Back

On #unschooling: Studying Sokrates and the discipline of logic.

Cecilie Conrad·Jan 11, 2021

On #unschooling: In the photo: My sons are laughing so hard, they can hardly stand, as we were voluntary and together in our home – studying Sokrates and the discipline of logic.

“It (I.e. the home) is not an artificial place, set up to make “learning” happen and in which nothing except “learning” ever happens. It is a natural, organic, central, fundamental human institution, one might easily and rightly say the foundation of all other institutions”
#JohnHolt – from ‘Teach your own’

I have seriously struggled with this question: How to not become artificial while unschooling. We call it #deschooling, the process where we, the parents, unlearn and uninstall the whole system of schooling from our concepts on life.

Yet, there are a few things I love MORE than exploring with my children. It could be a beach, a landscape, a culture, a language, an art form, or a science discipline – with my children. Not because I am trying to teach them, but because this is a natural way of living life together: Being interested in the world around us. Being a home-mother, building a nest for my family is a natural flow for me, and I am happy to do it.

We have chosen a nest with wheels on it; nonetheless, we consider our current location (where ever it is) as our home: If we are together, have a place to sleep and some food somewhere – it is home.

Getting this together and functional in new ways is the job of a nomadic mother, and for a long time, I did not have the arguments to stand up for the importance of it.

The longer I live this life, the more important I find the base. The love, the vibe, the organization (not too much, but enough to have a good flow), the resources. The base is the home.

I have been heavily criticized for choosing the home and taking my kids home. Now, I know I am right.

This is the only natural base for life.

Your parents ARE supposed to be the most important persons in your life until you become a parent yourself.

And your home is your base.

“… we cannot even imagine a society without homes, even if these should be no more than tents, or mud huts, or holes in the ground.”
– John Holt

May the sun shine on you.

Cecilie-Underskrift-300x133

Cecilie Conrad

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

Is the smartphone really ruining the lives of tweens and teens? Do we need to protect them by keeping them away from the tool? The movement out there…Read more
A morning reflection from Budapest on trusting life’s intensity, receiving what we need, and surrendering to the beauty hidden in challenges. Read more
Barcelona wasn’t sunsets and music. It was rain—21 out of 23 days of it. It was getting sick, the dogs getting sick, and working on personal projects…Read more
Street art is such a bold and brave form, throwing it up there in the shared space, creating a comment or a decoration or a critique or a combination…Read more
Chess
Most parents struggle with video games in one way or another. I hear this question all the time. Video games and "screen time" are some of the most t…Read more
Barcelona wasn’t sunsets and music. It was rain—21 out of 23 days of it. It was getting sick, the dogs getting sick, and working on personal projects…Read more
A simple travel journal about how life is, and how it was exactly when we did a focus month in France. Read more
What is the price of unfreedom? How does managerialism control our work, childhood, and daily lives? Inspired by our conversation with Dennis Nørmark…Read more
We live by the stories, we can imagine, we understand through the lens of eyes of heroes and victims and witches and kings and everyone else from the…Read more