: Kids are Capable with Anna Brown

Episode transcript

Video

The Living Joyfully Network community

The Network is a wonderful online community for parents to connect and engage in candid conversations about living and learning through the lens of unschooling. Our shared goals are to embrace lifelong learning, develop strong and connected relationships with our children, and cultivate a thriving unschooling lifestyle in our families.

This month, our theme is Cultivating Self Awareness and we’re exploring it through the lenses of curiosity and acceptance.

Consider becoming a podcast patron

I deeply appreciate all my patrons. Your generous support helps pay for the hosting and transcription, as well as my time spent creating new episodes each week. It’s instrumental in keeping the growing podcast archive freely available to anyone who’s curious and wants to explore the fascinating world of unschooling. If you’d like to join my community of patrons and scoop up some great rewards along the way, check out the Exploring Unschooling page on Patreon.

EU154: Unschooling Dads and Documentaries with Jeremy Stuart

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Published on January 26, 2022 22:00

EU313: Advice for New Unschooling Dads

This week, I’ve put together a compilation episode with answers to a question I ask many of the unschooling dads who are on the podcast: As an unschooling dad, what piece of advice would you like to share with dads who are considering or just starting out on this journey?

And I love the range of answers! Trusting our kids and letting more of the world in. Getting involved with our kids and sharing our passions. Empowering yourself by learning how unschooling works. Balancing protectiveness with trust. Understanding that humans are naturally curious. And giving yourself permission to question your gut.

They share so many wonderful insights and I think everyone, wherever they are on their journey, will find them inspiring!

Audio clips taken from these episodes …

EU167: Unschooling Dads with Ben Lovejoy

EU214: Unschooling Dads with Bob Mahan

EU239: Unschooling Dads with Roop Bhadury

EU289: Unschooling Dads with Izaak Sibley

EU308: Unschooling Dads with Philip Mott

EU128: Reluctant Spouse to Unschooling Advocate with Zach & Heather Lake

Transcript

Watch the video on YouTube

Video

The Living Joyfully Network community

The Network is a wonderful online community for parents to connect and engage in candid conversations about living and learning through the lens of unschooling. Our shared goals are to embrace lifelong learning, develop strong and connected relationships with our children, and cultivate a thriving unschooling lifestyle in our families.

This month, our theme is Cultivating Self Awareness and we’re exploring it through the lenses of curiosity and acceptance.

If you’re curious to learn more, click here

Consider becoming a podcast patron

I deeply appreciate all my patrons! Your generous support helps pay for the hosting and transcription, as well as my time spent creating new episodes each week. It’s instrumental in keeping the growing podcast archive freely available to anyone who’s curious and wants to explore the fascinating world of unschooling. If you’d like to join my community of patrons and scoop up some great rewards along the way, check out the Exploring Unschooling page on Patreon.

Submit your question for an upcoming Q&A episode here!

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Published on January 19, 2022 22:00

EU312: The Breadth of Unschooling with Sara Davidson

Sara Davidson, unschooling mom of two, joins me on the podcast this week to explore the breadth of unschooling.

Sara shares her journey from controlling, conventional parenting to the connected relationships she has with her children now. We talk about many of the paradigm shifts she made along the way and how her entire view of parenting and learning has changed. Sara also shares so many insightful observations about how unschooling has not only affected her relationships with her children, but also with her husband and herself.

Our conversation was so much fun!

Questions for Sara

Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What is everybody interested in right now?

How did you discover unschooling and what did your family’s move to unschooling look like?

When we connected, you mentioned how moving to unschooling has impacted every aspect of your life and I’d love to dive deeper into that with you. Let’s start with learning. How has your idea of learning grown since you began unschooling?

Now, let’s talk relationships. For many parents embracing unschooling, there’s a big shift in how we relate to our kids as we move away from control and focus on connection. I’d love to hear about your experience with that.

How has this shift to unschooling impacted other relationships, beyond with your children?

And finally, how has embracing unschooling changed your relationship with yourself and how you engage with your days?

What is your favourite thing about the flow of your unschooling days right now?

Things mentioned in the episode

Sara is a member of The Living Joyfully Network community

Transcript

Video

The Living Joyfully Network community

The Network is a wonderful online community for parents to connect and engage in candid conversations about living and learning through the lens of unschooling. Our shared goals are to embrace lifelong learning, develop strong and connected relationships with our children, and cultivate a thriving unschooling lifestyle in our families.

This month, our theme is Cultivating Self Awareness and we’re exploring it through the lenses of curiosity and acceptance.

Consider becoming a podcast patron

I deeply appreciate all my patrons. Your generous support helps pay for the hosting and transcription, as well as my time spent creating new episodes each week. It’s instrumental in keeping the growing podcast archive freely available to anyone who’s curious and wants to explore the fascinating world of unschooling. If you’d like to join my community of patrons and scoop up some great rewards along the way, check out the Exploring Unschooling page on Patreon.

Episode 201: Unschooling and Self Care with Erika Ellis

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Published on January 12, 2022 22:00

EU311: Ten Questions with Erika Ellis

Erika Ellis joins me again on the podcast this week! On previous episodes, Erika and I have talked about unschooling book clubs and self care, but she’s back to share more about her unschooling journey.

We talk about the paradigm shifts that she made during deschooling and how her and her husband’s teaching work influenced their path. Erika also shares her experiences moving through the fears and discomfort that pop up as her kids grow older. We talk about the exciting energy of the new year and how her self-care practices have changed over time.

Through the whole conversation, the joy of her family’s unschooling life shines through!

Questions for Erika

Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What is everybody interested in right now?

How did you discover unschooling and what did your family’s move to unschooling look like?

When you were in the thick of deschooling, what were some of the most challenging paradigm shifts you made?

Even after we move through the bulk of deschooling, challenges and fears continue to bubble up here and there because that’s life. And we’ve come to realize that they really are all about us, aren’t they?

What has your husband’s journey to unschooling looked like? Was this a new idea to him?

Has there been a time when one of your kids’ interests really stretched your comfort zone? How did you move through that?

What, so far, has surprised you most about how unschooling has unfolded in your lives?

We had a conversation on the podcast a couple of years ago, episode 201, diving into self-care, which I encourage everyone to check out! I’d love to hear how your experience with self-care may have evolved since then. And with this episode coming out in the new year, can you share some thoughts on embracing that energy?

What is your favourite thing about the flow of your unschooling days right now?

From your perspective right now, what has been the most valuable outcome from choosing unschooling so far?

Things mentioned in the episode

Erika is on The Living Joyfully Network and Instagram

Episode 158: Unschooling Book Clubs with Tracy and Erika

Transcript

Video

The Living Joyfully Network community

The Network is a wonderful online community for parents to connect and engage in candid conversations about living and learning through the lens of unschooling. Our shared goals are to embrace lifelong learning, develop strong and connected relationships with our children, and cultivate a thriving unschooling lifestyle in our families.

This month, our theme is Cultivating Self Awareness and we’re exploring it through the lenses of curiosity and acceptance.

Consider becoming a podcast patron

I deeply appreciate all my patrons. Your generous support helps pay for the hosting and transcription, as well as my time spent creating new episodes each week. It’s instrumental in keeping the growing podcast archive freely available to anyone who’s curious and wants to explore the fascinating world of unschooling. If you’d like to join my community of patrons and scoop up some great rewards along the way, check out the Exploring Unschooling page on Patreon.

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Published on January 05, 2022 22:00

EU303: In Celebration of Unschooling, Part 5

I’m continuing my miniseries, In Celebration of Unschooling, sharing the draft of an as yet unpublished book I wrote a few years ago. The book looks at unschooling through the lens of parenting.

This week, we’re diving into Chapter 6: Exploring Character.

In this chapter, I dive into some of the character traits being explored and discussed by psychologists and researchers. Building on the character discussion we began in chapter 2 where we looked at the why, now we’ll tackle the how. And we’re going to concentrate on the traits that I’ve seen have a significant impact on our children’s ability to navigate and engage with the world.

The list is similar to what researchers have cited as markers of “success,” though we’ve already redefined that measure for ourselves. Though the lives of unschooling teens and young adults can definitely look successful through a conventional lens, we’re now starting to see that they are coming to it from a decidedly unconventional perspective.

We’ll explore self-awareness, empathy, trust in themselves, adaptability, grit, and how everything we’ve talked about so far weaves together into our expanding picture of unschooling in action.

At unschooling gatherings, one of the first things most new people point out is the children’s enthusiasm. And not just the younger children, the older ones too. The teens and young adults are just as busy doing interesting things: having fascinating conversations, playing games, helping out younger kids, engaging in their passions and sharing with anyone who’s interested, curiously investigating what others are up to. They haven’t become cynical. They still have interests. They still do things with enthusiasm. It’s infectious!

It’s the curiosity that pops them out of bed in the morning. The intrinsic joy of learning new and interesting things. The self-awareness and trust in themselves to make choices and try things out. The adaptability to creatively adjust their course in response to shifting circumstances. The grit to keep moving toward their long-term goals even as the path weaves momentarily out of sight. It’s a zest for life that is almost palpable.

Video

Consider becoming a patron

I deeply appreciate all my patrons! Your generous support helps pay for the hosting and transcription, as well as my time spent creating new episodes each week. It’s instrumental in keeping the growing podcast archive freely available to anyone who’s curious and wants to explore the fascinating world of unschooling. If you’d like to join my community of patrons and scoop up some great rewards along the way, check out the Exploring Unschooling page on Patreon.

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Published on November 10, 2021 22:00

EU302: In Celebration of Unschooling, Part 4

I’m continuing my miniseries, In Celebration of Unschooling, sharing the draft of an as yet unpublished book I wrote a few years ago. The book looks at unschooling through the lens of parenting.

This week, we’re diving into Chapter 5: Cultivating Creativity.

In this chapter, I dive into the widely accepted Geneplore model of creativity, a combination of “generate” and “explore.” The generative stage is the brainstorming of ideas, and the exploratory stage is the evaluation and implementation of those ideas.

Those terms—generate and explore—align well with the ways we describe unschooling, don’t they? I share my thoughts around how unschooling beautifully nurtures both stages. I also talk about the benefits of free time and the cost of judgment and shame—and what they both have to do with creativity.

And as we wrap up these three chapters on curiosity, learning, and creativity, I am again reminded how intimately they all weave together! Nurturing our children’s curiosity is how they experience the deep satisfaction and joy inherent in learning. It’s how they discover that learning often combines both engaging with the topic and contemplating the experience, leading to a deeper understanding of the connections that weave between things. And that wealth of knowledge, experiences, and connections in turn directly feed creativity.

Video

Consider becoming a patron

I deeply appreciate all my patrons! Your generous support helps pay for the hosting and transcription, as well as my time spent creating new episodes each week. It’s instrumental in keeping the growing podcast archive freely available to anyone who’s curious and wants to explore the fascinating world of unschooling. If you’d like to join my community of patrons and scoop up some great rewards along the way, check out the Exploring Unschooling page on Patreon.

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Published on November 03, 2021 23:00

EU301: In Celebration of Unschooling, Part 3

I’m continuing my miniseries, In Celebration of Unschooling, sharing the draft of an as yet unpublished book I wrote a few years ago. The book looks at unschooling through the lens of parenting.

This week, we’re diving into Chapter 4: The Joy of Learning.

Things mentioned in the episode

Pam’s Instagram, sharing highlights of the episode

Video

Consider becoming a patron

I deeply appreciate all my patrons! Your generous support helps pay for the hosting and transcription, as well as my time spent creating new episodes each week. It’s instrumental in keeping the growing podcast archive freely available to anyone who’s curious and wants to explore the fascinating world of unschooling. If you’d like to join my community of patrons and scoop up some great rewards along the way, check out the Exploring Unschooling page on Patreon.