What really happens in a child’s brain before and after they turn five? And what are the hidden costs of deciding that formal learning should “start” at that age? Let's look at the neuroscience, the developmental timelines, and four key reasons why the idea of “school readiness” is so deeply flawed.
Part One explored five conditions that built a foundation. This second half moves into the deeper developmental drivers that shape capability and confidence from the inside out.
In this two-part series, I walk through 11 essential conditions that help children reach their full potential - backed by science, and shaped by real life. Part One covers the five foundational pieces every child needs to grow well.
AI is replacing the very jobs we’ve always raised our children to aim for. In this urgent episode, I unpack where AI is at right now, what the next decade might look like, and how we can prepare our children for a future more different than we can imagine.
We’ll look at what most people actually need maths for, how numeracy develops without school, how quickly kids can catch up later, and why the data shows the school system isn’t delivering the results we think it is.
How do I actually guide my child’s learning and growth? I know I don’t want to be a teacher, I know I want to be more like a mentor, or coach, or guide, but...how do I do that? What does it look like in practice?
I was sent an email recently that I want to talk about here. It was based around the kinds of questions this parent gets from her mother: "How will your child cope in life if they aren't made to do things they don't want? If...
A lot of you have asked for a day-in-the-life style episode, so…here it is! I think there’s a stack of important context that should always be shared as part of this kind of conversation, though, so this episode is made up of three parts (if you listen in,...
This week I want to talk about what to do when this home education path starts feeling hard, because what we’re doing here isn’t easy. As parents, we’re taking on a huge responsibility by choosing to live a life without school, and there’s not always the...
One of the things we often underestimate when we decide to live a life without school – regardless of how excited about it we are – is how our family and friends will respond to it. How we’ll talk to them about it, and answer the questions that they’ll probably...
In this week’s episode I want to talk about how a good home education lifestyle doesn’t just happen…it needs to be designed. Because it’s one thing to decide that a life without school is the right thing for your family, and the path you’re going...
For this episode I want to dig into two of the biggest misconceptions about home education that I, personally, have experienced over the years that I’ve been an unschooling dad. Despite it being a rapidly growing form of education, especially over the past year or two, homeschooling (or unschooling,...
The very, very squiggly story of how we became a home educating family, including: * How we ended up at financial rock-bottom as 30 year olds (with two young children). * How despite that we’ve made it possible to always have at least one of us not working and at home...
