Unschooling on a farm in country Victoria, Carolyn, her husband Michael and their three children (aged 8, 6 and 2) are living their dream life. Currently in their third year of homeschooling, two of her kids have attended school for periods of partial enrolment, they have now chosen to wholeheartedly unschool, completely free and unscheduled, dig deeply into their values and celebrate living simply and joyfully.
SUMMARY
- After growing up in country NSW she moved to Melbourne, where she met Michael and thus began their journey in search of the place they now call home
- Starting a new veggie garden in her small rental backyard in Warragul combined with listening to the futuresteading podcast inspired Carolyn and her family to seek out a more sustainably focused community and a google search lead them to Yackandandah
- How becoming a mum changed her whole being, the lived experience being so different to what she had imagined
- Finding what didn’t work for her family lead them to homeschooling
- Carolyn positively reflects upon her own education in which she felt free from pressure to perform academically. Not being tied to the outcome meant she could enjoy all aspects of her schooling experience
- Connection - to each other, to ourselves, to our community - drives everything
- Allowing her kids to create, be, rest and play - each week looks different depending on where they are at and what the weather is doing
- Holding back from jumping into community and outsourced activities so deeper connections can be found slowly and intentionally with likeminded families
- You really don’t need much at all to have an abundance of wealth. It's the simple pleasures of life that money can’t buy
- Continuing to live bravely and try different ways of living that are aligned to the values that we hold so dear
- A garden and a library is all you need
- It’s not just not doing school. Choosing joy as the lense to approach homeschooling
INSPIRATION
Homegrown - Ben Hewitt (book)
Consider asking your local library to purchase a copy if they don't currently have this book in their collection
Futuresteading Podcast
Lucy AitkenRead @lucy_aitkenread
CONNECT
Instagram - @carolyn_doyne
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Connect with us on instagram @australianhomeschoolstories or email australianhomeschoolstories@gmail.com
This podcast is recorded on the land of the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation. I pay my respect to elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. This always was, always will be aboriginal land.
Original music by Daniel Garrood
@garroodcomposer