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”
Tag Archives: parenting
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”
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”