Anna Dusseau | 26th August 2020 Most – not all – children thrive through contact with playmates. Let us agree on that. Back in June, we formed a bubble with another family and this created a regular opportunity for my 3 to indulge in long afternoons of tree climbing, stinging nettle battles, and what IContinue reading “Children Need to be with their Friends? How Convenient.”
Category Archives: parenting
Deschooling: Regress to Progress
Anna Dusseau | 19th August 2020 “School has become the world religion of a modernized proletariat.” Ivan Illich My son stopped hugging me around the time he began Nursery School. More noticeably than with my daughter, this was a process that destroyed my middle boy. He would begin to show signs of anxiety the nightContinue reading “Deschooling: Regress to Progress”
“Mum, How Tall’s a Hobbit?”
Anna Dusseau | 5th August 2020 “Mum, how tall’s a Hobbit?” my eldest wants to know. Good question. She puts the book down and examines me in an Attenborough-kind-of-way; coffee cup in hand, baby on my hip, trying to pick up a slinky with my left foot. “I…ummm…” I falter. Aha! Got the slinky. “IContinue reading ““Mum, How Tall’s a Hobbit?””
Why Morning Movies Make Total Sense
Anna Dusseau | 22nd July 2020 “He won’t get far on hot air and fantasy.” The Adventures of Baron Munchausen A few weeks ago, things kicked off in the house over the road, as I knew they would. After many months of cursing lockdown and lamenting school closures, finally the announcement came that some schoolsContinue reading “Why Morning Movies Make Total Sense”
On Being Yourself
Anna Dusseau | 15th July 2020 “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde The year is 2016 and I’m sat on a riverbank overlooking the Thames. There is a boat race that takes place here and it’s fun to watch. We try to avoid the crowds; going upriver as far as possible untilContinue reading “On Being Yourself”
On Autonomy and Being an Asshole
Anna Dusseau | 24th June 2020 It’s 7pm and my daughter is still swooping round the house on her classic roller skates. We live in a bungalow, so you can imagine the speed. Oh, and she’s got a copy of Zoey and Sassafras held about an inch from her face, eyes darting across the pageContinue reading “On Autonomy and Being an Asshole”
On Disney and Diversity
Anna Dusseau | 22nd June 2020 My kids have recently fallen in love with the Descendents movies, and let me start by saying that it’s a pretty cool franchise. Oh sure, you’re gonna want to puke in your mouth every time you hear these guys break into song, but honestly? You know we would allContinue reading “On Disney and Diversity”
Mask and Mirror: Why Instagram Ain’t Your Friend
Anna Dusseau | 11th June 2020 Let me begin by saying that I know, deep down, that I’m a technophobe. The fact that I can almost instantly follow that up with the fact that I’m also more than a dash antisocial, makes me wonder just what kind of tech-free, people-free Eden I’d be wandering inContinue reading “Mask and Mirror: Why Instagram Ain’t Your Friend”
School But Not As You Know It: The Sudbury Model
Anna Dusseau | 10th June 2020 I first read about the Sudbury School model in Peter Gray’s Free to Learn, which devotes an entire chapter to ‘lessons to be learned’ from this quite radical vision of education. Gray sent his own son to the Sudbury Valley School for the latter part of his education havingContinue reading “School But Not As You Know It: The Sudbury Model”
Do Homeschool Children Have a Social Life?
Anna Dusseau | 8th June 2020 This is the bugbear of all homeschooling parents; the question we get asked all the them. The answer is a resounding ‘YES!’ but let me clarify what I mean here. Our understanding of what friendship is and the nature of human connections have changed immeasurably within the past twentyContinue reading “Do Homeschool Children Have a Social Life?”
Talking About Racism: Conversational Learning
Anna Dusseau | 5th June 2020 “Remember who the true enemy is.” @AdultingPam I had a post schedule and everything for the next few weeks, and then my mate Nana-Adwoa from Dope Black Mums came along and shot that in the fricking foot. You know when someone says ‘it’s not you I’m angry with’ whatContinue reading “Talking About Racism: Conversational Learning”
The Powerful Philosophy of Unschooling
Anna Dusseau | 3rd May 2020 We are not unschoolers, but we are rapidly moving in that direction. In fact it seems like, the stronger you feel about homeschooling, the more an unschooling approach makes sense and rings true. The very notion that adults always ‘know best’ and that children can’t learn independently runs contraryContinue reading “The Powerful Philosophy of Unschooling”
Storytime: Why Do We Homeschool?
Anna Dusseau | 1st May 2020 It is just after seven o clock and the grey light coming through the curtains tells me it is going to be another chilly morning. This is February, before the world went into isolation, and I am rubbing my sore neck after another rough night with the baby. TeethingContinue reading “Storytime: Why Do We Homeschool?”
Rethinking Learning: Why You Haven’t Achieved Nothing Today
Anna Dusseau | 20th May 2020 If I had a pound for every time a parent contacts me in despair, telling me that their son or daughter has ‘achieved nothing’ today, I would be rich. It is such a common sentiment. Nothing? I ask, wondering, picturing the entire family flat on their backs contemplating theContinue reading “Rethinking Learning: Why You Haven’t Achieved Nothing Today”
What Grandpa Bob Taught Me About Raising Rockstars
Anna Dusseau | 18th May 2020 I have this memory of my dad putting me to bed. I didn’t like the dark, so he would stay by me until I fell asleep. After a story, I would lie awake looking at the long shadows on the ceiling, listening to my dad’s voice. “Get to sleep,Continue reading “What Grandpa Bob Taught Me About Raising Rockstars”
Ten Problems, One Solution: Chocolate
Anna Dusseau | 15th May 2020 Dark chocolate, to be specific. Because in this house, there is just one solution to a whole host of problems. Don’t overthink it. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Get involved and give yourself a brain-boosting, endorphin-soaring, antioxidant, 85% dose of ‘I-can-handle-this’ and change your parenting stress habits for life. Here’s howContinue reading “Ten Problems, One Solution: Chocolate”
Calm Parenting: Conversations with Aaliyah
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Anna Dusseau | 13th May 2020 I have been working with Aaliyah and her family for a few months now and, last week, we covered this important topic. Perhaps you have the patience of a saint, or perhaps you are blessed with children who are just really calm and easy to be around. But if,Continue reading “Calm Parenting: Conversations with Aaliyah”
How to Start the Day
Anna Dusseau | 10th May 2020 The way your morning starts can make all the difference to the kind of homeschooling day you’re going to have. Mine has to start, every time, with a double espresso and a long stretch, usually half closing one eye to block out the sound of one of the childrenContinue reading “How to Start the Day”
One For The Dads
Anna Dusseau | 7th May 2020 “This one is for the daddies driving Polos/Changing nappies, making lunch and playing yo-yo.” (Probably Not) Nikki Minaj I am conscious that this feels like a female space. Not blogging per se, but the world of parent blogging. Wait, scrap that. Just parenting full stop. Biologically and statistically, it’sContinue reading “One For The Dads”
Top 10 Song Lyrics My Kids Are Straight Up Wrong About
Anna Dusseau | 1st May 2020 Do you guys follow Andi and his kids at Diary of a Gay Dad? If not, get on it because these guys are hilarious. Earlier this week, Andi wrote a post about giving away his age by listening to a bit of 80s Ska revival and this got meContinue reading “Top 10 Song Lyrics My Kids Are Straight Up Wrong About”
Paperless Planning? Pah!
Anna Dusseau | 29th April 2020 “Time spent among trees is never time wasted.” – anonymous Not being funny, but the whole paperless environment trend has been a total fail in our house and that’s not because I own a Rottweiler and drink Stella on a folding chair the moment the sun comes out. NotContinue reading “Paperless Planning? Pah!”
Get Ready to Rumble: Safe Rules for Serious Play Fights
Anna Dusseau | 28th April 2020 Play fighting is a daily occurrence in our house. Daily? Perhaps I should say hourly. I think that’s why my kids are so happy. You see, play fighting – also known as roughhousing – releases a chemical called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) which stimulates neuron growth within the cortex andContinue reading “Get Ready to Rumble: Safe Rules for Serious Play Fights”
Can You Make My Child a Reader? Yes.
Anna Dusseau | 22nd April 2020 Thank you to Aliyah for letting me share our email exchange earlier this week. I hope it’s of use to some of you, especially if you are deep-end homeschooling right now. Hi Anna, I am new to homeschooling with my kids. I’ve got a 6 year old daughter andContinue reading “Can You Make My Child a Reader? Yes.”
Dark Chocolate and Screaming Orgasms: the Not-So-Secret Recipe to Being a Yummy Mummy
Anna Dusseau | 21st April 2020 Or daddy? I feel this is a universal post. And you already know the first two items, so let’s get cracking with the rest, shall we? Confession: I didn’t bounce back at all after my daughter was born and spent the two years between my first and second childContinue reading “Dark Chocolate and Screaming Orgasms: the Not-So-Secret Recipe to Being a Yummy Mummy”
Shit I Wish I Didn’t Have to Explain to My Kids..
Anna Dusseau | 17th April 2020 “Having children is like living in a frat house – nobody sleeps, everything’s broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up.” Ray Romano It’s hot. It’s so obviously hot. Donald Trump isn’t the Prime Minister of Hollywood. I mean, is he? Hula Hoops don’t count towards your five a day. YouContinue reading “Shit I Wish I Didn’t Have to Explain to My Kids..”
How to Bounce Back After a Bad Day
Anna Dusseau | 16th April 2020 “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau Oh my! Do you ever have one of those days where you just weren’t the kind of parent you normally like to be? I work really hard on keeping my cool and mostly feel like it’s not even anContinue reading “How to Bounce Back After a Bad Day”
Music is the Remedy: Show Me What You’ve Got
Anna Dusseau | 10th April 2020 We are a musical family. I dance in the kitchen for the vast majority of the time (it really pisses the kids off) and teenwolf is only very reluctantly doing a ‘real’ job having failed to make it as the next David Guetta during his 20s (I mean thisContinue reading “Music is the Remedy: Show Me What You’ve Got”
My Worldschool Bucket List
Anna Dusseau | 9th April 2020 Let’s dream for a minute. The coronavirus crisis is over, everyone loves how the Prime Minister’s new baby is rocking the same Eton-flick as his famous dad, and the runways are busy again polluting the planet thanks to the jet-set squad which, let’s face it, we all were untilContinue reading “My Worldschool Bucket List”
101 Things I Might Have Done If I Wasn’t A Homeschooling Mum of 3
Anna Dusseau | 7th April 2020 1. Be a Spice Girl. (It’s not too late. Stop being negative.) 2. Drive a Porsche. 3. Wait, drive an Audi S7. Less noise. I still need to hear Kisstory. 4. Write a kick-ass Kisstory playlist with less garage and more grind. 5. Build a rocket. 6. Think forContinue reading “101 Things I Might Have Done If I Wasn’t A Homeschooling Mum of 3”
The No-Brainer Guide to an Insta-Perfect Homeschool Monday
Anna Dusseau | 6th April 2020 “Here is the ultimate funky Monday to enjoy with your family and please share widely as I can see many people are seeking a proper hand-hold like this at present.” – Homeschool Guru Okay, okay! I’ll do it, but only because I like you. And hey, consider yourself extraContinue reading “The No-Brainer Guide to an Insta-Perfect Homeschool Monday”
Homeschool Rules #5: Creative Play
Anna Dusseau | 3rd April 2020 Teenwolf and I have this game we like to play. Wow wow WOW sweet child of mine! Wash your mouth out with soap and water, for goodness’ sake; this is a family blog. Okay, so this PG-rated game is called ‘where will we be this time next year?’ andContinue reading “Homeschool Rules #5: Creative Play”
Homeschool Rules #4: 50 Genius Ways to Avoid Losing your Shiz with the Kidz
Anna Dusseau | 2nd April 2020 Omfg, these little people! We love them but they can grind your gears, right? I sometimes feel like they were sent to test me. Like, do you remember way back in your first pregnancy when you felt a bit panicky because you couldn’t find those vegan multivitamins with theContinue reading “Homeschool Rules #4: 50 Genius Ways to Avoid Losing your Shiz with the Kidz”
Homeschool Rules #3: The Global Classroom
Anna Dusseau | 1st April 2020 Whatever your experience prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, times have changed and we are now all part of a global think tank. I realised this the other day. In a single morning, we video called our old friends in Capetown, a worldschooling family in Barcelona who we are collaboratingContinue reading “Homeschool Rules #3: The Global Classroom”
Homeschool Rules #1: 101 Ideas for Homeschooling this Week
Anna Dusseau | 30th March 2020 1.Play pirates! Turn the sofa or duvet into a pirate ship, dress up, pack for your voyage, use the globe to locate where you’re going in the world and finish with a treasure map or the secret diary of a stowaway! 2. Cloud spotting. Lie on your backs inContinue reading “Homeschool Rules #1: 101 Ideas for Homeschooling this Week”
He Said, She Said: Resolving Sibling Disputes
Anna Dusseau | 25th March 2020 Kids kicking off? Hungry for a fresh order of parenting wisdom? Look no further than the Homeschool Guru’s sizzling takeaway menu (the restaurant is closed) where fury tastes better with a side order of sarcasm. Oi! (The Classic) Always a winner, this is the number one reprimand of choice.Continue reading “He Said, She Said: Resolving Sibling Disputes”
Fake It To Make It (Or Why Radio 4 Women’s Hour Missed the Point)
Anna Dusseau | 24th March 2020 Oh, what? Did I forget to mention that I was recently interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Women’s Hour? Apologies. I’ve been so busy going round telling anyone who’ll listen (my mum, the kids, the bathroom mirror, and teenwolf) that it must have slipped my mind to mention it inContinue reading “Fake It To Make It (Or Why Radio 4 Women’s Hour Missed the Point)”
Gettin’ Jiggy with It: Fresh Air and Exercise Homeschool Style
Anna Dusseau | 23rd March 2020 Happy Monday, guys! How’s everyone doing? Today marks the start of the official UK school closure and I hope you’re all coping okay. Believe me, even experienced homeschool families are struggling here, with cabin fever causing parents and children alike to resort to foot-stamping temper tantrums, like Big BrotherContinue reading “Gettin’ Jiggy with It: Fresh Air and Exercise Homeschool Style”
The Soundtrack to Sanity
Anna Dusseau | 20th March 2020 The best advice anyone gave me regarding parenting was to have the radio on in the background. That’s it! You’re welcome. But seriously, this passing comment has absolutely shaped my homeschool style and serves as a basis for keeping me calm and engaged throughout the day. Of course, theContinue reading “The Soundtrack to Sanity”
Waste Not, Want Not: Crafty Leftovers and Cooking From Scratch
Anna Dusseau | 19th March 2020 First, let me make one thing clear; I can do a fancy lunch. Which is another way of saying: ‘I’ve located the whereabouts of my nearest M&S Foodhall and I’m not afraid to use it’. So, just before we dive in and you emerge thinking that I’m 110% anContinue reading “Waste Not, Want Not: Crafty Leftovers and Cooking From Scratch”
Heigh-Ho It’s Home From Work We Go: Rules for Remote Working with Happy and Grumpy
Anna Dusseau | 17th March 2020 I still get the words wrong to this. It just seems like the lyrics should be ‘it’s off to work we go’, am I right? I mean okay, 1930s Disney-lovers, I get that it doesn’t work so well with the story line, but in terms of the iambic rhythm,Continue reading “Heigh-Ho It’s Home From Work We Go: Rules for Remote Working with Happy and Grumpy”
The Reading Nest: A Study in Multisensory Learning
Anna Dusseau | 16th March 2020 My kids have this annoying habit of dismantling the furniture. How it came to be that these pint-sized people have the strength and determination before breakfast to transform our old leather sofa into a fortress, I don’t honestly know, but this is how I often find the kitchen arrangedContinue reading “The Reading Nest: A Study in Multisensory Learning”
No School? No Problem! The Calm Mama’s Guide to Surviving the COVID-19 Quarantine
Anna Dusseau | 13th March 2020 Parents, brace yourselves. Because it’s looking increasingly likely that UK schools will soon be following Europe by closing their doors in an international effort to contain – or at least delay – the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Perhaps as you are reading this, you have just received theContinue reading “No School? No Problem! The Calm Mama’s Guide to Surviving the COVID-19 Quarantine”
The Definitive Reading List if You’re Just Starting Out
Anna Dusseau | 10th March 2020 First off, I want to say that this is not actually a list. Apologies for the title. My blogging guru Elna Cain told me readers love lists, so I thought this would make a catchy title; however, like everything in homeschooling, I found myself writing this post a bit..differently?Continue reading “The Definitive Reading List if You’re Just Starting Out”
15 Awkward Questions You’ll Get Asked About Homeschooling (and How to Answer Them)
Anna Dusseau | 4th March 2020 Let me guess. You’re loving homeschooling, right? I mean, I know we all have our ups and downs, but if you can recall, that was what the school routine was like, too. In fact, if I’m really honest with myself, almost every single day when my daughter was inContinue reading “15 Awkward Questions You’ll Get Asked About Homeschooling (and How to Answer Them)”
How Homeschooling Happens
Anna Dusseau | 2nd March 2020 This was definitely not the plan. Homeschooling happened to us, the same way it happened to most of the families I have met since, by surprise. And I mean birthday party surprise. Not the sarcastic surprise of a flat tyre, but the kind that lights up your whole face.Continue reading “How Homeschooling Happens”
Raising Bilingual Children
Anna Dusseau | 2nd March 2020 It didn’t happen straight away for us. The bilingual thing. My daughter prefers English but speaks French well, albeit with a plummy, British accent. My middle son speaks French and English equally well and, astonishingly, without accent. The little one has adopted the Marseillais growl of his father andContinue reading “Raising Bilingual Children”
Eco and Glam? Why Visiting The Cotswolds Means You Can Have Your Cake and Eat It..
Anna Dusseau | 2nd March 2020 Perhaps I am rather late to the party, but has anyone noticed just how great The Cotswolds are for a mini break or even more extended getaway? Set in the luxuriously undulating landscape that governs the boarder between Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, this glorious region of the UK enables youContinue reading “Eco and Glam? Why Visiting The Cotswolds Means You Can Have Your Cake and Eat It..”