Stephanie - Mornington Peninsula, VIC / Bunurong Country

05/12/24 • 63 min

"Before we had kids, we were both adamant that we wouldn't put our kids in daycare. We wanted to raise our kids at home. We always knew we were aligned on that. So that's where it started. We were at home. We were together.”
The tables have turned and it’s me, your host Stephanie, in the hot seat. Helping me tell my story is the tech-side of this operation, my husband Daniel. For those who have listened to this podcast for some time you may have pieced parts of my story together over previous episodes, but I’m sitting down to share it all in what will be the final episode of Season Three.
SUMMARY:

Our family live on the Mornington Peninsula, Bunurong Country, in a sleepy little country town beside the sea. We left our Melbourne roots when I turned 30 to pursue a slower, simpler life and to raise our kids immersed in the natural world.
I had a fairly typical, carefree 90s childhood, spent running around the streets with the neighbourhood kids. At primary school my fondest and most vivid memories are of spending recess and lunch up trees with my friends, deep in imaginary play.
Even though I hadn't come across the idea of homeschooling until after we had our daughter, the roots of homeschooling had naturally been embedded into our lives unknowingly as we were adamant we wanted to keep them close and at home whilst they were little.
The irony of feeling pulled towards homeschooling whilst having our baby daughter on the waitlist for private high schools.
Once the idea had taken hold in my heart, I began devouring anything and everything I could get my hands on to do with homeschooling. I spent years deschooling myself through book and podcasts because the vision of what our lives could look like if we followed this path was so clear.
I had faith that if it meant enough to me, Dan would find his way to where I was too. But I knew it would take time, for him to even consider it, so I was patient but remained persistent.
When setting up our lives to adopt a homeschooling lifestyle we moved houses to a more affordable area, we went from being a two car to a one car family, and these descision all aligned with the vision we had for our future.
We have four tenets in our family that guide our days. They are art, music, books and nature. Community and food and are also hugely important. That's what I always come back to.
The hardest thing about homeschooling is toddlers.

CONNECT

Substack - Splendid To Be

Instagram - @splendidtobe
NOTE: This is an abridged version of the show notes.
Follow the link below to find quotes, links and references to all Steph shares in this episode:
FULL SHOW NOTES HERE

Connect with us:
Instagram - @australianhomeschoolstories
Substack - Australian Homeschool Stories
This podcast is recorded on the lands of the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation. I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. This always was, always will be aboriginal land.

Our family live on the Mornington Peninsula, Bunurong Country, in a sleepy little country town beside the sea. We left our Melbourne roots when I turned 30 to pursue a slower, simpler life and to raise our kids immersed in the natural world.
I had a fairly typical, carefree 90s childhood, spent running around the streets with the neighbourhood kids. At primary school my fondest and most vivid memories are of spending recess and lunch up trees with my friends, deep in imaginary play.
Even though I hadn't come across the idea of homeschooling until after we had our daughter, the roots of homeschooling had naturally been embedded into our lives unknowingly as we were adamant we wanted to keep them close and at home whilst they were little.
The irony of feeling pulled towards homeschooling whilst having our baby daughter on the waitlist for private high schools.
Once the idea had taken hold in my heart, I began devouring anything and everything I could get my hands on to do with homeschooling. I spent years deschooling myself through book and podcasts because the vision of what our lives could look like if we followed this path was so clear.
I had faith that if it meant enough to me, Dan would find his way to where I was too. But I knew it would take time, for him to even consider it, so I was patient but remained persistent.
When setting up our lives to adopt a homeschooling lifestyle we moved houses to a more affordable area, we went from being a two car to a one car family, and these descision all aligned with the vision we had for our future.
We have four tenets in our family that guide our days. They are art, music, books and nature. Community and food and are also hugely important. That's what I always come back to.
The hardest thing about homeschooling is toddlers.

CONNECT

Substack - Splendid To Be

Previous Episode

Joss - Denmark, WA / Minang Country

"Even all the times when it was really, really hard, if I could go back right to the beginning now, I would make exactly the same choices to do it all over again. It's just been the most beautiful experience of my life.”
Today I have the pleasure of sharing Joss Goulden’s reflections on her adult children’s natural learning life. As an aware parenting instructor and parenting coach, Joss is passionate about supporting children and parents to thrive and heal with compassion and connection. In this episode she beautifully espouses how much her family’s homeschooling journey has meant to her. Settle in, pour yourself a cup of tea and let the sage words of encouragement from Joss wash over you.
SUMMARY

Joss was born in the Phillipines but grew up mostly in the UK. Her father was a diplomat which meant her family travelled a lot and at the age of 8 she was sent to boarding school in the UK, where she stayed for the remainder of her schooling.
Joss left school with a lot of trauma that she wasn’t aware of at the time but she was interested in people and psychology and how we work as humans and went on to study psychology, human communication science & counselling.
She and her husband settled in Australia after spending years travelling themselves, and when they decided to have children of their own, Joss dove deep into the attachment and aware parenting philosophies.
Attachment is the first and most fundamental aspect of aware parenting and what children need in order to thrive is this sense that they are safely connected with another adult who loves them, who cares about their wellbeing, who is tuned into them and is responsive to their needs. Where they feel safe and supported and loved.
Attachment, relationship, connection and safety are vitally important for children's well-being.
How & why homeschooling naturally evolved into natural learning for their family.
The importance of surrounding yourself with like minded community and how her own community varied and evolved over the years.
Seeing the value of all kinds of learning equally.
How Joss navigated the teen years and the natural separation process with the strong foundation of love and support that has guided them throughout.
The pathways her eldest took getting into TAFE and university.
It’s okay to take your children out of school. It’s okay to do things differently.

CONNECT
Instagram - @awareparentingwithjoss

Facebook - Aware Parenting with Joss

Website - awareparenting.com.au

NOTE: This is an abridged version of the show notes.
Follow the link below to find quotes, links and references to all Joss shares in this episode:
FULL SHOW NOTES HERE

Connect with us:
Instagram - @australianhomeschoolstories
Substack - Australian Homeschool Stories
This podcast is recorded on the lands of the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation. I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. This always was, always will be aboriginal land.

Next Episode

Assunta's Story - Hunter Valley, NSW / Wonnarua Country

“Have trust in the kids, know that they can follow their passions intuitively. We don’t have to set all these standards of where they should be or would be or could be if they were in the system. Just trust.”

Assunta, her husband and two daughters (aged 11 and 8), live on 2.5 acres in the upper Hunter region of New South Wales, where she is never happier than with her feet on the earth and her hands in the dirt. In this conversation we cover how their family navigated the transition from Steiner education to homeschooling, mourning the loss of the life they had envisaged whilst being accepting of change, permaculture, craft clubs, screen boundaries, travelling as a form of deschooling and Assunta’s Seeds of Gratitude curriculum.
FULL SHOW NOTES HERE

Follow the link above to find the detailed show notes for this episode along with quote, links and references to all Assunta shares.
CONNECT
Instagram:
@seedsofgratitude_
@lola_sage_homeschool
@assunta.layla
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This podcast was recorded on the land of the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. This always was, always will be aboriginal land.