by Erin | Jul 7, 2020 | reflection
Opinion Piece: Can we make major changes to Ontario’s Public Education? Yesterday Ontario’s Education Minister, Stephen Lecce, announced that Ontario public highschools would de-stream grade nine learning and remove suspension for students in grades JK-Grade 3....
by Erin | Feb 3, 2019 | advocacy, deschooling the adults, power dynamics, reflection, youth empowerment
Growing up, I had a lot of questions. I can distinctly remember asking about the concept of god, as a middle schooler, and wondering who created god, if god created all things. I was told that, that is why god is god. He just is. That didn’t sit well with me. I...
by Erin | Jan 21, 2019 | acceptance, power dynamics, reflection, respecting boundaries, youth empowerment
I have been experimenting with hair since as long as I can remember. I have a very tense relationship with my hair. As a child, I had stupidly sweet blonde ringlets that had everyone around me gushing. When I hit puberty, my once angelic hair turned into a ball of...
by Erin | Oct 7, 2018 | acceptance, trust
Last month, while our family of four road tripped East, I took the opportunity to re-read Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. This is a book that has been around for ages and road tripping happened to be a perfect way to refresh and put it into...
by Erin | Sep 18, 2018 | connection, feelings, nature connection, reflection, safe spaces, self care
During the aftermath of heartbreaking or traumatic events, while my brain is still trying to heal itself, I often find myself in these slow-Mo moments of peace and serenity…with my houseplants. I notice myself taking extra special care, at snails speed, to bring...
by Erin | Aug 17, 2018 | deschooling the adults, nature connection, reflection, traditional school
“You pay to drop your child off at a forest?” The words stuck with me for a moment or two and got me thinking.. You see, I’m a pretty big nature enthusiast myself and you don’t need to lecture me about the benefits of nature for both children...
by Erin | Aug 12, 2018 | acceptance, advocacy, anxiety, child-lead, connection, deschooling the adults, diversity, inspiration, meeting needs, nature connection, traditional school
One thing that I absolutely love about summer is that in the absence of school, kids and adults exhale and naturally fall into a life that tends to look a whole lot like Self Directed Education. For someone who has embraced this style of learning year-round, seeing...
by Erin | Aug 4, 2018 | acceptance, child-lead, feelings, inspiration, nature connection, reflection
Last week we found a dead baby bird on our driveway. Actually, my partner found it and then loudly announced to everyone, “Woah a dead bird! Come see!” My instinct was to protect the littler two of my three kids. “Uhhhh well…guys do you understand what you’re...
by Erin | Jul 20, 2018 | acceptance, inspiration, reflection, self-awareness
“Well, is your house clean?”. The question pierced my heart and made my stomach knot up like a giant pit was inside of it. It was asked indirectly by an extended family member in Ontario who was recently invited to our home in British Columbia, after 2...
by Erin | Jul 15, 2018 | child-lead, deschooling the adults, inspiration, meeting needs, reflection
These days, I often find myself overwhelmed by stuff. I used to love stuff. Hanging out at the mall, getting a new outfit for every occasion. I was definitely that teen portrayed in the movies. I can probably thank my friends and that viral video The Story of...
