Back

Skills | Day 7 of my 2023 Journal

Cecilie Conrad·Jan 7, 2023

When I started this challenge/new year resolution to write a short note every day, I wanted to share the stories about what we did. Where we went, who we met, and what happened. It seems I more consistently share what I think about.

It is interesting how we always learn and always evolve. We think we know why we do a certain challenge and where it will take us. But ever so often, we learn something different and arrive somewhere surprising. Very often, we do not even realize it until years later. 

Celebrating our sons' birthdays, we started a bonfire in the pizza oven to learn to make pizzas for real. I am a food geek, just love to roam around in my mostly vegan and totally vegetarian and 100% gluten-free kitchen, learning all the time. I never read a magazine for women, but I read hundreds of cooking books. So, it could just as well have been my birthday; I was so excited. 

Once we got the temperature right, it was so much fun. The detail of the dough, the experiments with different sauces, toppings, vegan cheese - and the joy of my family eating them as soon as I took them out of the oven. Working with timing, turning the pizza halfway without taking it out of the oven. Working with temperature. Working with crust, with oil, with salt. I had so much fun and will have to make pizza almost every day I stay in this house; I need to learn as much as I can! I just have to make sure I don’t eat much of it, as I would like to be able to wear the same clothes in February!

I make it a habit to continually learn what the current situation offers and take it as a challenge to acquire a new skill. Life is more fun than that. The more we know, the more fun we have. Learning every day is such a luxury, context aside.

It seems to me the school system is drowning this fact in the hierarchy, tests, forced interests, dumbing down, and the lack of freedom.

skills-collage

Cecilie Conrad

#7 of my 365 writing challenge - Read them all here

Unschooling and Parent consulting, conversations, blogposts, and podcasts on family life and learning

Hi, I'm Cecilie Conrad. I'm a trained psychologist, mother of four, radical unschooler and full-time traveller. I have lived with unschooling for over a decade and help other families find their own path – whether it is about homeschooling, unschooling, or the bigger question of how you want to live as a family.

I offer guidance, conversations and talks. I call my work grandmothering – not coaching in the traditional sense, but presence, professional insight and concrete help navigating motherhood and finding your way home to your own values.

Am I the right person to help you? You can book a free discovery call, and we'll talk and figure it out.

Listen to my podcasts

I share my knowledge and curiosity about family life and learning in my two podcasts.

Da Ladies - cover
self-directed-podcast

Read my latest blogposts

intro-Info 1. This text has been translated with AI, I did not bother to check it, so please reach out if something simply does not make sense.  …Read more
I'm walking the streets of Prague, piecing together the legend of Václav the Good — a medieval king who may never have been king, and yet defines eve…Read more
I'm walking through Prague while the magnolias bloom — watching skaters fall and rise, and talking with my teens about feelings, time, and letting th…Read more
I stood in front of a painting of Saint Christopher in Prague and didn't take a photo. Now I can't stop turning over the question it left behind. Read more
Standing in the rain at Luther's church in Wittenberg — I find myself connecting to the Reformation, to story, and to why being in the world with you…Read more
The work-life-nomad balance includes a lot of moving around. A lot of adapting. A lot of driving in our case, as we are based out of our van. And som…Read more
How it all ties together: The unschooling, the love, the strategies, the stories. And how we ended up studying math while driving on the Autobahn fro…Read more
What happens when fully unschooled young adults with no preparation and no big planning suddently decide to enter the educational system? And how doe…Read more
Did I also write about love yesterday? Is there anything more important—will there ever be anything else at the center? Read more