The Unschool Space

Nov 13 2024 72 ep. 45 mins 45
The Unschool Space Podcast artwork

Unschooling isn't just about education, it's a life choice! For most parents, embracing unschooling requires some serious unravelling of old paradigms around parenting, learning and childhood, and that can be both challenging and exhilarating. 

Join me, Esther Jones, a mindful parenting coach and unschooling mother-of-three, as I take a look at the many opportunities for reflection that naturally arise in an unschooling home. Each episode, I chat with other parents about their family’s  experiences. 

From self-care, neurodiversity and mindfulness, to how to live consensually and trust our children, this podcast is here to help parents navigate the everyday challenges so they're free to create a healthy, nourishing and enriching space for themselves and their family. 

Thanks for listening!

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#72 Unschooling and PDA—connection, patience and safety, with Helen Stuart, Rochdale, UK

Nov 13 2024 45 mins  
Today I’m chatting with Helen Stuart of Rochdale in the UK. Helen lives with her husband and between them have six children. Although the older five children had challenges at school, it wasn’t until their 7-year-old daughter who is Autistic PDA was born, that they considered taking a different path. We talk about how essential it is for children to feel safe and regulated in o

#71 Consent-based living and learning, with Alice Bramhill in Nottingham, UK

Oct 29 2024 49 mins  
My guest today is Alice Bramhill, a psychotherapist from Nottingham in the UK, who lives with her husband and two sons who are ten and 13. They went to mainstream school until six years ago, then after trying a Steiner school for six months, finally left the school system altogether. We talk today about how unravelling our own stories is an essential part in all of this. And, about

#70 A journey to authenticity, with Dr Nicole Vito, in California

Oct 14 2024 44 mins  
Today, I’m chatting with Nicole Vito who lives in California with her husband and 6-year-old daughter. Nicole describes how she began to question how we rush children when her daughter was just two, realising that everything that needed to happen did happen when her daughter was ready and allowed to go at her own pace. In her professional work as a psychologist, Nicole was also n

#69 From burnout to thriving, with Lizzie in Hampshire, UK

Oct 01 2024 54 mins  
My guest today is Lizzie, who lives with her husband and three children, aged 8, 9 and 12 in Hampshire in the UK. Lizzie’s family came to unschooling three years ago when their youngest son, who is diagnosed Autistic PDA was in burnout after a very difficult time at school. Now, both her sons are unschooled, whilst their daughter has chosen to stay at school. Among lots of things

#68 Unschooling and neurodiversity—the power of community and keeping our own balance, with Melissa Crockett-Joyoue in New Zealand

Sep 16 2024 52 mins  
Today I'm chatting with Melissa Crockett-Joyoue from New Zealand. Melissa was on the podcast about two years ago, so it’s great to catch up with her again. Melissa and her partner have two neurodivergent children, who are now 6 and 9 and they came to unschooling after their son had an extremely challenging time at school. We talk particularly about the challenges of learning beyo

#67 A journey back to ourselves, with Francine Wise in Kent, UK

Sep 02 2024 48 mins  
My guest today is Francine Wise. Francine lives in Kent in the UK with her husband and two daughters, who are 8 and 6. They chose this route when their eldest daughter was four years old and school just didn’t feel right. Francine tells us about how she imagined home education and learning would look and the process she went through of trying out lots of different things from Wal

#66 From Silicon Valley to roadschooling, with Stacey Yates Sellar in Scotland

Jul 16 2024 45 mins  
I’m chatting today with Stacey Yates Sellar, a Conscious Parenting Coach and author of Conscious Parenting Your ADHD Child. Stacey and her husband have two boys, who are 13 and 10. Until four years ago, they lived and worked in California, but had many misgivings about the highly competitive schooling system. Eventually they decided to sell their house and travel, and have been w

#65 Helping our children follow their joy, with Melissa Miles McCarter in Missouri, US

Jun 18 2024 44 mins  
Today, my guest is Melissa Miles McCarter, who lives in Missouri with her husband and her 8-year-old daughter Willakate. Melissa worked as a college professor and chose not to put her daughter in school, realising that it wasn’t a system she would thrive in. She talks about what her own deschooling looked like and how she partners with her daughter to help facilitate her interest

#64 Living, learning and healing, with Linsey, in the East Midlands, UK

Jun 04 2024 49 mins  
My guest today is Linsey, who lives in the UK with her partner and three children who are 10, 6 and 1 and a half. Her family’s journey to unschooling started when they decided to take their eldest son out of school after two years extremely difficult years. Linsey soon realised that a schooled approach wouldn’t work at home either, so began to lean in to what her son needed and

#63 Finding our balance, embracing rest, and lots of self-compassion, with Claire Windmill in Devon, UK

May 07 2024 52 mins  
Today I’m chatting with Claire Windmill who lives in Devon in the UK with her husband and two children, who are seven and nine. Claire was a social worker and early years teacher and is now a parenting mentor and coach. She shares how her family came to unschooling after taking some time out to travel and they realised how much happier and less stressed their children were out of