Whether it's leaving school behind, changing careers, moving across the world, or simply choosing a different way of parenting, many of the biggest decisions we make ask us to step into the unknown before we know how things will turn out.

In this 100th episode of Radical Learning Talks, we reflect on the role courage has played in our own lives. We explore why fear isn't always a warning sign, how courage grows through practice rather than certainty, and why the life we're longing for often begins just beyond the edge of what feels comfortable.

We explore:

• Why courage and fear always seem to arrive together

• How our relationship with the unknown changes over time

• Why waiting until you feel "ready" often keeps us stuck

• The connection between courage, dreaming and personal growth

• How choosing a different path transforms not only us, but the people around us

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

For many parents, stepping away from conventional education isn't just about making different choices for their own children. It also changes how they see the world around them. Conversations about school can suddenly feel loaded, especially when the people we love have dedicated their lives to teaching or hold very different beliefs about education.

In this episode, we examine how to question educational systems without losing empathy for the people within them. We talk about the difference between criticizing a system and criticizing the humans working inside it, why many of us become more binary in our thinking at the beginning of our deschooling journey, and how curiosity and relationship can create more meaningful conversations than trying to convince others.

We explore:

• Why conversations about school often become deeply personal

• The difference between criticizing systems and criticizing people

• Why empathy matters when discussing education

• How to navigate family relationships when your views on schooling differ

• Supporting children to make their own educational choices—even if that includes school

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Most parents do.

We picture their future, notice their potential, hope they'll use their gifts well, and quietly carry dreams for the life we want them to have. But what happens when those dreams begin to shape how we relate to the child standing in front of us?

In this episode, we look at one of the most subtle forms of control in parenting: our expectations. We talk about the difference between modelling our values and moulding our children, why fear for the future can make us project our hopes onto them, and how unconditional love asks us to see our children for who they already are—not who we hope they'll become.

This conversation is an invitation to notice the expectations we all carry, not with guilt, but with curiosity.

In this episode we explore:

• Why even positive expectations can limit a child's freedom

• The difference between modelling values and moulding children

• How fear for the future shapes our parenting

• Why unconditional love means making space for your child's own path

• Supporting children without attaching them to outcomes

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Whether we're rethinking education, parenting, activism or the systems we live within, it's easy to focus on changing what's around us. But what if lasting change also asks us to look inward?

In this conversation with our dear friend Chemay Morales-James from My Reflection Matters Village, we explore the relationship between healing, liberation and self-directed living.

Together, we unpack why unschooling often becomes a gateway to questioning much more than school, how oppressive systems can quietly recreate themselves even inside liberation movements, and why community, intuition and inner work are essential if we want to build something genuinely different.

This episode also takes an unexpected turn as we share a live Sense Thinking exercise exploring fear, intuition and the wisdom of the body—a beautiful glimpse into one of the practices that has deeply influenced our own work.

In this episode we explore:

• Why healing is an essential part of liberation

• How oppressive systems recreate themselves when we don't examine our own patterns

• The connection between unschooling, decolonization and personal transformation

• Why intuition, community and the body matter as much as knowledge

• A live Sense Thinking process exploring fear and the unknown

Learn more about Chemay’s land project in Puerto Rico

Learn about SenseThinking w/ Aitabé

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It's advice many parents hear when they begin questioning conventional education or exploring self-directed learning—but what if trust doesn't come naturally?

What if your own experiences have taught you the opposite?

In this episode, we answer a beautiful question from one of our listeners: How do you actually learn to trust? Beyond asking for reassurance from friends or reminding yourself to "stay calm," what helps trust become something you can genuinely feel?

We share personal stories from our own parenting journeys and explore how trust isn't something you either have or don't have—it's something you gradually build through experience. We talk about fear, surrender, intuition, nature, and the small everyday moments that slowly reshape how we relate to our children—and to ourselves.

In this episode we explore:

• Why trusting your child is often harder than it sounds

• How fear quietly shapes our parenting decisions

• Why trust grows through practice, not certainty

• The role of nature, intuition and slowing down

• How surrender and observation can transform your relationship with your child

• The difference between trusting your child and being negligent

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

After sending out a community survey, we invited people to ask us anything. The result was a rich conversation that touches on some of the biggest questions we hear—from navigating criticism and trusting your intuition, to burnout, screen time, community, public education and what it really means to live without school.

Rather than offering one-size-fits-all answers, we explore the questions underneath the questions. Together we reflect on discernment, family culture, recovery from burnout, raising young people with agency, and why so much of this journey is less about having the "right" answer and more about learning to ask different questions.

Whether you're just beginning to question conventional education or you've been on this path for years, chances are you'll hear a question that resonates with your own experience.

In this episode we explore:

• How to navigate conflicting advice and trust your own discernment
• Creating a family culture where everyone's needs matter
• Finding community when there aren't many like-minded families nearby
• Helping children recover from burnout after school
• Screen time, trust and supporting children without controlling them
• Whether public education can truly change
• Why "unschooling" sometimes feels too small a word for what this journey becomes

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It's one of the biggest fears parents face—especially when they're considering stepping away from conventional education or choosing a different path for their family. What if your child resents you? What if this doesn't work? What if you've made a mistake you can't undo?

In this episode, we examine why these questions feel so overwhelming and what they reveal about the way many of us have been taught to think about parenting, certainty and success. We talk about the difference between decisions that come from fear and those that come from deep alignment, why no decision has to be permanent, and how learning to live with uncertainty is part of raising children—and being human.

Rather than searching for guarantees, we invite parents to think about decision-making as an ongoing process of listening, adapting and responding. Because perhaps the goal isn't to get every decision right. Perhaps it's to stay present enough to keep making the next one.

In this episode we explore:

• Why the fear of "getting it wrong" feels so powerful
• The illusion that conventional paths guarantee safety or success
• Why parenting isn't about finding the perfect answer
• How uncertainty can become a place of growth rather than fear
• Making decisions that align with your values instead of social expectations
• Why every decision can be revisited as your family grows and changes

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It's one of the first questions parents ask when they begin exploring unschooling. But underneath it are so many others: Am I doing enough? What if I get this wrong? What if my child falls behind?

In this episode, we explore why beginning the unschooling journey can feel so unsettling—and why that's completely understandable. Stepping away from conventional education isn't just a change in where learning happens. It's a shift in how we think about children, learning, relationships, time, success, and even ourselves.

We talk about why so many parents feel pressure to "do unschooling right," why the first season often needs to be one of healing rather than productivity, and why the real work isn't about creating the perfect learning environment for your child—it's about learning to relate to them, and to yourself, in a different way.

If you're standing at the beginning of this journey wondering whether you're capable of doing this, this conversation is for you.

In this episode we explore:

• Why unschooling is a paradigm shift, not just an educational choice
• The pressure parents feel to "do it right"
• Why healing often comes before learning
• Letting go of productivity and making space for being
• Why relationship—not curriculum—is at the heart of unschooling
• How uncertainty can become an invitation instead of a threat

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

What if it's learning to live without certainty?

Many of us have been taught that there is a right path, a right answer, or a blueprint for how life should unfold. But what happens when we begin questioning those assumptions? And what becomes possible when we stop trying to control every outcome?

In this deeply reflective conversation with Chevanni Davids from the Reimagined Learning Community in South Africa, we wander through questions of learning, uncertainty, initiation, community, decolonization and imagination. Together, we consider what it means to let go of inherited ways of thinking without simply replacing them with new certainties, and why the practice of unschooling might be less about education than about learning to be in relationship with life itself.

Some of the themes we sit with include:

• Why uncertainty can become a place of wisdom instead of fear
• Unschooling as an ongoing process of initiation
• The difference between moving away from something and moving towards something
• Why we so easily recreate the systems we're trying to leave behind
• The role of gentleness, silence and spaciousness in learning
• Remembering our connection to life, community and the more-than-human world

You can contact Chevanni here:

IG: @che_reimagined, @reimaginedlearning

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

For many people, the phrase feels unfamiliar—or even uncomfortable. In this episode, we unpack where the idea comes from, why it matters, and how it changes the way we think about children, learning and the purpose of education itself.

Rather than focusing only on history, we explore how colonized ways of thinking continue to shape our schools, our parenting, and even our ideas about success, intelligence and what it means to be a "good" learner. We also ask a bigger question: if we're trying to create something different, how do we avoid recreating the very systems we're hoping to leave behind?

This conversation isn't about having all the answers. It's an invitation to look more deeply at the assumptions we've inherited—and to imagine new possibilities for learning, relationships and community.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What "decolonizing education" actually means
• How schooling has shaped the way we think about children and learning
• Why education is about much more than academic subjects
• Different ways of knowing beyond the intellect
• Why young people's voices are often missing from conversations about education
• Small ways families can begin questioning inherited ideas and creating something different

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

For many families, questioning school is only the beginning. Over time, the conversation expands beyond education and becomes something much bigger: how we relate to ourselves, our children, our communities and life itself.

In this deeply moving conversation with Akilah S. Richards, author of Raising Free People and host of Fear of the Free Child, we explore grief, liberation, ritual, uncertainty and what it means to follow life instead of trying to control it. We talk about why so much of the work begins within us, how healing isn't always about fixing, and why learning to stay present with discomfort can become one of our greatest teachers.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, to listen more deeply, and to trust that life has its own wisdom if we're willing to follow it.

Some of the themes we explore include:

• How unschooling becomes a way of living—not just an educational choice
• Grief as an essential part of growth and transformation
• Why we don't need to have everything figured out
• The difference between trying to control life and learning to follow it
• Ritual, presence and creating space for what wants to emerge
• Liberation, dignity and trusting ourselves through uncertainty

Tune in now, and check out Akilah’s new podcast What I Let Die here.

You can also find and support Akilah’s work here.

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

When the world feels uncertain, it's easy to focus on protecting our children from what might happen. But what if the most important thing we can offer isn't certainty at all?

In this conversation, we reflect on what young people truly need to navigate an unpredictable world. Rather than trying to control every outcome or prepare them for every possible challenge, we explore how agency, self-awareness, emotional safety and authentic relationships become the foundation for navigating uncertainty with confidence.

We also look inward. Because supporting children through uncertain times isn't only about what we teach them—it's about the work we're willing to do ourselves. The more we understand our own fears, reactions and inherited patterns, the more we can create relationships that help young people trust themselves and meet the future with curiosity rather than fear.

Some of the questions we sit with include:

• What do children really need in uncertain times?
• Why agency matters more than certainty
• How our own fears influence the way we parent
• The role of healing and shadow work in raising confident young people
• Why emotional safety creates resilience
• How parents can become active participants in creating a different future

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It's easy to spend our energy criticizing broken systems, pointing fingers, or wishing things were different. But what if real change begins somewhere else? What if it starts with the way we relate to ourselves, our children and the people around us every day?

In this conversation, we reflect on the importance of dreaming—not as wishful thinking, but as a practice of imagining and creating the kind of world we want to live in. We talk about why slowing down matters, how play, community and curiosity help us reconnect with ourselves, and why creating meaningful change asks us to embody the values we hope to see in the world.

Rather than waiting for someone else to fix what's broken, this episode is an invitation to begin where we are and become part of the future we're longing for.

Some of the ideas we explore include:

• Why criticizing broken systems isn't enough
• How we unintentionally recreate the patterns we're trying to change
• The importance of dreaming and creating space for possibility
• Reconnecting with play, intuition and community
• Small everyday choices that shape the lives we want to live
• Why meaningful change begins with how we relate to ourselves and others

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It's a question we hear all the time—from parents living in countries where school is mandatory, from families whose children have chosen to attend school, and from parents who simply aren't in a position to leave the system right now.

In this episode, we explore why unschooling is much more than a decision about where your child learns. It's an ongoing practice of questioning inherited beliefs, changing the way we relate to young people, and creating more trust, agency and connection within our families—regardless of whether school is part of the picture.

We also talk about what it means to advocate for your child within the school system, why your own deschooling matters just as much as your child's experience, and how letting go of "schoolishness" can transform family life even when school remains part of your reality.

Some of the questions we sit with include:

• Can you practice unschooling while your child attends school?
• What does it mean to "deschool" yourself as a parent?
• How can you advocate for your child's needs within the school system?
• Why your relationship with your child matters more than where they learn
• Letting go of inherited beliefs about success, testing and education
• Why unschooling is a daily practice rather than a label

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents leave conventional school hoping they've finally found the answer. But creating a different kind of educational space isn't simply about changing where children learn. It asks something different of all of us.

In this episode, we reflect on what we've learned after founding, leading and supporting self-directed learning communities around the world. We talk about why thriving communities can't be built through transaction alone, how parents, facilitators and organizers all play an essential role, and why leaving school doesn't automatically mean we've left schoolishness behind.

Whether you're part of a learning centre, dreaming of starting one, or simply curious about how strong communities are built, this conversation offers an honest look at what helps these spaces flourish—and what often gets in the way.

Some of the questions we sit with include:

• Why self-directed learning communities succeed—or struggle
• The role parents play beyond simply dropping off their children
• Why deschooling is essential for adults as well as young people
• Shared responsibility, trust and healthy communication in community
• How power dynamics can quietly recreate conventional schooling
• What it means to build a culture where everyone can thrive

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Whether you're navigating grief, illness, financial stress, postpartum depression or another difficult season, many parents wonder the same thing: Am I doing enough? What if homeschooling or unschooling has to take a back seat while we simply try to get through the day?

In this episode, we question the assumption that learning only happens when life feels stable. We explore why difficult seasons aren't interruptions to education—they're part of it. Children learn by living alongside us, witnessing how we navigate uncertainty, solve problems, care for one another and move through change together.

Rather than striving to keep everything "on track," we reflect on what becomes possible when we trust that life itself is one of our greatest teachers.

Some of the questions and ideas we sit with include:

• How to navigate homeschooling or unschooling during difficult seasons
• Why life doesn't stop teaching when routines fall apart
• Supporting children through grief, illness, financial stress and major life changes
• Letting go of the pressure to "do enough"
• How honesty, partnership and shared problem-solving strengthen family relationships
• Why relationships matter more than keeping up with a curriculum

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It's a question many homeschooling and unschooling parents ask—often after they've spent months or years putting everyone else's needs ahead of their own. But what if self-care isn't something extra to squeeze into an already full day? What if it's part of creating a healthy family life?

In this episode, we challenge the idea that good parents should always come last. We talk about meeting our own needs, setting loving boundaries, finding joy in everyday life, and why taking care of ourselves isn't separate from caring for our children. In fact, it's one of the most powerful things we can model.

We also reflect on parental burnout, guilt, resentment, and the importance of remembering that parents are on their own deschooling journey too.

Some of the questions and ideas we sit with include:

• What does self-care really look like while homeschooling or unschooling?
• Why burnout often has roots in schoolish expectations
• Helping children understand and respect our needs
• Setting loving boundaries without guilt
• Why joy is an essential part of caring for ourselves
• Modeling self-care, agency and healthy relationships for our children

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

For many homeschooling and unschooling families, leaving school doesn't mean leaving schoolish thinking behind. It's easy to keep comparing our children, our parenting and our daily lives to an invisible standard—even after we've chosen a different path.

In this conversation, we reflect on what happens when that comparison gradually begins to fade. We talk about the pressure to prove that children are learning, the expectations we carry as parents, and the surprising freedom that comes when life is no longer organized around school—even mentally.

This isn't a conversation about abandoning learning. It's about discovering that life, relationships and human development don't need to revolve around constantly measuring progress.

Some of the questions and ideas we sit with include:

• What does it mean to live beyond the shadow of school?
• Why many homeschooling and unschooling parents still compare themselves to conventional education
• Letting go of the pressure to prove that children are learning
• How expectations shape our parenting and our family life
• Why human development is different from school achievement
• Creating a family culture that isn't driven by productivity or comparison

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Around the world, more families are wondering whether conventional education is still meeting the needs of today's children. Rising levels of anxiety, burnout and disengagement have led many people to ask deeper questions about what school is designed to do—and whether it prepares young people for the world they're actually growing up in.

In this episode, we take a thoughtful look at the history of modern schooling, why it was originally created, and how many of its underlying assumptions continue to shape education today. We also explore why one-size-fits-all learning struggles to honour children's individuality, why relationships matter more than standardization, and what becomes possible when we begin imagining education differently.

This isn't about blaming parents or teachers. It's an invitation to question the system itself with curiosity, compassion and hope.

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• Why the modern school system was originally created
• How standardized education shapes children's experience of learning
• Why so many young people are struggling with anxiety, burnout and disengagement
• The difference between preparing children for tests and preparing them for life
• Why relationships are at the heart of meaningful education
• How families can begin questioning school while supporting their children in the present

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many of us believe children have the right to an education. But what if the conversation needs to go much deeper? What if the real question is whether young people are being treated as full human beings—with agency, dignity and a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their lives?

In this episode, we explore why youth rights are at the heart of everything we do at Radical Learning. We reflect on the history of compulsory education, how adultism continues to shape the way society views young people, and why creating better educational systems begins with changing our relationship to power.

This conversation isn't only for parents or educators. It's an invitation to rethink how we see children, whose voices we value, and what becomes possible when young people are recognized as active participants in shaping their own lives.

Some of the ideas we discuss include:

• What youth rights advocacy actually means
• The difference between the right to education and compulsory schooling
• How adultism shapes our relationships with young people
• Why listening to children's voices matters
• The role of agency, autonomy and shared decision-making
• Why reimagining education begins with reimagining our view of children

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It's a question many parents wrestle with. We want our children to become independent, confident and capable, but we also carry the responsibility of keeping them safe. So how do we know when to step in—and when to step back?

In this conversation, we reflect on how to navigate that tension without relying on rigid rules. Through stories about risk-taking, screen time, emotional wellbeing and everyday parenting decisions, we explore what it means to support children's growing autonomy while also recognising the responsibility we hold as caring adults.

Rather than looking for one answer that fits every situation, we ask a different question: What does this particular child need in this particular moment? Again and again, we come back to the importance of observation, conversation and relationship. Because every child is different, and thoughtful parenting begins with paying attention before reacting.

Some of the questions we discuss include:

• How much freedom should children have?
• When should parents step in—and when should they step back?
• Helping children become responsible without taking over
• Balancing freedom, responsibility and safety
• Why observation matters more than rigid parenting rules
• How conversations build trust, confidence and shared responsibility over time

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many people believe the answer is no. They worry that friendship means giving up authority, losing boundaries or allowing children to "take over." But what if we've misunderstood what friendship actually is?

In this episode, we challenge one of the most common parenting beliefs: that parents and children shouldn't be friends. We explore how genuine friendship isn't about giving children all the power or avoiding responsibility. It's about building relationships rooted in trust, honesty, vulnerability and mutual respect.

We also reflect on power, adultism, secrecy, perfectionism and why authentic relationships make it more—not less—likely that children will come to us when they need support. Because perhaps the goal isn't to raise children who simply obey us. Perhaps it's to build relationships that last long after childhood is over.

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• Can parents and children really be friends?
• Does friendship mean giving up boundaries or responsibility?
• Why trust grows when power is shared rather than controlled
• How vulnerability creates deeper relationships
• Why secrecy often grows out of fear rather than freedom
• Building relationships with our children that continue into adulthood

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It's one of the most common questions homeschooling and unschooling families hear. Many people assume that school is where children learn to make friends, build relationships and become part of society. But is that really true?

In this episode, we take a closer look at one of the biggest myths about learning outside school. We question what socialization actually means and whether spending every day in a classroom is the best way for children to develop meaningful relationships.

We also explore friendship, belonging, bullying, introversion, neurodivergence and the difference between simply being surrounded by people and forming genuine human connections. Because perhaps the real question isn't whether children can socialize without school—but whether school is the only place where authentic relationships can grow.

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• Can children socialize without school?
• Do homeschooled and unschooling children make friends?
• What does socialization actually mean?
• Why school isn't the only place children build relationships
• Belonging, bullying and the pressure to fit in
• Why meaningful friendships don't always look the way we expect

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It's one of the biggest fears parents have when they begin questioning school. If you're not trained as a teacher, how can you possibly support your child's learning?

In this episode, we challenge one of the deepest assumptions many of us carry: that teaching and learning are the same thing. We reflect on our own experiences in school, the many things we learned without ever being taught, and why curiosity, relationships and real life often become far more powerful teachers than lessons or curricula.

We also explore the difference between teaching, guiding and learning alongside our children. Because perhaps our role isn't to have all the answers. Perhaps it's to create the conditions where learning naturally unfolds.

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• Do you need to be a teacher to homeschool?
• Can children learn without being taught?
• Why teaching and learning aren't the same thing
• Supporting curiosity instead of delivering lessons
• Letting go of the pressure to know everything
• Creating a home where learning is part of everyday life

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It's one of the most common questions we hear from parents exploring unschooling, homeschooling and self-directed learning. If children are free to follow their interests instead of being pushed through a curriculum, how will they develop resilience? How will they learn to deal with disappointment, frustration and life's inevitable challenges?

In this episode, we explore why resilience doesn't grow through control or carefully designed hardships. It grows through agency, choice and having meaningful reasons to persevere. We reflect on the difference between imposed challenges and the ones children naturally embrace when they're deeply engaged in something that matters to them.

Whether you're new to unschooling, homeschooling or simply curious about self-directed education, this conversation invites you to look beyond academic achievement and ask a different question: What actually prepares a young person for life? We talk about fear, self-esteem, emotional regulation and why supporting children to know themselves may be one of the greatest gifts we can offer.

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• Will unschooling prepare children for real life?
• How do children develop resilience?
• Why agency and choice build confidence
• The difference between imposed challenges and meaningful challenges
• Why play, curiosity and self-direction develop problem-solving skills
• Preparing children for an uncertain future by helping them know themselves

It's one of the hardest questions parents face, especially when our children develop differently from those around them. Whether it's social confidence, independence, learning or everyday life skills, it can be difficult to know when to step in, when to offer support and when to simply wait.

In this episode, Becka shares a deeply personal story about her son navigating an important milestone on his own. Together, we reflect on what it means to support a child without taking over, how fear and comparison can quietly shape our parenting, and why meeting each child where they are often requires us to let go of our own expectations.

We also explore neurodivergence, intrinsic motivation and the difference between preparing our children for life's challenges and pushing them before they're ready. Because perhaps our role isn't to decide the pace of our children's development—but to become thoughtful partners as they find their own way.

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• Am I pushing my child too much?
• How do I know when to step in—and when to wait?
• Supporting neurodivergent children without taking over
• Why comparison creates unnecessary fear
• The difference between preparing children and pushing them
• Trusting your child's own pace while offering the support they need

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many people use the terms interchangeably, but they aren't the same thing. While both involve learning outside conventional school, they often reflect very different beliefs about children, learning and the role of parents.

In this episode, we explore what separates homeschooling from unschooling—and why the difference goes far beyond curriculum. We talk about adult agendas, motivation, agency, consent and the tendency to recreate school at home without even realizing it.

Whether you're considering homeschooling, curious about unschooling or simply questioning the conventional education system, this conversation invites you to look beyond how children learn and ask a deeper question: What kind of life are we trying to create together?

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• What's the difference between homeschooling and unschooling?
• Why children often lose motivation when school is recreated at home
• The role of agency, autonomy and consent in learning
• Why relationships matter more than curriculum
• Questioning conventional ideas about education and success
• Supporting children to thrive through trust, curiosity and connection

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents spend countless hours thinking about learning, routines and educational approaches. But there's something even more fundamental shaping children's lives every day: the culture we create together.

In this episode, we explore what family culture really means and why it matters whether you're homeschooling, unschooling or raising your children within the school system. We talk about values, consent, autonomy, equity and the everyday interactions that quietly shape how we relate to one another.

Rather than asking, "What's the right educational approach?" we invite a different question: What kind of family do we want to become together? Because when we're intentional about the culture we're creating, our decisions become clearer, our relationships grow stronger, and learning naturally becomes part of everyday life.

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• What is family culture?
• Why family culture matters more than curriculum
• How values shape everyday family life
• Building a home where children can truly thrive
• The role of autonomy, consent and equity in parenting
• Creating your family culture intentionally instead of by default

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we talk with Zoe, an unschooling teenager, and Christian, a long-time staff member at Not Back to School Camp, about what happens when young people have the chance to build genuine community outside the school system.

Together we explore why connection doesn't have to happen in classrooms, what makes Not Back to School Camp such a transformative experience, and how trust, autonomy and shared values create the conditions for deep friendships. We also talk about workshops, music, belonging, neurodivergence, identity, conflict, and what it feels like to find a place where you can truly be yourself.

Whether you're wondering how your child will make friends, looking for community as an unschooling family, or simply curious about what happens when young people are trusted, this conversation offers a hopeful glimpse into what's possible.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Where do unschooling teens find friends?
• What is Not Back to School Camp?
• Why is community so important for unschooling families?
• How do young people build deep friendships outside school?
• What makes a space feel safe enough to be yourself?
• Why do so many teens describe camp as life-changing?

Find out more about Not Back to School Camp

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

When we think about friendship, it's easy to focus on whether our children have enough friends. But perhaps the more important question is: What kind of friendships are they building?

In this episode, we explore what makes a friendship truly life-enhancing. We reflect on belonging versus fitting in, trust, boundaries, authenticity and why the healthiest relationships allow us to grow rather than ask us to become someone we're not.

We also talk about how our own experiences of friendship shape the way we support our children. Whether your child is unschooling, homeschooling or attending school, this conversation invites you to think beyond socialization and consider what healthy relationships really look and feel like—for children and for adults.

Some of the questions and ideas we discuss include:

• How do children build healthy friendships?
• What's the difference between belonging and fitting in?
• How can parents support children to navigate friendships?
• Why trust, boundaries and curiosity matter in relationships
• Can children build meaningful friendships without school?
• What does a life-enhancing friendship actually look like?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we sit down with educator, researcher and unschooling parent Marnie Kammersell to explore neurodivergence through a radically different lens.

Together we unpack what labels can—and can't—offer families, why understanding often matters more than diagnosis, and how creating environments that meet children's needs can transform family life.

We also explore why so many neurodivergent families are drawn to homeschooling and unschooling, how schools can unintentionally encourage masking, and why curiosity, acceptance and flexibility often lead to far more meaningful support than trying to make children fit a predetermined mould.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What does neurodivergence actually mean?
• When should parents explore an assessment or diagnosis?
• How can understanding neurodivergence support both children and adults?
• Why are so many neurodivergent families drawn to homeschooling and unschooling?
• How do we support neurodivergent children without trying to "fix" them?
• What role do curiosity, autonomy and belonging play in helping children thrive?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

You can find Marni’s work and contact her here

Additional Resources

Neuroqueer Heresies by Nick Walker

We're All Neurodiverse by Sonny Jane Wise

Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors by Robyn Gobbel

A Different Way to Learn by Naomi Fisher Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau

Disability Visibility by Alice Wong

These are some of the questions we hear most often from parents considering homeschooling or unschooling.

In this episode, we share our personal experiences of raising only children outside the school system. We talk honestly about the challenges, the unexpected gifts, and what community has looked like when there aren't siblings to play with or a large local unschooling community to lean on.

We also explore how online friendships, deep parent-child relationships and giving children agency over their own lives can create a rich and meaningful childhood—even when it sometimes includes seasons of loneliness.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Can an only child thrive without school?
• How do only children build friendships outside school?
• Is loneliness always something to fix?
• What role can online communities play in a child's life?
• How do parents balance work and unschooling with one child?
• What are some of the unexpected benefits of raising an only child?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we sit down with Amanda Diekman, author of Low Demand Parenting, to explore a radically different way of supporting children whose nervous systems are overwhelmed by expectations, pressure and control.

Together we talk about PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance / Pervasive Drive for Autonomy), autistic burnout, ableism, nervous systems and why many parenting strategies unintentionally create more struggle instead of more connection.

Rather than asking how to make children comply, Amanda invites us to ask a different question: What becomes possible when we deeply understand our children's capacity and build relationships around trust instead of control?

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What is low demand parenting?
• What is PDA, and how does it affect children and families?
• Why do traditional parenting strategies often fail neurodivergent children?
• What does it mean to parent through connection rather than control?
• How can parents support children without lowering their sense of worth?
• What role do nervous systems, autonomy and safety play in learning and family life?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

You can find Amanda here

In this episode, we're joined by somatic healing practitioner Meenadchi, who invites us to look beyond budgeting, mindset and financial advice into something much deeper: our relationship with money itself.

Together we explore money trauma, inherited beliefs, nervous systems, Family Constellation work and how healing our relationship with money can create more choice, generosity and freedom—not only for ourselves, but for the communities around us.

Rather than seeing money as something to fear or avoid, this conversation asks a different question: What becomes possible when money becomes a resource instead of a source of shame?

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What is money trauma?
• How do inherited beliefs shape our relationship with money?
• What is somatic healing, and how does it support change?
• How does Family Constellation work relate to money?
• Why do so many people feel guilty about earning money?
• What could become possible if we approached money with more trust, choice and generosity?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we share our personal experiences of burnout, what recovery has looked like, and why healing isn't simply about getting more rest. It's about questioning the beliefs that taught us our worth depends on how much we produce.

Together we reflect on perfectionism, urgency, productivity culture, people-pleasing and the invisible expectations that keep so many of us pushing long after our bodies have asked us to stop.

Whether you're homeschooling, unschooling, parenting, teaching or simply trying to build a more intentional life, this conversation invites you to slow down and ask a different question: What if burnout isn't a personal failure—but a signal that something deeper needs to change?

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What is burnout, and how is it different from exhaustion?
• Why do so many parents, educators and changemakers experience burnout?
• How does productivity culture disconnect us from ourselves?
• What role do perfectionism and people-pleasing play in burnout?
• How can we begin recovering from burnout while still living real life?
• What does slowing down actually look like?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

It often feels as though every disagreement has become a battle to win. But what if there was another way?

In this episode, we're joined once again by educator, facilitator and creator of the Theory of Indivisibility, Dr. Sundiata, to explore authentic dialogue, power, agency and the patterns that keep us divided.

Together we talk about why debate so often pushes people further apart, how authentic dialogue creates space for understanding, and why meaningful change begins with the way we show up in our everyday relationships. We also explore what all of this has to do with parenting, unschooling and raising children who know how to listen, question and connect across differences.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why do disagreements so often become battles?
• What is authentic dialogue, and how is it different from debate?
• How can we stay connected with people who think differently?
• What are power-over and power-with relationships?
• How does inner work influence the way we relate to others?
• What does all of this have to do with parenting and unschooling?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

You can find all of Dr. Sundiata's work including his Theory of Indivisibility and other think pieces and resources mentioned in the episode here.

In this episode, we pull back the curtain on The Shift, our week-long deschooling intensive, and explore the thinking behind it.

Rather than talking about the logistics, we share why we created The Shift in the first place. We reflect on the difference between learning about something and truly living it, why play can become a powerful vehicle for transformation, and how community creates possibilities that are difficult to experience alone.

We also talk about deschooling, consent, authenticity, relationships and why meaningful change rarely happens through information alone. It happens when we create spaces where people feel safe enough to experiment, make mistakes, question old beliefs and discover new ways of being.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why isn't information enough to create lasting change?
• What is The Shift?
• Why does play help adults learn differently?
• What does deschooling look like beyond theory?
• Why does community matter in personal transformation?
• What happens when learning becomes something we experience instead of something we're told?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we're joined by healing companion and trans man Orion Queer for a thoughtful conversation about what it means to truly support transgender and gender-diverse children.

Rather than offering simple answers, Orion invites us into a different way of relating—one grounded in curiosity, deep listening and trust. Together we explore why slowing down doesn't mean controlling our children, how fear can get in the way of connection, and why helping young people discover who they are is one of the greatest gifts we can offer.

Although this conversation focuses on supporting transgender kids, it's ultimately about something much bigger: how we create relationships where children feel safe enough to become fully themselves.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How can parents support a transgender child?
• What if my child is questioning their gender identity?
• How can curiosity help us navigate uncertainty?
• Why do fear and control so often show up in parenting?
• How can we support children without rushing or shutting down their process?
• What does authenticity have to do with learning, parenting and human flourishing?

⁠You can contact Orion here.

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we explore what childhood looks like when children have the freedom to play, explore, take risks, follow their curiosity and grow at their own pace.

Together we reflect on the pressures many parents feel to prepare children for adulthood, the expectations society places on childhood, and how easily our own fears can shape the way we relate to our kids. We also share stories from our own childhoods and parenting journeys, asking what it takes to protect the wonder, creativity and joy that make childhood so unique.

Ultimately, this conversation isn't only about children. It's also about reconnecting with the parts of ourselves that learned to stop exploring, stop playing and start performing.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What does it mean to let kids be kids?
• How do adult fears shape childhood?
• Why is play so important for learning and development?
• How can we protect a child's curiosity and sense of wonder?
• What happens when we focus more on the future than the present?
• How can reconnecting with our own childhood help us parent differently?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Growth isn't only exciting. Sometimes it creates distance, misunderstanding and unexpected tension with the people who have known us the longest.

In this episode, we reflect on what happens when deschooling, personal growth and inner work begin changing the way we communicate, set boundaries and relate to others. We share our own experiences of returning to family and old friendships after years of growth, navigating resentment, expectations and the discomfort that can arise when relationships evolve at different paces.

Rather than offering quick solutions, we explore how to stay true to yourself while making space for other people's experiences, capacities and ways of loving.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why do relationships change when we change?
• Why can personal growth feel lonely?
• How do you stay authentic without expecting others to grow with you?
• What happens when old friendships no longer fit?
• How do boundaries and compassion work together?
• How can we navigate family gatherings while staying true to ourselves?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Most of us have moments we're not proud of. We lose our patience, raise our voices or react in ways that don't reflect the kind of parent we want to be. But does one difficult moment define our relationship with our children?

In this episode, Sari shares a recent experience of losing her temper with her nine-year-old son before a family trip. Together, we unpack the guilt that followed, the pressure many parents feel to "get it right," and why repair, self-awareness and self-compassion matter far more than perfection.

Along the way, we also explore freedom, responsibility, child development, neurodivergence, unrealistic expectations and what it really means to raise children with respect while remembering that parents are human too.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Does yelling make you a bad parent?
• Will one angry moment damage your child?
• Why do parents lose their temper?
• How can repair strengthen a relationship?
• What does freedom look like alongside responsibility?
• How do we hold ourselves to realistic expectations as parents?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Most parents want to raise honest children, but conversations about lying often focus on punishment, consequences or teaching children to tell the truth. In this episode, we explore a different question: Why do children lie in the first place?

Together, we unpack the fears, pressures and unmet needs that often sit beneath dishonest behavior. We discuss how shame, punishment and the desire to avoid disappointing adults can make lying feel like the safest option, and why building trust is far more effective than trying to force honesty. We also reflect on the ways adults lie in everyday life and what children learn from watching us.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to build a more open and trusting relationship with your child, this conversation offers a compassionate perspective on honesty, trust and emotional safety.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why do kids lie?
• Is lying a sign that something is wrong?
• How can parents respond without damaging trust?
• What makes children feel safe enough to tell the truth?
• What role do shame and fear play in dishonesty?
• How can we model honesty in our own relationships?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents feel caught between wanting to respect their child's autonomy and worrying about how other people will judge them. Is teaching manners really about kindness—or is it more about meeting other people's expectations?

In this episode, we explore the difference between manners and genuine kindness, the pressure parents feel to raise "polite" children, and how culture, neurodivergence and social expectations shape the way we think about respectful behaviour.

We also share personal stories about parenting, autism, selective mutism, cultural differences, people-pleasing and the fear of the adult gaze. Along the way, we ask what children actually need from us—and whether forcing polite behaviour helps them become kind human beings.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Should you force your child to say please and thank you?
• What if your child won't greet people?
• What's the difference between manners and kindness?
• How do cultural expectations shape children's behaviour?
• How can parents support neurodivergent children without forcing compliance?
• What matters more: fitting in or building an authentic relationship?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

As unschooling parents, it's natural to wonder how our teenagers will find their way into adulthood. Without school milestones or prescribed next steps, many parents worry that their young person will fall behind or struggle to become independent.

In this episode, Becka reflects on her son's journey as he approaches adulthood after years of unschooling. We explore what independence really means, how intrinsic motivation continues to guide learning beyond childhood, and why becoming an adult isn't something that happens overnight.

Along the way, we talk about autonomy, responsibility, purpose, neurodivergence, life skills, friendships, accountability and how parents can support teens without taking over their journey.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Will my unschooling teen be ready for adulthood?
• How do unschooling teens become independent?
• What life skills do teenagers actually need?
• How can parents support teens without controlling them?
• What does adulthood look like outside the school system?
• Why doesn't every young person's path have to look the same?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this deeply personal episode, we share our own experiences of pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, difficult births and the stories we carried about what these experiences meant.

Rather than focusing on medical advice or easy answers, we explore the emotional and societal layers that often go unspoken: the pressure to have the "right" pregnancy, the belief that something must have gone wrong, the judgments placed on parents, and the compassion that becomes possible when we begin questioning those beliefs.

Together we reflect on grief, surrender, autonomy, shame, healing and what it means to trust both ourselves and our children as human beings with their own unique paths.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you heal after pregnancy loss?
• Why do miscarriage and abortion carry so much shame?
• How do societal expectations shape our experiences of pregnancy and birth?
• What helps us move through grief with compassion?
• How can we let go of guilt when life doesn't unfold as planned?
• What does all of this teach us about parenting, trust and letting go of control?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

One of the most common questions we hear from parents is what to do when they're the only one excited about unschooling. It can feel lonely, frustrating and overwhelming to carry the responsibility of questioning old patterns while your partner seems resistant or unconvinced.

In this episode, we share our own experiences of navigating different paces in our co-parenting relationships. We talk about the temptation to convince, fix or pressure the other parent, why that often backfires, and how curiosity, patience and shared values can create space for genuine change.

We also explore guilt, judgment, communication, adultism, partnership and the importance of recognising that growth rarely happens on the same timeline for everyone.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What if my partner doesn't support home education?
• How do you co-parent when you're not on the same page?
• Why doesn't trying to convince your partner usually work?
• How can you support change without creating more resistance?
• What does it mean to trust another person's process?
• How can you stay connected while growing at different paces?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

For many families, this stage is one of the hardest parts of deschooling. It can feel as though your child has lost all motivation, leaving parents wondering whether they've made the right decision.

In this episode, we explore what deschooling can actually look like for children who have spent years in school or adult-directed learning. We talk about burnout, healing, autonomy, boredom, screens, self-direction and why "doing nothing" doesn't necessarily mean that nothing is happening.

We also share practical ways parents can support their children through this transition without taking over the process, controlling their choices or recreating the very dynamics they're trying to leave behind.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why doesn't my child want to do anything?
• What does deschooling actually look like?
• Why are screens so common during deschooling?
• Is boredom part of the healing process?
• How can parents support self-directed learning without controlling it?
• What's the difference between offering support and taking over?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

For many parents, this possibility brings up fear, disappointment and confusion. It can feel as though everything you've been building is being rejected.

In this episode, we explore why children sometimes become curious about school, what might be underneath that desire, and why this moment can actually be a powerful expression of autonomy rather than a failure of unschooling.

Together we talk about belonging, friendship, curiosity, healing, consent, trust and the importance of supporting our children's choices without projecting our own fears onto them. We also discuss how home education isn't defined by whether a child attends school, but by the quality of the relationships, conversations and respect they experience at home.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What if my child wants to go to school?
• Should I let my child try school?
• Why would a homeschooled child choose school?
• Can children still deschool while attending school?
• How do I respond without projecting my own fears?
• What does this situation teach us about trust and autonomy?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we're joined by Tomis Parker, one of the co-founders of the Agile Learning Center movement, to explore what happens when education is built on trust rather than control. Together, we discuss the principles behind Agile Learning Centers, how self-directed learning communities work in practice, and why creating the right culture is just as important as creating the right curriculum.

We also explore the role of adults in self-directed education, what freedom really means, how young people develop responsibility without coercion, and why democratic decision-making can transform the way communities learn together.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling, or simply curious about alternatives to conventional schooling, this conversation offers a thoughtful introduction to one of the most influential models in the self-directed education movement.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What is an Agile Learning Center?
• How is an Agile Learning Center different from school?
• What does self-directed learning look like in practice?
• How do children develop responsibility without being forced?
• What role do adults play in Agile Learning Centers?
• Why is culture more important than curriculum?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we sit down with Ophelia Standing, an 18-year-old lifelong unschooler, to hear an honest perspective that is too often missing from conversations about homeschooling, home education and self-directed learning.

Together, we explore what helped, what was difficult, and why listening to children matters more than following any educational philosophy. Ophelia reflects on growing up unschooled, longing for connection, navigating neurodivergence, finding community, and the importance of consent, repair and treating young people as full human beings.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that homeschooling, home education and unschooling are never the goal in themselves. The goal is supporting the child in front of us.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What does an unschooling teen wish parents knew?
• Can parents become too attached to unschooling?
• How do we know if we're really listening to our children?
• What role do consent and autonomy play in home education?
• Why is community so important for homeschooled and unschooled young people?
• How can parents repair mistakes and keep growing alongside their children?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents worry when their child isn't reading "on time." Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or your child is in school, it's easy to wonder if they're falling behind.

In this episode, we explore why reading has become one of the most valued milestones in childhood, how societal expectations shape the way we think about learning, and what happens when children begin questioning their own worth because they don't yet have a particular skill.

We also reflect on the hidden hierarchy of skills, emotional intelligence, self-worth, learning at different paces and the deep deschooling work parents often need to do around their own fears. Along the way, we ask what really matters when supporting a child's growth—and whether reading deserves the special status we've given it.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What if my child isn't reading yet?
• Should I worry if my child learns to read later?
• Why is reading considered such an important milestone?
• How do societal expectations affect children's confidence?
• What happens when parents carry hidden fears about learning?
• How can we support children without measuring their worth by academic skills?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents hear that boundaries are important, but what does that actually mean in everyday family life? How do you care for your own needs while also respecting your child's autonomy?

In this episode, we unpack the difference between boundaries and limits, explore why boundaries begin with understanding ourselves, and discuss how curiosity, empathy and honest communication can help families move beyond power struggles.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to build a more connected relationship with your child, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on needs, capacity, agreements and finding solutions that work for everyone.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you set boundaries without controlling your child?
• What's the difference between boundaries, limits and rules?
• Why do boundaries start with understanding your own needs?
• How can parents communicate their needs with empathy?
• What happens when everyone's needs seem to clash?
• How can families find agreements instead of relying on control?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Whether it's piano lessons, sports, surfing, art classes or another hobby, many parents worry that allowing children to quit will teach them to give up when things get hard. But is that really what's happening?

In this episode, we explore what might be behind a child's desire to stop doing something, why our own fears and expectations can make these moments feel so urgent, and how curiosity can lead to very different conversations than pressure ever could.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or your child attends school, this conversation invites you to rethink ideas about perseverance, commitment, motivation and what it really means to support your child's growth.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Should you let your child quit an activity?
• How do you know when to encourage and when to let go?
• Why do parents feel so much urgency when children want to quit?
• What can we learn by getting curious instead of pushing?
• How do fear and expectations influence our parenting?
• Can taking a break help children reconnect with what they genuinely enjoy?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this conversation, we sit down with youth rights advocate, facilitator and long-time unschooling parent Alex Khost to explore what it really takes to build authentic relationships with kids.

Together, we talk about play, humour, curiosity, trust, self-directed education and why children thrive when adults let go of agendas and simply show up with sincerity. Alex shares stories from more than two decades of working alongside young people, reflecting on mistakes, learning and the surprising power of meeting kids as equals.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling, teaching or simply hoping to build a stronger relationship with the children in your life, this episode offers both practical ideas and a deeply hopeful perspective.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you build trust with kids?
• Why is play such a powerful way to connect?
• What gets in the way of authentic relationships with children?
• How do expectations affect the way we show up as adults?
• Why do humour and shared experiences build connection?
• What does it really mean to treat children as equals?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Find out more about Alex' work here:

www.flyingsquads.org

www.alexanderkhost.org

Many people think deschooling begins when children leave school. In this episode, we explore a much bigger question: what if deschooling is really about questioning the beliefs, expectations and conditioning we've absorbed throughout our lives?

Together, we reflect on limiting beliefs, perfectionism, scarcity, identity, personal freedom, intuition and the courage to question what we've always been told is "normal." We also explore how deschooling can help us reconnect with ourselves, challenge oppressive systems and create lives that feel more aligned with who we truly are.

Whether you're parenting, homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply questioning the life you've been taught to live, this conversation invites you to see deschooling in a whole new way.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What does deschooling really mean?
• Can you deschool without having children?
• How do limiting beliefs shape our lives?
• What does it mean to reconnect with yourself?
• How can we question the expectations we've inherited?
• Why is deschooling about much more than education?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents begin homeschooling, home education or unschooling because they want a different life for their family. Then real life happens. Conflict, screens, risky play, friendships, food, social pressure and old beliefs start surfacing, and it can feel like everything you thought you believed is being tested.

In this episode, we explore why the practice of unschooling is often much harder than the philosophy, and why that's completely normal. We share some of the most common fears we've seen while supporting families over the years, along with the mindset shifts that help parents move from control and certainty toward curiosity, connection and trust.

Whether you're just beginning your homeschooling or home education journey, or you've been unschooling for years, this conversation is a reminder that struggling doesn't mean you're failing. It often means you're growing.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why is unschooling harder than it sounds?
• Why does homeschooling bring up so many fears?
• How do I know if I'm falling back into control?
• What do I do when I lose trust in the process?
• Why do fear and uncertainty show up so often?
• How can I move from fear to curiosity and connection?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents feel confident about alternative education when their children are young. But as the teenage years approach, fear often creeps in. Will they become rebellious? Will they make friends? Will they be motivated? What about university, work and their future?

In this episode, we explore some of the biggest myths surrounding homeschooling, home education and unschooling during the tween and teen years. We discuss why adolescence isn't something to fear, how respectful relationships change the parent-teen dynamic, and why trust, autonomy and open conversations become even more important as young people prepare for adulthood.

Rather than asking how to control teenagers, we explore how to support them as they develop their own identity, values and path through life.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Will my teen be okay without school?
• Do unschooled teenagers become rebellious?
• How do homeschooled and home-educated teens prepare for adulthood?
• What if my teenager doesn't want to go to university?
• How can parents support teenage autonomy without losing connection?
• What does success really look like for young people?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Whether your child is autistic, has ADHD or experiences the world differently in another way, parenting often comes with an extra layer of expectations—from schools, family members and even ourselves.

In this episode, we explore what it means to truly meet neurodivergent children where they're at. Through stories from our own families, we discuss lagging skills, hyperfocus, screen time, autonomy, readiness, communication and the importance of adapting our support to the child rather than expecting the child to adapt to the system.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or your child attends school, this conversation is an invitation to move beyond one-size-fits-all parenting and towards deeper understanding, curiosity and partnership.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you support a neurodivergent child?
• What if my child isn't ready for something yet?
• How can I balance autonomy with support?
• What are lagging skills, and why do they matter?
• How do I know when to step in and when to step back?
• How can I advocate for my child without feeling guilty?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

When children are angry, heartbroken, frustrated or overwhelmed, it's natural to want to make those feelings disappear. We distract, reassure, solve problems or jump in with solutions. But what if those uncomfortable moments are also opportunities for connection, growth and deeper understanding?

In this episode, we explore why sitting with discomfort is one of the hardest—and most transformative—parts of parenting. Through stories from our own families and learning communities, we reflect on conflict, uncertainty, emotional regulation, communication and what it means to support children without trying to rescue them from every difficult feeling.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to build a more connected relationship with your child, this conversation invites you to slow down, stay curious and trust that not every problem needs an immediate solution.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you handle your child's big emotions?
• Why is it so hard to watch our children struggle?
• What's the difference between supporting and rescuing?
• How can discomfort become an opportunity for growth?
• What happens when we stop trying to control every outcome?
• How can honest communication help families navigate uncertainty?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this conversation, we're joined by lifelong unschooler and Alliance for Self-Directed Education Executive Director Bria Bloom to explore how unschooling can influence much more than the way children learn.

Together, we talk about growing up unschooled, questioning social norms, parenting, community, privilege, anti-oppression, restorative justice and what it means to keep deschooling ourselves throughout adulthood. Bria also shares how unschooling has shaped the way she approaches relationships, work and raising the next generation.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply questioning the assumptions you've inherited about parenting and learning, this episode is an invitation to see education as just one part of a much bigger journey.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What happens when unschooling becomes a way of life?
• How does growing up unschooled shape adulthood?
• What's the relationship between deschooling and social justice?
• How can parents continue deschooling themselves?
• Why do community and restorative practices matter?
• How can we raise children while continuing our own learning?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents begin homeschooling, home education or unschooling wanting to give their children the freedom to explore their interests, follow their curiosity and discover who they are. But watching our children do that can bring up an unexpected question:

What happened to my own curiosity?

In this episode, we explore how school and other systems can gradually disconnect us from ourselves—our interests, creativity, dreams and sense of purpose. We also talk about how deschooling isn't only something children experience. It can become a deeply personal journey for parents too, helping us reconnect with our own inner compass one small step, one experiment and one curious question at a time.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to create a more intentional life, this conversation is an invitation to grow alongside your child rather than simply guide them.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How can I help my child discover their passions?
• What if I've lost touch with my own interests and dreams?
• How does school disconnect us from ourselves?
• What is an inner compass, and how do we reconnect with it?
• Why do so many parents change alongside their children?
• Why is following small sparks of curiosity often more powerful than searching for one big purpose?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many families begin homeschooling, home education or unschooling because they're looking for a different educational path. But somewhere along the way, the questions get bigger.

Suddenly you're rethinking parenting, relationships, work, health, success, power, limiting beliefs and the stories you've inherited about what life is supposed to look like.

In this episode, we share our own very different entry points into unschooling and deschooling, explore why there isn't one "right" way to begin this journey, and reflect on how learning to trust our children often becomes an invitation to trust ourselves as well.

Whether you're just beginning to question school or you've been home educating or unschooling for years, this conversation is a reminder that growth isn't about reaching a destination. It's about staying curious enough to keep evolving.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why does unschooling change parents?
• What's the difference between unschooling and deschooling?
• Why do so many families start questioning more than school?
• How can parenting become a journey of personal growth?
• Why is deschooling an ongoing process?
• What happens when we begin trusting ourselves as much as we trust our children?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this powerful conversation, we're joined by conscious parenting coach, recovering educator and unschooling mother Domari Dickinson. Together, we explore what it really means to break generational patterns—not through perfection, but through curiosity, accountability and the willingness to keep growing.

Domari shares her deeply personal journey from controlling and punitive parenting to building relationships based on trust, empathy and shared power. Along the way, we talk about school conditioning, fear, healing, community, liberation and why changing the way we parent often means changing ourselves first.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to create a more connected relationship with your child, this episode is an honest reminder that transformation is possible—and that none of us has to do it alone.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you break generational parenting patterns?
• Why is it so hard to let go of control?
• What does conscious parenting actually look like?
• How can we respond with curiosity instead of punishment?
• Why is community so important when we're changing?
• What happens when we stop trying to be perfect parents?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this deeply personal episode, we share our own journeys of discovering our children's neurodivergence and the emotions that came with it—relief, guilt, grief, fear, compassion and, ultimately, acceptance.

We explore how our expectations sometimes became the real obstacle, why understanding lagging skills transformed the way we parented, and how self-directed education gave our children the flexibility to thrive without constantly being asked to fit into someone else's idea of "normal."

Whether your child is diagnosed, you're beginning to wonder if they might be neurodivergent, or you simply want to become a more understanding and responsive parent, this conversation offers a compassionate perspective on seeing children for who they truly are.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you parent a neurodivergent child?
• What if my child learns or experiences the world differently?
• How can I support lagging skills without trying to change my child?
• Why do expectations sometimes create more struggle than the child does?
• How can homeschooling, home education and self-directed learning support neurodivergent children?
• What does acceptance really look like in everyday parenting?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents who embrace respectful parenting, homeschooling, home education or unschooling want to move away from controlling children and toward treating them as equals. But sometimes, in trying to avoid adultism, we unintentionally begin expecting children to think, respond and take responsibility like adults.

In this episode, we explore the important difference between treating children with equal dignity and expecting them to have adult capacities. We talk about development, responsibility, emotional regulation, decision-making, executive functioning and why meeting children where they are is one of the greatest gifts we can give them.

Rather than lowering our expectations, this conversation invites us to make them more realistic—and more compassionate.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Am I expecting too much from my child?
• How much responsibility should children have?
• What's the difference between equality and sameness?
• How can I support my child's development without taking over?
• Why do unrealistic expectations create so much conflict?
• How can I meet my child where they are instead of where I think they should be?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this inspiring conversation, we're joined by Brazilian educator and self-directed learning advocate Alex Bretas to explore what it means to become an intentional learner in adulthood. Alex shares the story behind his "Informal PhD"—a self-directed journey of deep learning driven not by grades or qualifications, but by genuine curiosity and a desire to contribute to the world.

Together, we discuss why so many adults struggle to learn outside formal education, how school shapes our beliefs about knowledge and success, and why community, small steps and intentional practice are essential for reclaiming our ability to direct our own learning.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply wondering what comes after school, this episode is an invitation to rediscover learning as a lifelong practice—not because you have to, but because it can transform the way you experience life.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why do we stop learning after school?
• What is an Informal PhD?
• How do adults become self-directed learners?
• Why is community so important for lifelong learning?
• What beliefs about learning do we need to unlearn?
• How can curiosity become part of everyday life?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents who choose homeschooling, home education or unschooling spend a lot of time wondering whether they're doing enough. Are they exposing their children to enough experiences? Should they organise more activities? Create richer learning environments? Facilitate more play?

In this episode, we challenge those assumptions and explore what we believe is the most important role of a parent: building a relationship based on trust, authenticity and connection. We talk about why children don't need perfect facilitators—they need real adults who are willing to question their own conditioning, heal old wounds, model accountability and keep growing alongside them.

Whether your child learns at home or attends school, this conversation is an invitation to shift your focus from managing your child's learning to becoming the kind of person they can trust.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What do children really need from their parents?
• What's the role of a parent in homeschooling, home education or unschooling?
• Why is our own inner work so important?
• How can we become trustworthy adults?
• What does it mean to model accountability and authenticity?
• Why is relationship the foundation for learning?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this deeply personal episode, we share why we made the difficult decision to completely reinvent our Agile Learning Community—and what that experience taught us about integrity, burnout and the ongoing practice of deschooling ourselves.

As we questioned the way we were running Explora, we realised something important: it's not enough to talk about freedom, flexibility and self-directed living. We have to be willing to make courageous changes in our own lives too, even when they're uncomfortable and uncertain.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to create a life that's more aligned with your values, this conversation is an invitation to stop asking, "Am I doing this right?" and start asking, "Am I living what I hope my children will learn from me?"

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Can you teach freedom if you don't live it?
• How do you know when something is no longer aligned with your values?
• What does it really mean to walk the walk as a parent?
• How can burnout become an invitation to make a change?
• Why is modelling courage more powerful than talking about it?
• How do we create lives that reflect the values we want to pass on?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this thought-provoking conversation, we sit down with educator and social liberation coach Chemay Morales-James to explore why deschooling is about so much more than leaving school behind.

Together, we discuss how questioning conventional education often leads us to question parenting, power, community, work and the many inherited beliefs that shape our lives. We also explore the role of community in supporting deep personal change, why healing and learning are inseparable, and what it means to create spaces where children and adults can experience greater freedom.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply beginning to question the systems you've inherited, this conversation is an invitation to keep asking courageous questions and to remember that deschooling is a lifelong journey rather than a destination.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why does deschooling change so much more than education?
• How are deschooling and decolonization connected?
• Why is community so important when we're questioning old beliefs?
• How can we raise children without recreating oppressive patterns?
• Why is deschooling a lifelong process?
• What does liberation look like in everyday family life?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we explore some of the most common signs that it's time to question the beliefs we've inherited about parenting, learning, relationships and community. From school resistance and constant conflict to comparison, control and the feeling that you're failing as a parent, we look at how these moments can become invitations to see things through a completely different lens.

Rather than offering quick fixes or new strategies to manage your child, we invite you to ask different questions. What if your child's behaviour is communicating something important? What if your expectations are creating unnecessary struggle? And what if one shift in perspective could transform not only your relationship with your child, but the way you experience family life?

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply looking for a more connected way to parent, this episode offers a compassionate starting point for questioning old assumptions and discovering new possibilities.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why does nothing seem to work with my child?
• What are the signs that I need to change my parenting approach?
• Why is my child resisting school or learning?
• How can I stop seeing behaviour as the problem?
• What's the difference between changing my child and changing my perspective?
• How can one shift in thinking transform family life?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Whether your child is in school, homeschooling, home education or unschooling, none of us can know exactly how our choices will shape the future. Every parenting decision involves uncertainty, and every family is finding its own way.

In this episode, we challenge the idea that there is one "right" method for raising children. We explore why school is just as much an experiment as unschooling, why no expert can know your child better than you do, and how fear of getting it wrong often keeps us from trusting ourselves and responding to the child in front of us.

Rather than searching for guarantees, we invite you to embrace curiosity, connection and the courage to keep learning alongside your child. Because parenting has never been about following a perfect formula—it's about paying attention, staying flexible and being willing to grow together.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Am I messing up my child?
• Is there a right way to parent?
• How do I know if I'm making the right decisions?
• Why is parenting full of uncertainty?
• How can I trust myself more as a parent?
• Why is relationship more important than following the "perfect" method?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this inspiring conversation, we're joined by unschooling parent Lucy AitkenRead to explore why joy isn't just a nice bonus in family life—it can become a compass for the way we parent, learn and live together.

We talk about the lifelong process of deschooling, the pressure to find the "right" way to parent, school wounds, community, neurodiversity and the courage to trust ourselves instead of following someone else's rules. Lucy also shares why healing doesn't happen all at once, why there's no single way to unschool, and how reconnecting with our own creativity and joy can transform the way we show up for our children.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply longing for a more connected family life, this conversation is an invitation to let go of perfection and begin trusting what brings your family alive.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you raise a happy child?
• Why is joy so important in parenting?
• What are school wounds, and how do they affect us as adults?
• Why is deschooling a lifelong journey?
• How can community support families on this path?
• What happens when we start trusting ourselves instead of following parenting formulas?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we explore those unexpected "teaching moments" that sneak into everyday life. Why do so many parents feel the urge to explain, correct or add one more piece of information, even when nobody asked for it? And what does that impulse reveal about the way we were taught to think about learning?

Through honest stories (including one very funny moment in a swimming pool), we unpack the fears behind our need to teach, the difference between sharing and instructing, and why trusting our children's natural learning process is often much harder than it sounds.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to step out of old parenting patterns, this conversation invites you to pause before turning life into another lesson—and to discover what happens when curiosity replaces control.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Why do parents turn everything into a lesson?
• Do children really need us to teach all the time?
• What's the difference between sharing information and instructing?
• How can I trust my child's natural learning process?
• What fears drive our need to teach?
• When should we step in, and when should we simply enjoy learning alongside our children?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

As families begin homeschooling, home educating or unschooling, many discover that the biggest challenges don't happen at home. They happen when our values collide with a world that doesn't always understand them.

In this episode, we reflect on difficult experiences with other adults, family members and public spaces, and explore what they taught us about freedom, responsibility, cultural differences and respectful communication. We also discuss how to prepare our children to move confidently between different worlds without losing themselves in the process.

Whether you're navigating criticism from relatives, misunderstandings from strangers or simply wondering how to support your child in a world with very different expectations, this conversation offers thoughtful reflections on balancing freedom with responsibility and compassion.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you raise free kids in an unfree world?
• How do you handle people who don't understand your parenting?
• How can children navigate different cultures and expectations?
• What's the balance between freedom and responsibility?
• How do we model respect without abandoning our values?
• How can we prepare our children for a world that won't always understand them?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this thoughtful conversation, we're joined by educator, author and Agile Learning Center founder Crystal Byrd Farmer to explore what it means to create environments where neurodivergent children can truly be themselves.

Together, we discuss autism, ADHD, sensory needs, communication differences, disability, inclusion and why understanding neurodiversity requires us to question many of the assumptions we've inherited about childhood, learning and behaviour. Crystal also shares why different children need different kinds of support, how autonomy and relationship can coexist with appropriate accommodations, and why deschooling ourselves is an essential part of creating more inclusive communities.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or parenting a child in school, this conversation offers practical insights into supporting neurodivergent children with greater understanding, curiosity and respect.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What do neurodivergent children really need?
• How can parents better support autistic and ADHD children?
• Why isn't "treating everyone the same" always fair?
• What does true inclusion look like?
• How can we create environments where children feel safe to be themselves?
• Why is deschooling an important part of supporting neurodivergent kids?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents carry an invisible pressure to get everything right—to stay calm, make the perfect decisions, never lose patience and somehow avoid making mistakes. But where do those expectations come from, and what are they costing us?

In this episode, we explore how perfectionism shows up in parenting, relationships and everyday life, and why it may be one of the biggest barriers to connection, self-trust and joy. We reflect on the ways school, culture and social expectations teach us to perform instead of simply being ourselves, and why learning to embrace mistakes can be one of the greatest gifts we give both ourselves and our children.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to become a more present parent, this conversation invites you to replace perfection with self-compassion and curiosity.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do I let go of being the perfect parent?
• Why do I always feel like I'm failing?
• Where does parenting perfectionism come from?
• How can I stop comparing myself to other parents?
• What do my children learn when I make mistakes?
• Why is self-acceptance so important in parenting?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents instinctively want to protect their children from sadness, disappointment, frustration and anger. We try to fix the problem, distract them or make the feeling disappear. But what if those big emotions aren't something to fear?

In this episode, we explore why emotions are not the enemy, how they point us toward unmet needs, and why learning to name and understand our feelings can transform the way we parent. We also reflect on how our own childhood experiences shape the way we respond to our children's emotions, and why holding space is often far more powerful than trying to make everything okay.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to support your child through life's ups and downs, this conversation invites you to see emotions as a guide rather than a problem to solve.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do you raise an emotionally resilient child?
• Should I protect my child from difficult emotions?
• Why are big feelings important for healthy development?
• How can I help my child regulate their emotions?
• What do emotions tell us about our needs?
• How can I stay calm when my child's emotions activate me?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this powerful conversation, we sit down with author Iris Chen to explore how peaceful parenting, self-directed learning and unschooling invite us to question much more than education. Together, we discuss authenticity, power, community and why transforming the way we relate to children can become part of creating a more compassionate and just world.

Iris shares how her journey away from authoritarian parenting led her to rethink control, achievement and success, and why respecting children's autonomy doesn't mean giving up boundaries. We also explore the importance of community, breaking intergenerational cycles, questioning inherited beliefs and living in alignment with our deepest values.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply longing for a more respectful relationship with your child, this conversation offers a thoughtful invitation to see parenting—and children—through a completely different lens.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What happens when we truly trust our children?
• Why is respect the foundation of peaceful parenting?
• How can we parent without relying on control?
• What role does community play in raising children?
• How do we break intergenerational parenting patterns?
• What does it mean to live in alignment with our values?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many of us grew up in families where certain subjects simply weren't discussed. As parents, that can leave us feeling unsure of what to say when our own children ask honest, curious questions about the world around them.

In this episode, we explore how to approach difficult conversations with openness, curiosity and trust. We talk about why children don't need every answer all at once, how to meet them where they are developmentally, and why saying "I don't know—let's figure it out together" can strengthen your relationship rather than weaken it.

We also discuss why avoiding difficult topics can unintentionally create shame or distance, and how honest, age-appropriate conversations help children build confidence, critical thinking and trust.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to raise thoughtful, connected children, this episode offers practical ideas for navigating life's hardest conversations together.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do I talk to my child about difficult topics?
• What if my child asks a question I can't answer?
• How honest should I be with my child?
• When is a child ready to talk about sex, death or war?
• How do I answer difficult questions without creating fear?
• How can difficult conversations strengthen our relationship?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

TRIGGER WARNING:

In this episode we talk about sexual harassment and violence.

We acknowledge that we are two privileged women who are speaking from our perspective and experience and the content around sexual harassment and violence may bring discomfort. Our intention is to bring awareness and open up dialogue around these themes never to shame, blame, expose or exclude anyone. If we can do better, please let us know, we are always learning.

You can find the podcast referenced in the episode here: https://raisingfreepeople.com/232/

In this thought-provoking conversation, we're joined by anti-oppression educator, systems thinker and father Dr. Sundiata to explore how power, control and hierarchy have shaped our families, schools and communities—and how parenting can become a powerful force for change.

Together, we discuss why so many traditional parenting practices are rooted in systems of control, how conscious and partnership parenting offer a different path, and why trust, collaboration and respectful relationships are essential if we want future generations to build a more compassionate world.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply questioning inherited parenting patterns, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on how the way we relate to our children shapes far more than family life.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Can parenting change the world?
• Why do so many parenting practices rely on control?
• How do power dynamics influence family relationships?
• What is partnership parenting?
• Why is trust so important in raising children?
• How can changing our family relationships create wider social change?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

⁠You can find all of Dr. Sundiata’s life work including his Theory of Indivisibility here.

As parents, it's natural to want to keep our children safe. But sometimes, the risks that worry us most are the very experiences our children need in order to grow.

In this episode, we explore why risk-taking is an essential part of healthy development, how children naturally learn to assess challenges when they're trusted, and why supporting risk is very different from being careless. We also discuss the fears many parents carry, how those fears shape our decisions, and why learning to tolerate our own discomfort is often the biggest challenge.

Whether it's climbing trees, using sharp tools, walking to the store alone or navigating emotional risks like conflict and vulnerability, we explore how thoughtful support can help children build confidence, autonomy and sound judgment.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to raise capable, confident children, this conversation offers a different way of thinking about safety, trust and growth.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Am I protecting my child too much?
• Why do children need to take risks?
• How can I support my child's independence safely?
• When should I step in—and when should I step back?
• How do children develop confidence and good judgment?
• What does "maximum support, minimum interference" really look like?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents worry when play seems to take over their child's day. Shouldn't they be reading, writing, studying or doing something more productive? In this episode, we challenge one of the biggest myths we've inherited from school: that play is separate from learning.

We explore why free play is one of the most powerful ways children develop creativity, emotional regulation, problem-solving, confidence, collaboration and independence. We also reflect on what happens when play disappears—not only from childhood, but from adult life as well—and why reconnecting with play can be an important part of our own deschooling journey.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply wondering whether your child is "doing enough," this conversation offers a reassuring and inspiring perspective on why play isn't wasted time. It may be some of the most valuable learning your child ever does.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Is my child learning through play?
• Why is free play so important?
• What skills do children develop through play?
• Why do so many parents worry about play?
• What happens when children don't have enough time to play?
• Why do adults need play too?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this conversation, we're joined by author, educator and unschooling advocate Blake Boles to explore what young people need in order to build meaningful, fulfilling lives. Drawing on years of leading international travel experiences for self-directed teens, Blake shares why autonomy, adventure, responsibility and real-world experiences often teach lessons that classrooms simply can't.

Together, we discuss what success really means, the role of intrinsic motivation, why meaningful experiences matter more than memorizing information, and how parents can support young people without trying to control every outcome. We also explore Blake's powerful analogy of the parent as a trusted consultant rather than a manager, and why relationships matter more than educational labels.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply questioning whether conventional school is the best path for your child, this conversation offers a refreshing perspective on what it really means to prepare young people for life.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Is school preparing children for real life?
• What experiences help young people become independent?
• How can parents support intrinsic motivation?
• What is the parent's role in self-directed learning?
• Why do meaningful experiences matter more than perfect grades?
• What does success really look like?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

You can find more info on Blake and his work here.

Many parents carry the belief that children need to be constantly challenged in order to learn. But what if that belief comes more from our own schooling than from how human beings naturally develop?

In this episode, we explore why children are already challenging themselves every day, how school shapes our ideas about learning and achievement, and why trust—not pressure—may be one of the greatest gifts we can offer. We discuss how to recognize the challenges children naturally choose, why every child develops at their own pace, and how parents can shift from pushing their children toward outcomes to supporting the learning that's already unfolding.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply questioning how best to support your child's growth, this conversation invites you to replace pressure with curiosity and trust.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Am I challenging my child enough?
• Do children really need adults to push them to learn?
• Why do children naturally seek out challenges?
• How can I support my child's learning without controlling it?
• What does trust look like in everyday parenting?
• How can I recognize learning that's happening outside academics?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many of us are raising children in a culture that celebrates busyness, productivity and achievement. But what if slowing down isn't falling behind? What if it's one of the most radical choices we can make—for ourselves and for our families?

In this episode, we explore how the pressure to always do more affects our relationships, our wellbeing and the way we parent. We reflect on burnout, consumer culture, community, boundaries and the courage it takes to build a life that's guided by our own values rather than someone else's expectations.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply longing for a calmer, more connected family life, this conversation invites you to question the "rat race," reconnect with what matters most and take one small step toward a slower way of living.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How do I slow down as a parent?
• Why does parenting feel so overwhelming?
• What is slow living, and why does it matter?
• How can I stop chasing productivity all the time?
• What role do community and boundaries play in a slower life?
• How does slowing down change the way we parent?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this special episode, we sit down with Becka's son, Teo, who has been unschooling since the age of ten. Together, we explore his experience of leaving school, the healing process of deschooling, growing up as a neurodivergent young person and what freedom, trust and authentic relationships have meant in his life.

Teo shares thoughtful reflections on learning, creativity, technology, parenting and why he believes children don't need more control—they need more trust. Along the way, we also discuss the parent-child relationship, emotional safety, autonomy and what it feels like to grow up without many of the expectations that shape conventional childhood.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply wondering what becomes possible when children are deeply trusted, this conversation offers a rare glimpse into the perspective of a young person who's lived it.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What happens when you trust your child?
• What is it really like to grow up unschooling?
• How does deschooling help children heal?
• What do neurodivergent children need to thrive?
• How can parents build trust instead of control?
• What role should parents play in their children's lives?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Few parenting topics create as much anxiety as screens. From video games and YouTube to social media and Minecraft, many parents worry about what screens are doing to their children. But what if we began somewhere else—not with rules or limits, but with curiosity?

In this episode, we explore why "screen time" is far more complex than it first appears. We discuss the different needs children meet through technology, how our own fears influence the decisions we make, and why understanding what our children are actually doing on a screen matters far more than simply counting the hours.

We also reflect on social media, online safety, digital literacy, self-regulation and how honest conversations can help children develop a healthier relationship with technology over time.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to navigate screens with more confidence and less conflict, this episode offers a thoughtful, balanced perspective that moves beyond the usual debate.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• How much screen time is too much?
• Should I limit my child's screen time?
• What are children actually learning through screens?
• How can I help my child develop a healthy relationship with technology?
• How do I talk to my child about YouTube and social media?
• How can curiosity replace fear when it comes to screens?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many of us think about consent in terms of physical touch. But what if consent also shaped the way we make plans, solve conflicts, set boundaries and build relationships with our children?

In this episode, we explore what consent-based parenting really means and why it's about much more than saying "yes" or "no." We discuss power, control, bodily autonomy, everyday decision-making and how asking for consent can strengthen trust, cooperation and connection within families. We also reflect on the fears that make consent feel difficult and why giving children a voice doesn't mean giving up our role as parents.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply trying to build a more respectful relationship with your child, this conversation offers a practical and thought-provoking invitation to move from power over to power with.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Should children have a choice?
• What is consent-based parenting?
• How can I parent without relying on control?
• What's the difference between power over and power with?
• How do I respect my child's boundaries while still meeting my responsibilities?
• How does consent help children become confident and self-directed?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this deeply honest conversation, we're joined by Liz Neuenschwander, who shares her journey from conventional schooling to worldschooling, unschooling and, ultimately, discovering that lasting change begins within ourselves. What started as a search for a better education for her son became a much deeper journey of questioning fear, control, trust and the parenting patterns she had inherited.

Together, we explore what it means to move from trying to manage our children to becoming curious about them, why relationships can't be outsourced to schools or programs, and how trust grows when children experience empathy, consent and emotional safety. Liz also reflects on the courage it takes to challenge old beliefs, the importance of community, and the ongoing work of becoming the parent she wants to be.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply longing for a more connected relationship with your child, this conversation is a powerful reminder that the greatest transformation often starts with us.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Can changing yourself change your child?
• Why can't parenting be outsourced?
• How do we build trust after years of control and fear?
• What role do empathy and consent play in family relationships?
• How do we stop repeating inherited parenting patterns?
• Why is our own inner work so important when raising children?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Fear shows up in parenting in ways we don't always recognize. It can sound like wanting to protect our children, prepare them for the future or make sure they don't fall behind. But underneath those concerns, there is often something deeper: a fear of uncertainty, a fear of getting it wrong, or a fear of what might happen if we let go of control.

In this episode, we explore how fear influences the way we parent, the stories we inherit from our families and culture, and why trust is one of the most important foundations of healthy relationships. We reflect on how our own fears can unintentionally limit our children's freedom, confidence and ability to trust themselves, and what it takes to choose courage instead.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply hoping to build a more connected relationship with your child, this conversation invites you to look honestly at what is driving your parenting—and how small shifts toward trust can change everything.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Are you parenting from fear or trust?
• How do our fears shape the way we raise our children?
• Why is trust so important in parenting?
• How can we support our children without controlling them?
• How do we stop passing our own fears on to the next generation?
• What does it mean to choose courage over certainty?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

Many parents expect that once school is no longer part of the picture, their children will immediately become curious, motivated and excited to learn. But for many families, the opposite happens first.

In this episode, we explore what deschooling really is and why it's one of the most important—and often misunderstood—parts of the transition away from conventional education. We discuss why children often need time to recover from years of external control, how adults go through their own deschooling process, and why reconnecting with trust, autonomy and our inner compass takes patience.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply questioning the role of school in your family's life, this conversation offers a compassionate introduction to deschooling as a process of healing, growth and liberation.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What is deschooling?
• Why doesn't my child want to do anything after leaving school?
• Is it normal for children to spend lots of time on screens while deschooling?
• Why do parents need to deschool too?
• How long does the deschooling process take?
• How can I support my child's healing without getting in the way?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this episode, we're joined by Merry MacIvor Andersen, who grew up unschooled and is now unschooling her own two children. Through her unique perspective as both an unschooled child and an unschooling parent, she shares the joys, challenges and complexities of raising children outside the conventional education system.

Together, we explore trust, responsibility, self-awareness, community and the courage it takes to follow a different path. Merry reflects honestly on the freedoms she experienced growing up, the responsibilities she carried too early, and the ways she's choosing to parent differently with her own children.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply curious about what self-directed learning looks like in real life, this conversation offers a thoughtful and refreshingly honest glimpse into one family's journey.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• What does unschooling really look like?
• Can children learn without school?
• How do you trust your child to direct their own learning?
• What are the biggest challenges of unschooling?
• Why is community so important for parents?
• How do we raise children without relying on fear and shame?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

This question sits at the heart of self-directed education—a growing movement built on the belief that human beings are naturally curious, capable and motivated to learn when they're trusted and supported.

In this episode, we explore what self-directed education actually means, how it differs from conventional schooling, and why approaches like unschooling, Agile Learning Centers and democratic schools all belong under the same broad umbrella. We also discuss intrinsic motivation, curiosity, play, trust and why learning looks different for every child.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply wondering if there's another way to support your child's education, this conversation offers an accessible introduction to one of the most exciting shifts happening in education today.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Can children really direct their own learning?
• What is self-directed education?
• How do children learn without school?
• What's the difference between self-directed education and unschooling?
• Why is curiosity so important for learning?
• How can parents support learning without controlling it?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.

In this very first episode of Radical Learning Talks, we introduce the ideas that have shaped everything we've created since. We share our own journeys into self-directed education, why we began questioning conventional schooling, and how those questions led us to something much bigger than alternative education.

Together, we explore what we call The Shift—a move away from fear, control and compliance, and toward trust, freedom, curiosity and more connected relationships. We reflect on why questioning inherited beliefs matters, what children can teach us about learning, and why meaningful change begins with the courage to imagine something different.

Whether you're homeschooling, home educating, unschooling or simply wondering if there's another way to support your child, this conversation is an invitation to rethink what learning, parenting and community can become.

Some of the questions and ideas we explore include:

• Is there another way to raise and educate our kids?
• Why do so many families begin questioning school?
• What is self-directed education?
• What is The Shift?
• Why are trust and relationships so important for learning?
• How can questioning our assumptions change the way we parent?

Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype

Build more trust, connection, confidence, and joy with your child, wherever they are learning: → Join Un-Skool

Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka

→ Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes.

→ Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support.