The Unschool Space

In this episode I am joined by Meghan Suniga-Davies. Meghan has three unschooled children who are now all teens and young adults and she also has extensive experience working with young people in self-directed learning spaces. We talk about her family’s journey to unschooling and her particular deschooling journey. And we talk about what it means to live in partnership with our young people and prioritise our relationship, particularly when they are feeling challenged by something. I hope you enjoy the conversation!

About Meghan
Meghan is a born and raised Austinite partnered with adult and teen unschoolers, a long time youth rights advocate, community builder and facilitator of alternative programming to conventional school. She has worked with youth for over 15 years and is passionate about youth liberation, promoting autonomy, self-directed education and anti-oppression through collaborative exploration of the city. 
She supports  adults moving away from control and toward partnership in both education and relationships. She believes empowering youth in collaborative decision-making within the community paves the way for a future where the personhood of all youth are not reduced to "adults in training" but recognized as fully capable of contributing meaningfully to society. 
She has been involved with the unschooling community for more than a decade.  The Alliance for Self-Directed Education and  Mosaic  are organizations she’s been a part of where she brings energy and momentum around  making SDE more accessible to people around the world! 
atxflyingsquad.com 
itsjusmeghan.com
If you'd like to support the podcast and the sharing of these stories, you can do that here.   Thank you!

The Parent's Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. A Mindful Guide to Embracing a New Way of Living and Learning With Your Child

You can sign up for weekly resources around unschooling and mindful parenting at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Substack: https://substack.com/@estherjones
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.beyondschool
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

In this episode, I am chatting with Megan Arevalo, who lives in Michigan with her husband and two children, who are three and eight. After initially homeschooling, Megan came to unschooling after her daughter’s burnout, when she realised she needed to focus entirely on connection and wellbeing. Megan talks about the subsequent autism diagnoses and her own path from feeling like she had to hold everything together to understanding her own neurodivergence. And we talk about what it looks like to embrace connection over control, let go of perfectionism, and keep learning from our children. I hope you enjoy the conversation. 
Connect with Megan:
https://megantarevalo.substack.com/
If you'd like to support the podcast and the sharing of these stories, you can do that here.   Thank you!

The Parent's Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. A Mindful Guide to Embracing a New Way of Living and Learning With Your Child

You can sign up for weekly resources around unschooling and mindful parenting at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Substack: https://substack.com/@estherjones
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.beyondschool
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

In this episode, I am chatting with Carey Kirkella who lives with her husband and eight-year-old son in New York City. They came to unschooling after her son had many struggles at pre-K then in Kindergarten. Though on the outside he seemed to be doing fine, Carey saw how he was becoming more anxious and stressed and had increasing sensory issues. 
Carey shares how her son is doing now and how their lives look, along with all the challenges that come with accompanying a child as they recover from burnout, and how that impacts her too. I hope you enjoy the conversation!
Connect with Carey
instagram.com
LinkedIn
www.careykirkella.com
If you'd like to support the podcast and the sharing of these stories, you can do that here.   Thank you!

The Parent's Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. A Mindful Guide to Embracing a New Way of Living and Learning With Your Child

You can sign up for weekly resources around unschooling and mindful parenting at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Substack: https://substack.com/@estherjones
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.beyondschool
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

Today’s episode is a little different as I am chatting with Victor and Eitan, who are 16 and 15 and attend Alcove Learning, a self-directed learning space in LA. They both came to Alcove after many years in public school, and after some mental health struggles. It was really such a joy to talk with them about what it has meant to them to have choice and agency over what they do in their days, and to be part of a supportive community that places wellbeing above all else. They really have so many wonderful and thoughtful insights to share. I hope you enjoy the conversation! 
https://www.alcovelearning.org/
If you'd like to support the podcast and the sharing of these stories, you can do that here.   Thank you!

The Parent's Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. A Mindful Guide to Embracing a New Way of Living and Learning With Your Child

You can sign up for weekly resources around unschooling and mindful parenting at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Substack: https://substack.com/@estherjones
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.beyondschool
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

In this episode I am chatting with Munira Adenwalla, who is an occupational therapist and lives in London with her 14-year-old son. Munira realised when her son was young that school would not be a good fit for him. We talk about how our school conditioning runs deep and the worries that can come when we step away from it. And Munira tells us what unschooling looks like for her son, and how in hindsight she can see how his particular path has unfolded as he has followed his interests. We also talk about why unschooling allows neurodivergent children far more space to understand themselves and to forge a path that feels right for them. 

Connect with Munira
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/ot4kidswithmunira
Parents' FB Group: www.facebook.com/groups/helpingkidswrite
Website: https://www.ot4kids.co.uk
If you'd like to support the podcast and the sharing of these stories, you can do that here.   Thank you!

The Parent's Handbook to Unschooling Yourself. A Mindful Guide to Embracing a New Way of Living and Learning With Your Child

You can sign up for weekly resources around unschooling and mindful parenting at:
www.esther-jones.com

Or, connect with me on
Substack: https://substack.com/@estherjones
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.beyondschool
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace