In this episode, I am chatting with Carey Kirkella who lives with her husband and eight-year-old son in New York City. They came to unschooling after her son had many struggles at pre-K then in Kindergarten. Though on the outside he seemed to be doing fine, Carey saw how he was becoming more anxious and stressed and had increasing sensory issues.

Carey shares how her son is doing now and how their lives look, along with all the challenges that come with accompanying a child as they recover from burnout, and how that impacts her too. I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Connect with Carey

instagram.com

LinkedIn

www.careykirkella.com

If you'd like to support the podcast and the sharing of these stories, you can do that here. Thank you!

The Parent's Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. A Mindful Guide to Embracing a New Way of Living and Learning With Your Child

You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

Today’s episode is a little different as I am chatting with Victor and Eitan, who are 16 and 15 and attend Alcove Learning, a self-directed learning space in LA. They both came to Alcove after many years in public school, and after some mental health struggles. It was really such a joy to talk with them about what it has meant to them to have choice and agency over what they do in their days, and to be part of a supportive community that places wellbeing above all else. They really have so many wonderful and thoughtful insights to share. I hope you enjoy the conversation!

https://www.alcovelearning.org/

If you'd like to support the podcast and the sharing of these stories, you can do that here. Thank you!

The Parent's Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. A Mindful Guide to Embracing a New Way of Living and Learning With Your Child

You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

In this episode I am chatting with Munira Adenwalla, who is an occupational therapist and lives in London with her 14-year-old son. Munira realised when her son was young that school would not be a good fit for him. We talk about how our school conditioning runs deep and the worries that can come when we step away from it. And Munira tells us what unschooling looks like for her son, and how in hindsight she can see how his particular path has unfolded as he has followed his interests. We also talk about why unschooling allows neurodivergent children far more space to understand themselves and to forge a path that feels right for them.

Connect with Munira

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/ot4kidswithmunira
Parents' FB Group: www.facebook.com/groups/helpingkidswrite
Website: https://www.ot4kids.co.uk

If you'd like to support the podcast and the sharing of these stories, you can do that here. Thank you!

The Parent's Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. A Mindful Guide to Embracing a New Way of Living and Learning With Your Child

You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

This episode, I am with Zahra Lightway and Patricia Sprenger of Light Way Learning. Both came to alternative education through feeling disilusioned with the education system, Zahra as a teacher whose son had found the system difficult, and Patricia as a parent whose children were struggling at school. We talk about learning looks when it doesn’t look like school, the power of just observing our children, and the amazing things that can happen when they have agency over their own learning. And, they explain why they started Lightway Learning, to help parents with their transition to learning beyond school. I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Zahra Lightway, M.Ed, BA
Co-founder of Light Way Learning and creator of Famli & Light Way Home Educator Academy. I understand what it's like to watch children lose their spark in traditional schooling. I witnessed it for over a decade as a classroom teacher. That heartbreak led me to spend four years researching how children actually learn best, drawing from 150+ years of alternative education research and real experience with hundreds of families. I created the Light Way Home Educator Academy to give parents what I wished I'd had: a clear, proven framework that honors how children naturally learn while giving families the structure and support they need to feel confident: a course, coaching, community and AI tool to make learning visible, all in one place. My approach weaves together holistic educational principles, emotional intelligence, and collaborative decision-making tools, all designed to help parents create a learning life that feels joyful and sustainable rather than stressful and overwhelming. You can find out more about our first course, The Foundations Journey, here and/or do our free introductory training here.

Patricia Sprenger home educated her two children from ages 10 and 11 through high school, blending her 30-year background as a movement specialist with an academic approach rooted in nervous-system balance, emotional regulation, and organic, interest-driven learning. Drawing on her expertise in the language of the body, she developed a holistic educational model that was intentional yet free-spirited, honoring every curiosity with equal value. Now in their early twenties, her children are thriving—one in his first year of law school at UCincinnati, and the other completing her final year in plant science at Cornell University before pursuing a PhD. Patricia currently serves as a co-founder and academic advisor for Homeschool Directive, a globally recognized accredited home-education program that empowers families to personalize learning and confidently translate student interests into rigorous coursework that is respected by both universities and employers.

If you'd like to support the podcast and the sharing of these stories, you can do that here. Thank you!

The Parent's Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. A Mindful Guide to Embracing a New Way of Living and Learning With Your Child

You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

In this episode, I am talking with Sue Patterson, who lives in Austin Texas. Sue is an unschooling coach, author, and the founder and voice behind Unschooling Mom2Mom. Sue has three adult children, who are now in their thirties, and who were all unschooled. Sue tells of how she came to unschooling when her children were young, after seeing how they were failing to thrive in traditional school. We talk about her deschooling process and how important it is to change the stories in our heads, and to focus on the here and now and the connection with our children. I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Connect with Sue

Unschooling Mom2Mom: http://www.UnschoolingMom2Mom.com
Creating Confidence Daily App: https://www.unschoolingmom2mom.com/creating-confidence-daily
Unschooling Membership Community: https://www.unschoolingmom2mom.com/creating-confidence-membership
Strewing Calendar: https://www.unschoolingmom2mom.com/strewing-calendars

If you'd like to support the podcast and the sharing of these stories, you can do that here. Thank you!

The Parent's Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. A Mindful Guide to Embracing a New Way of Living and Learning With Your Child

You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

In this episode I’m chatting with Jenny Mainwaring who lives near Oxford in the UK. Jenny took her oldest son out of school while still in primary school and suffering from burnout. Jenny describes the slow process of helping him feel safe again and how they have seen him come back to his interests and the things he naturally wants to explore. In fact, Jenny’s son who is now 12 encouraged Jenny to share their story so other children can know that things do get better. A little later, Jenny also took her younger son out of school and we talk about how they try to work together to meet everyone’s needs, what socialising looks like, and the importance of safe adults.

You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

To mark the podcast's 100 conversations, this episode is a little different. I am in conversation with Melissa Crockett-Joyoue who runs the Weave online community and is also an unschooling mother. She and I co-founded The Unschooling Summit with last year and we are currently working on this year’s event. It is free, online and takes place on March 20th-22nd, with recordings available. You can sign up for reminders at www.theunschoolingsummit.org.

We just wanted to talk a bit about the summit, and how our experiences, and all the podcast conversations have helped to shape this offering. And we go off on a couple of tangents too. I hope you enjoy the conversation and hope to see you at the summit!

You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

My guest this episode is Cassie Emmott from East Sussex in the UK. Cassie lives with her husband and four children, who are all neurodivergent, and two of her children have additional needs.

We talk about how unschooling looks in Cassie’s family and how she and her husband manage everyone’s different needs and interests. We talk about the deep learning that she sees happening in its own time, and the importance of those moments of deep connection with our children that naturally arise in the day. And we talk about how important it is that we are able to stay resourced in order to be able to stay present and keep our own nervous systems regulated.

Connect with Cassie on Instagram

You can find my blog, workshops and courses at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace