Welcome to The Educating Parent Beverley Paine's archive of articles about homeschooling and unschooling written over a period of 30 plus years

HomeAbout Blog Articles Curriculum Resource Directory Shop Facebook

Download our FREE The Educating Parent Resource Directories today! Plus... more FREE resources!

Free download a quick guide to getting started with homeschooling and unschooling by Beverley Paine The Educating Parent in this excellent Resource Directory

 

Free directory of Australian homeschooling and unschooling support groups organised by national, state and territories

 
Plan, record and report all in the one document! Always Learning Books planners available in each year level to suit your homeschooling needs, includes curriculum checklists
Let Beverley and friends help you design and write your own curriculum to suit your child's individual learning needs, learn how to prepare lessons, unit studies and more, record and evaluate your children's learning in this series of 3 parent workbooks developed on Beverley's popular homeschool manual Getting Started with Home School Practical Considerations
this Always Learning Year 7 Plan is everything you need to get started a comprehensive collection of curriculum aligned resources and links to activities, lesson plans and unit studies for your year 7 homeschooling student
Introduction to
Home Education
  National and State
Support Groups
  Yearly Planner, Diary & Report Series of How To
Parent Workbooks
Homeschool Learning Plans

Support Groups: National SA VIC NSW QLD TAS ACT NT
Registration Guides: VIC NSW QLD SA WA TAS ACT NT

Looking for support, reassurance and information?
Join Beverley's The Educating Parents Homeschooling and Unschooling Facebook online group.

 

Am I an Unschooler?

by Beverley Paine

Letting go of the need to be defined by others is where I'm at, working on... one of the reasons I'm taking time away from online communities, especially Facebook. I need to spend more time with myself getting comfortable with me.

Some days it is easy to define myself as a unschooler - heck, I really live the unschooled life, my whole family does and has done for decades. But if I capture a few moments here, or an hour there, or even a whole day, it can look anything but unschooling in nature. Or I can take something I said, either a stand-alone comment or a response and pull it apart and cringe because it sounds completely opposite to my unschooling or permaculture or other much cherished beliefs and values. A bit like when I buy fish and chips... I don't eat fish, totally ethically opposed to it because of the over-fishing situation, and I watch my weight and I prefer to eat organic and so on and so on, but heck, some days I buy fish and chips. I use the excuse I'm human. It's human to err, right? And then I beat myself up mentally, again. But I still buy the fish and chips again. Because learning for me is slow and arduous, frustrating a lot of the time, exciting all of the time.

I am leaving the Facebook unschool support group I founded a few years ago. I know I give a great deal to everyone there and it is truly my community - it nurtures me and helps me grow. But I need space to find and be comfortable with me, who I am, how I define myself. I need to stop being responsive to the needs of others and attend to my needs. The need to have others define me, affirm me and my purpose, my worthiness, is HUGE in me. For almost six decades I've relied and depended on others to supply that. I've looked to others to say it is okay for me to be who I am, whatever that is in this moment, or in the past or future. The deschooling process is endless for me... perhaps not though. I'm making space and time to be okay with what I think about myself, my life, what I'm doing, and what I'm going to do next.

We're all learners. We're all a bit fractured and insecure. I think that people who aren't don't tend to hang out in online support groups. We're there because we need something and we think we can get it from each other. Bottom line: it's nice to be part of a support group but ultimately, the support we each need and crave comes from within. We didn't get the kind of parenting we're offering or attempting to offer our kids. And we're not even sure what we're doing will pay the dividends we're hoping for. Some of us are here to be reassured by people like me who've been there, done that and have the awesome kids to show for it. But we all have awesome kids and they'll be awesome adults soon. And that isn't because of how we educate or parent them, it's because they are already simply awesomely awesome. And trusting that is the bottom line in unschooling.

Do you trust your children to learn what they need to learn when they need to learn - not what or when or how you or anyone else wants them to learn it - but them? Do you trust yourself to learn whatever it is you need to learn right now? On one level I confidently answer YES, on another level, the answer is a definite NO. Does that make me an unschooler? It makes me a learner. It's not easy, there is no right or wrong here, there is just a passion for becoming open and authentic, vulnerable, honest and from that, begin to repair the damage not being trusted as a learner, as a person in my own right, sadly occurred during my early life.

I am different from the woman who lives next door, the shop owner down the street, my dad, most of my friends: very few people I know home educate let alone unschool! I've been incredibly blessed to have talked to thousands of home educating parents over the years and seen what we all have in common: our passion for our children's well-being.

Was this article helpful? Was it worth $1.00 to you? Your gift of $1 or more helps to keep this site operating offering encouragement and reassurance to families wanting better outcomes for their children.

Thank you for your gift contribution!

Beverley Paine with her children, and their home educated children, relaxing at home.

Together with the support of my family, my aim is to help parents educate their children in stress-free, nurturing environments. In addition to building and maintaing this website, I continue to create and manage local and national home educating networks, help to organise conferences and camps, as well as write for, edit and produce newsletters, resource directories and magazines. I am an active supporter of national, state, regional and local home education groups.

"You've been an inspiration to me, I love the way
you really listen to people."
Vanessa

"Whenever I read your writing I always come away
with increased confidence in my ability to provide and
share a wonderful learning journey with my family!"
Davina

"Your guidance, understanding, support and words of
wisdom changed our lives. We now offer support and
organise many homeschooling events for others."
Lesley

"Thank you once again for your prompt and friendly service.
I am convinced that your books are going to add
quality and peace of mind to my journey of teaching my kids
at home! Just from studying your website, until almost
2am in the morning, I 've been encouraged!"
Louisa

"Thank you for all your many,many reassuring words
over many, many years. You probably don't know exactly how valuable you are to the Australian Home Education community. I've been reading your stuff for maybe 8 years or more now. And I'm very grateful."
Gythaa

image is 3 workbooks for parents set on a background showing bushland, DIY home ed curriculum planning, recording, evaluating, write your own curriculum
Want to learn how to write your own education plans
to suit your unique children's individual learning needs?

Or you are looking for quality curriculum and teaching tips...

Comprehensive 3 workbook 'how to home ed' course
covering the essential skills you need
successfully home educate your children


 

 

Welcome to the World of Home Education
and Learning without School!

We began educating our children in 1985, when our eldest was five. In truth, we had helped them learn what they need to learn since they were born. I am a passionate advocate of allowing children to learn unhindered by unnecessary stress and competition, meeting developmental needs in ways that suit their individual learning styles and preferences. Ours was a homeschooling, unschooling and natural learning family! There are hundreds of articles on this site to help you build confidence as a home educating family. We hope that your home educating adventure is as satisfying as ours was! Beverley Paine

3 ESSENTIAL STEP BY STEP GUIDES

Getting Started with
Home Educating Series of

PARENT WORKBOOKS

#1 Create Your
Own Curriculum

#2 DIY Lesson Plans
& Unit Studies

#3 Recording and Evaluation Made Simple

$10.00 each (includes postage)

let experienced home educators Beverley, Tamara and April walk you through HOW to create a learning plan that builds on solid foundations that works for YOUR family AND ticks all the boxes for home educaton registration with part 1 of this getting started with home educating serioes of parent workbooks, Create Your Own Curriculum!
Let experienced home educators Beverley, Tamara and April walk you through HOW to create a learning plan that builds on solid foundations that works for YOUR family AND ticks all the boxes for home educaton registration!

To see the full range of Beverley Paine's books on homeschooling, unschooling and natural learning visit Always Learning Books

Tap into Beverley's experience
through her books

"Your books, your blogs helped me beyond words... they helped me to find comfort in knowing it is ok to choose exactly what is best for my family." Nisha

"Your books and information are mind blowing and already I am feeling good about this new experience." Diane

"Your guidance, understanding, support & words of wisdom changed our lives." Leslie

"I feel specially inspired by Beverley's words and, the more I read her comments, the more inspired I feel, since my need for support, respect for different parenting styles, and information are fully met." Marijo
purchase Beverley's practical and common sense books on homeschooling and unschooling
Connect with Beverley and ask questions
through her online The Educating Parents Homeschooling and Unschooling Facebook support group
.

click here to become a Fearless Homeschool member giving you access to all past summit workshops as well as exciting new content and webinars, online discussion platform, and more

The information on this website is of a general nature only and is not intended as personal or professional advice. This site merges and incorporates 'Homeschool Australia' and 'Unschool Australia'.

The Educating Parent acknowledges the Traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Owners, the Custodians of Australia, and pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people viewing this website.

Advertise on this site.

say goodbye to home education registration stress with this ultimate rego bundle from Fearless Homeschool

make homeschooling a lot easier, zero to homeschool's excellent course is here to help

Australia's best home education consultant, let Tamara Kidd guide and help you prepare your home education registration application or review

Twinkl downloadable Home education resources helping you teach confidently at home

Online science lessons for primary school aged home educating children

Home education is a legal alternative
to school education in Australia.
State and Territory governments are responsible
for regulating home education and have different
requirements, however home educating families
are able to develop curriculum and learning programs
to suit the individual needs of their children.

animated Australian flag

Without revenue from advertising
by educational suppliers and Google Ads
we could not continue to provide information
to home educators. Please support us by letting
our advertisers know that you found them on
The Educating Parent. Thanks!

Support Centre
Contact Us | Join a Support Group | Beverley's Books | Resource Directory | Blog | Donate

About The Educating Parent
Beverley Paine | April Jermey and Always Learning Books | Advertise with us

Sitemap

What is Home Education Why Home Educate Getting Started & Registering Different Ways to Home Educate
Life as a Home Educator Resources & Support Teens and Beyond Curriculum and Teaching Tips
Unschooling & Natural Learning Travelling & Home Educating Record Keeping Children's Pages

animated smiling face Thank you for visiting!

The opinions and articles included on this website are not necessarily those of Beverley Paine, The Educating Parent, nor do they endorse or recommend products listed in contributed articles, pages, or advertisements on pages within this website.
Disclosure: Affiliate links are used on this site that take you to products or services outside of this site.  Please review products and services completely prior to purchasing through these links. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question before purchasing or signing up. Always Learning Books, April Jermey assume no responsibility for those purchases or returns of products or services as a result of using these affiliate links.

If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about this site, please feel free to contact us.


Text and images on this site © All Rights Reserved 1999-2024.