Kelly of Kelly Halldorson-Unscensored:

Some people might look at us and see neglectful parents, parents with kids that don’t have a lot of rules and don’t even have electricity…but those people would be so far from reality. Jeff and I have *never* been more attentive to the needs of our children than we have been this past year. We talk with them constantly about what their individual interests and goals are. We are WITH them nearly all the time. We bring them on adventures. We introduce them to more families and children who may or may not live how we do. We talk with them but more importantly we listen to them. We answer questions. We discuss. We find resources for their interests. Which include music, building, friends, technology, welding, boating, animals…and more of course…there is always more.

Teresa of Parenting for Social Change:

Ironically, when I accept all the parts of myself, I come much closer to liberating myself from this dominant paradigm. I have spent almost 45 years living and accepting the idea that the feelings, needs, and desires of adults were more important than any child’s feelings, needs and desires. For Greyson’s (and Martel’s) sake, I hope that unlearning this will not take another 45 years.

Kati of Radical Mama:

Then I remembered to breathe.

I packed up the kids and we went to my parents. It was cool there and that already made a huge difference in everyone’s outlook on things. But I could feel how disconnected we were.

Jeff of Just a Bald Man:

The real hard part is dealing with being imperfect. When we make a mistake, be it raising our voice, making a cutting comment, or making a judgment about our children’s needs or wants, we let it consume us. We beat ourselves up, questioning not only our performance in the moment but our fitness as a parent altogether. We lose our ability to be objective about all of the amazing things we do each day, all of the things that create an environment of peace and harmony.

Lisa of Perpetual Joy:

My Essence, my TrueSelf, already knows “it is all ok.” This state of it “all being ok” does not come from a place of figuring it out. It does not come from a place of doing anything. It never really comes from a place of ego. It comes from a place of Being.

It comes from a place of being.in.the.moment. When i am in each moment, all those thoughts of the ego don’t occur. And inevitably, all is well.

Katherine of Essentially Unschooling:

Peace is the best armor in a stressed out world. Confidence is way better than fear alone. Karl can’t help but notice how odd it is that people get worked up but being in the midst of it doesn’t prepare one for it. Knowing the difference gives one a taste for a better way, that’s all. I mean, that’s how I feel about being lucky enough to appreciate unschooling. The peace we have in our family as a result of that find is amazing.

Briana of Serenity:

In the heat of the moment, I have some simple strategies. It takes a lot of re-programming myself, but I try stop a blow-up before it starts. I can’t remember who came up with “Connect before you correct” but I love it.

Jen of The Hippy Shire:

Unschooling has, without a doubt, helped us put our life back together. Extending the philosophy to embrace every aspect of our life has given us a new hope, at a time when we were feeling completely hopeless. Eight months ago, we had resigned ourselves to thinking that for these two years while Shawn was unemployed and in school, our life was essentially on hold. I can’t imagine why we were okay with giving up two entire years of our life, now that we see how much living we would be missing out on.

Stephanie of Learning Through Living:

So while things seemed to be going all wrong, we persevered and stuck together and got through it.
Unschooling for us truly is a way of life, we adjust and go with life’s turns and twists all the while learning so much each day.

Faith of Bearthmama:

Throughout these years we grew as unschoolers. My issues really came to light during all this stress. My hand was forced quite a few times. My kids needs were real in that moment. They didn’t care about my stress they needed me to be the gentle loving mother they deserved. I learned to breath a lot. I learned to “shut up”. I learned to Q-TIP and allow space in my head for possibilities. I learned that when I had nothing left to give, when I was looking at the flip side on the bottom of the barrel I could find a way to pull “mama magic” out of my ass. I could still give even when I had nothing.

Special Thanks to Kelly Halldorson for permission to use her amazing photos. They are all copyrighted by the photographer.

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