ESTHER JONES

I started this post about self compassion a while ago and, for some reason, never got round to finishing it. Now feels like a good time. Here we all are trying to hold space for our children whilst also attempting to stay on solid ground ourselves... There can't be a more important life skill for our children to have than the ability to manage their emotions. No matter what they do in the future, at some point they'll go through challenging times. And, in those moments, how m

I hear a lot of doubt around whether unschooling can work for children with special needs. Perhaps it's because many of these children need so much help and support to get through formal education. And if it's stressful and exhausting even with everyone trying so hard, logic follows that without all that effort and structure, the child wouldn't get anywhere at all. So, even when the child clearly isn't thriving, the idea of letting go of formal learning can seem more radical

A friend asked me recently what I wish I had known when we began unschooling. It's an interesting question. There were lots of things that I didn't know, and there were others that, intellectually at least, I did know, but didn't quite believe. So, here's my list. All the things I wish I had known, and all the things I did know and wish I'd believed were true. That children are born to learn They don't need rewards or bribery. They don't need us to motivate or cajole. They do

This lockdown sort of caught us between places. We had just rented a house in the UK, and brought over some of our belongings. We were due to travel back to Barcelona in March to get the rest of our things plus our three cats. Obviously that couldn't happen, so we're living a fairly minimalist life here. Which is fine. The only major thing we don't have with us is D's gaming computer, so, he hasn't gamed for at least two months. Given that this is a major passion of his, it's

The birth of my first child was much harder than I'd expected it to be. I was ready for pain, but was also pretty confident that I'd be able to deal with it. What I hadn't realised was that my mind and my body would be so resistant to the process. I fought every step of the way. Not consciously, but I just couldn't find any way not to resist. When the surges came, I tensed into them, trying in any way I could to protect myself from the terrible pain that was sure to follow. A

If you're one of the millions of parents who has suddenly found themselves working from home at the same time as caring for their children, things could feel challenging right now. Balancing so many needs whilst dealing with the uncertainties in the world is a huge task. Over the last few years, I've become fairly adept at working from home with my children. It's taken a lot of trial and error, and tons of frustration, guilt and all the other things that come when needs, expe