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 | 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 | Aug 22, 2017 | acceptance, advocacy, child-lead, feelings, meeting needs, safe spaces, self-connection, trust, youth empowerment
For the past two weeks, I have been spending more time at Learning in the Woods and I have had a unique opportunity to observe more than engage with the children. I found myself thinking, what is it that kids like about Learning in the Woods. Here is what I...
