Pam Laricchia's Blog, page 14
June 2, 2021
EU280: Growing Up Unschooling with Samantha Donndelinger
This week, I am joined by 20-year-old Samantha Donndelinger, who has always been unschooled. Samantha shares some of her childhood stories and reflections on growing up unschooling. We talk about how her family’s lifestyle gave each child the space to make choices and figure out their own path, and how making choices and exploring her interests has given her confidence in moving out into the world.
Samantha also reflects on her journey of self-discovery, including diving into her art and choosing to enroll in a college program that combines all of her passions. And she offers some sage advice to unschooling parents who are just starting out: trust yourself, listen to your kids, expand your idea of what learning looks like, and find a community to support you.
It was so fun and inspiring to hear about Samantha’s experiences and insights!
Questions for Samantha
Can you share with us a bit about you and your family?
What were some of your interests growing up and how did you pursue them?
I understand travel has been an interest of yours. How did that develop, and can you share some stories about your experience traveling?
The question of college is an interesting one, and it’s really about choice, isn’t it? When we connected, you mentioned gap years and alternatives to college. I’d love to hear more about your experience!
At this point, what do you appreciate most about growing up unschooling?
As a grown unschooler, what piece of advice would you like to share with unschooling parents who are just starting out on this journey?
Things mentioned in the episode
Samantha’s Instagram @yellow_camerastrap
Samantha’s artwork page @alittlebitofwhimsycards
Transcript
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.
May 26, 2021
EU279: Validation with Anna Brown
This week, Anna Brown and I talk about our theme in the Living Joyfully Network this month, Validation. Diving deep into validation flows beautifully from last month’s theme of Stories because practicing validation with the people in our lives is about hearing, understanding, and accepting their stories as their truth in the moment. Our connections with our children grow stronger when they feel seen and heard and loved for who they are. Full stop. No ifs, ands, or buts.
And while validation helps our children move through their strong emotions and difficult moments, ALL kinds of moments are great opportunities to show our children that we understand and care about them. Validation is a key ingredient in the connected, respectful, and trusting relationships we see in unschooling families!
Discussion areas
How sympathy, empathy, and validation weave together in our relationships.What validation looks like and the language we might use.When big emotions are involved, non-verbal validation can be so helpful.Ultimately, the goal of validation is connection.All moments with our kids are opportunities for validation!Links to things mentioned in the episode
Check out and join the Living Joyfully Network here
RSA Animate’s video, Brene Brown on Empathy
Ring Theory, by Susan Silk and Barry Goldman
Transcript
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.
May 19, 2021
EU278: Unschooling in Large Families
This week, I’ve put together a compilation episode to dive into a question that I get pretty regularly: What does unschooling look like in larger families?
As we learn more about unschooling, we’re encouraged to spend time with our kids, to say yes more, to connect with them more, to explore ways to meet everyone’s needs. Add in multiple children, and soon we start to wonder how we’re going to build all these strong, connected, and trusting relationships. It can seem daunting!
I have three children, but I’ve had guests on the podcast with four, five, six, seven kids, so I’ve brought together some of their wonderful stories, tips, and insights to help parents with larger families envision what unschooling might look like for them.
Audio clips taken from these episodes …
EU040: Paradigm Shifts with Cindy Gaddis
EU083: Unschooling Around the World with Tami Stroud
EU113: Deschooling with Megan Valnes
EU185: Deschooling with Talia Bartoe
EU245: Unschooling Stories with Cate & Jenna Phillips
Transcript
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.
May 12, 2021
EU277: Unschooling Q&A with Sue Patterson, Part 2
Sue Patterson joins me again this week for the second part of our conversation, diving into three more listener questions. Check out part one here!
Question Summaries
I feel like I should be finding more friends for my kids to play with, but I’m introverted and it’s hard for me to reach out.
My 12yo daughter is attending middle school and I think it’s so damaging for her, but she wants to continue going. How can I convince her to try unschooling?
I have three kids ages 9, 5, and 2. I feel completely overwhelmed trying to meet all of their different needs as well as my own, while taking care of the house without any help.
Things mentioned in the episode
Sue is the founder of Unschooling Mom2Mom, check out her website, her new podcast, and her course for new unschoolers
Two of Sue’s children have been on the podcast, Katie Patterson and Alyssa Patterson
EU032: Choosing School with Alex Polikowsky
EU197: Choosing School Part 2 with Alex Polikowsky
EU201: Unschooling and Self Care with Erika Ellis
Housekeeping is Not Motherhood article by Rebecca Brown Wright
Transcript
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.
May 5, 2021
EU276: Unschooling Q&A with Sue Patterson, Part 1
Sue Patterson joins me this week to dive into listener questions! And I’m sure it’ll surprise nobody that our conversation went long, so I’ve split it into two episodes—three questions each.
A quick reminder, these Q&A conversations aren’t about giving anyone a “right” answer. We can’t know that because we don’t intimately know the real people involved. And there probably isn’t just one “right”? answer anyway—we can get where we’d like to go through many different paths. Rather, our conversations are about contemplating the situation from the different perspectives of those involved, through the lens of our unschooling experience. It’s kinda like tilling the soil around the question with an eye to helping not only the questioner, but anyone listening find a connection to their lives, or help them better understand how unschooling works.?
So, whether the situation applies to you directly or not, I encourage you to listen with an open and curious mind. Let it all bubble away for a while—the questions asked, our thoughts, your thoughts—and see what connections and insights might spark for you.
Question Summaries
Since we live in a location that requires reporting, how can I keep track of academic requirements without it affecting our unschooling?
I’m uncomfortable with my children having unlimited screen time. What should I do if I’m not comfortable with the idea of being a “radical” unschooler?
I have a lot of fear about online safety and tend to want to control my kids to protect them. How can I create a more positive, supportive environment for them to explore while I work on my fears?
Things mentioned in the episode
Sue is the founder of Unschooling Mom2Mom, check out her website, her new podcast, and her course for new unschoolers
Two of Sue’s children have been on the podcast, Katie Patterson and Alyssa Patterson
The Facebook group, What my unschooler is learning when …
Evernote, note-capturing software
Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn
Pam’s article, Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Video Games
When Your Kids Push Your Buttons by Bonnie Harris
EU275: Stories with Anna Brown, last week’s podcast episode
Economics of TV Watching in Children by Pam Sorooshian
EU240: Kids Are Capable with Anna Brown podcast episode
Transcript
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.
April 28, 2021
EU275: Stories with Anna Brown
Anna Brown joins me this week to talk about our theme in the Living Joyfully Network this month, Stories. Diving into this theme has been fascinating because there are so many ways in which we tell stories as humans, with really far-reaching impacts. We talk about the stories we tell ourselves and our families in our daily lives, the stories we share about our family with others, and the stories we create in our minds about what other people are thinking and feeling.
It is so empowering to realize that we can choose the stories we tell. Being intentional about the way we think and talk about our lives is a form of self care, and it can help our children grow up without the weight of past stories, like those that have been handed to us.
Discussion areas
I love this quote from The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall: “Story is for a human as water is for a fish—all-encompassing and not quite palpable.” Humans are storytelling animals, it’s how we make sense of our world, and realizing that everything is a story can be a life-changing paradigm shift.Looking at the stories we tell ourselves, they become our self-talk, our inner voice.Looking at the stories we tell others, it can get complicated because as we get further along on our unschooling journey, familiar words have a new richness to them.Looking at the stories we assign to other people, often we tend to assume the worst.Looking at the stories we tell ourselves about our family, take care with expectations and roles.We get to choose the stories we tell, so let’s choose those that make sense and feel better to us.Links to things mentioned in the episode
Check out the Living Joyfully Network here
The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall
The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide by Pam Laricchia
Transcript
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.
April 21, 2021
EU274: Rules versus Principles
This week, I’ve put together a solo episode. This episode is geared to parents who are newer to unschooling, navigating the paradigm shifts that come with questioning so much of the conventional wisdom around learning and parenting that we absorbed growing up.
Spoiler alert: there are no unschooling “rules.”
But I think more experienced unschooling parents may also appreciate the reminder. As I dug into writing this episode, peeling back more layers for myself, I was surprised to discover how the idea of “rules versus principles” can be applied to so many of the shifts we make on the unschooling journey!
I also talk about some things we can do to explore and expand our comfort zones. Because as we let go of our need for rules and control, it can sometimes feel very uncomfortable.
Things mentioned in the episode
Podcast episode, Growing Up Unschooling with Michael Laricchia
To explore further, check out the compilation episodes Stretching Our Comfort Zones and From Control to Conneciton
Transcript
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.
{ Photo Credit: Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay }
April 14, 2021
EU273: The Energy of Unschooling with Blathnaid Cantwell
Blathnaid Cantwell joins me on the podcast this week to talk about her family’s unschooling journey. Initially, it was science and research that inspired Blathnaid’s parenting, but she found over time that her lived experience, as well as that of other families, helped her more deeply understand unschooling in practice. We talked about peeling back the layers and doing the deep internal work as she dove into neurobiology, attachment parenting, and education. She shared her realization that “It was all about me!” reflecting on the importance of being aware of our energy when we are supporting our family members and sharing some amazing stories and metaphors that help her dial down her own energy, which in turn allows her children to experience their emotions without the added weight of hers. Blathnaid has thought deeply about unschooling through so many different lenses and I really appreciate her sharing her experience and insights!
Questions for Blathnaid
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?
What has been one of the more challenging aspects of deschooling for you? Can you share a bit about your journey through it?
I think it’s pretty common for one parent to take the lead with learning about unschooling and focus on embracing it with the kids. But what often happens is that the other parent kind of gets left behind. I’d love to hear your experience with working through that.
When we set up the call, you mentioned how sensitivity to energy can be a superpower. I’d love to hear more about that!
What is your favourite thing about the flow of your unschooling days right now?
Things mentioned in the episode
Trailmakers, Rec Room, Scrap Mechanic
Ronnie Maier’s podcast episode, Dismantling Shame
Ali Walker’s podcast episode, Unschooling Instincts
Nine Functions of an Attuned Middle Prefrontal Cortex:
Body regulationEmotional balanceFear modulationResponse flexibilityAttuned communicationEmpathySelf-insightMoralityIntuitionTranscript
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.
April 7, 2021
EU272: Our Unschooling Journey with the Beck Family, Part 2
The Beck family of five—Angie, Darren, Josh, Rylie, and Ellie—are back to continue our conversation about their unschooling journey. We had so much fun chatting and sharing stories that our conversation flowed for about two hours, so I split it across two episodes. Check out part one here!
This week, we talk about each of the children’s unique paths through childhood to their current interests and activities. As Ellie mentions, their interests and personalities are so different, and it’s fun to see how the family was able to meet their needs and support each child’s path by working together as a team. We also discuss some of the challenges they all faced over the years and some of the surprises they encountered along the way. Their reflections are so fascinating and inspiring!
Questions for the Beck family
Each of the kids has chosen a very different path. I’d love to hear more about how that has unfolded, from everyone’s perspective!
Can you share a story or two about challenges you guys have worked through over the years? It’s such a different process when everyone’s working together, isn’t it?
Looking back now, what has surprised you most about having embraced unschooling?
Things mentioned in the episode
Part one of the conversation with the Beck family
Transcript
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.
March 31, 2021
EU271: Our Unschooling Journey with the Beck Family, Part 1
The Beck family of five—Angie, Darren, Josh, Rylie, and Ellie—joins me this week for a wonderful conversation about their unschooling journey. As you can imagine, the six of us had so much fun chatting and sharing stories that our conversation flowed for about two hours, so I’ve split it across two episodes.
In part 1 this week, we dive into how Angie discovered unschooling, their experience with an amazing local homeschooling group, and the fun they had connecting with mentors in their community to dive deep into the kids’ interests. And Josh, Rylie, and Ellie share what they value most about their unschooling lives, including the freedom to really focus on their passions and the self-awareness that comes from being able to make important choices from a young age.
It is so fun to hear from the whole family, each with their own unique experiences and perspectives. Next week, I’ll share part 2 of their story!
Questions for the Beck family
A short around-the-room intro! Who’s who? What are you up to right now?
How did you discover unschooling and what did your family’s move to unschooling look like?
Diving into unschooling from the kids’ perspectives, what stands out for you as one of the most valuable aspects of growing up unschooling?
Things mentioned in the episode
LEARN homeschool community in Kansas City
The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith
Roya Dedeaux’s new book, Connect with Courage: practical ways to release fear and find joy in the places your children take you
Transcript
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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