Shows
Grow Yourself UpEp 101: Neurodivergence, Unschooling, Consent Based Living and Growing Up in Motherhood with Fran LiberatoreCath was joined by Fran Liberatore in episode 101. Cath and Fran talked about Fran's path to motherhood and how she felt she found her purpose through motherhood, her becoming and growing up in motherhood. Fran talked about her own neurodivergence, how she learnt to let go of control in parenting and how she continues to focus on this. Cath and Fran talked about the imprecise nature of diagnosis and some of their thoughts on this. Fran talked about the schooling journey in her family and how she uses a consent based model in life and education and much more.2024-05-211h 09
A Life UnschooledHomeschool boss moms & hustle culture with Adele Jarrett-KerrI’m thrilled to be sharing this conversation with you. I am a long-time follower and fan of Adele’s writing, and in this podcast we discuss her piece Homeschool mum hustle culture is giving MLM vibes, and all of our many thoughts about it.It was a beautiful, rambly (in all the good ways!) conversation that went so many places.We talk about:* working while homeschooling and the very specific challenge of that* why we don’t see HOW people make it work, even while we’re often told we can do i...2024-04-2749 min
A Life UnschooledHow we honour divergent experiences with Marni KammersellHello friends!This is episode 2 of my new series that aims to challenge and critique some of the ways we view education, parenting and children’s autonomy.In this episode, I chat to Marni Kammersell.We talk about the Neurodiversity paradigm, moving away from a medical model, her own family’s journey discovering their neurodivergence, and how they moved into unschooling.It was such an honour and joy to have this conversation with Marni! I hope you enjoy it too.Some things that came up in this episode:* how figu...2024-04-0257 min
A Life UnschooledHow we radicalize ourselves with Sara SadekHello friends!I’m excited to start another series of podcast conversations, focused on bringing you ideas and experiences of others who have chosen to challenge norms and assumptions around what it means to raise children, to mother and to live in ways that centre autonomy, consent and collective liberation.In this episode, I chat to Sara Sadek. I connected with Sara on Substack and have loved her writing ever since. It is powerful and absolutely necessary for this time.In this podcast episode, we talk about building community with a se...2024-03-0652 min
A Life UnschooledThe Slippery Slope of UnschoolingThis podcast episode was originally a written post which you can find here:I usually record my written posts as mini-podcasts for my paid subscribers, and this one is a little sneak preview for everyone!Please consider supporting my work here by signing up to my Substack and subscribing.Thank you so much for listening, sharing and being here! Fran x This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alifeunschooled.substack.com/subscribe2023-11-2318 min
Sage FamilyConsent with Fran Liberatore“I believe that all humans have a right to ownership over their body, over their mental, spiritual, emotional autonomy and consent is kind of a way to ensure that it’s not just us being autonomous everywhere but we are also respecting other people’s boundaries and right to be autonomous. My autonomy ends where yours begins.” Fran Liberatore joins me in today’s episode about Consent. Fran is a writer, podcaster, Masters student and ex-educator, as well as an unschooling mother of two children. We discuss what consent is, why it matters, how it con...2023-11-1459 min
A Life UnschooledHow Deep is your Deschooling?We belong to you and meeeee!! Okay enough with the Bee Gees, let’s get to it ;)I’m so excited to share this episode of the podcast!I chat to Sari González and Becka Koritz about the nuts and bolts of deschooling: what it is, what it looks like, the places we get stuck and the ways we get ourselves out of them!I absolutely love how real they are about their own struggles and process, and how expansive their understanding of deschooling is.Must-listen for anyone in the weeds...2023-10-1947 min
The Unschool Space#47 Consent-based parenting around the globe, with Fran LiberatoreMy guest today is Fran Liberatore. Fran is Italian but lives with her family between Bangkok, Maine and Sicily. Her children are now aged 10 and 12 and If you’d like to hear more from Fran you can also hear her in episode 12 of the podcast a couple of years ago. Today we talk about how Fran and her family have found community in the different cultures they move between. We also talk about neurodivergence and how the perspective can be in an unschooling home, consent-based parenting, being our children’s advocates, and the hard work of deschooling that goes into...2023-09-0552 min
A Life UnschooledEp 10 Untigering & fostering non-coercive cultures with Iris ChenFran chats to Iris Chen, author of the book Untigering, writer, and unschooled. They chat about building consent-based relationships with our children and our family members, creating a family culture, and cultural expectations and how we navigate them. They also speak about doing the inner work of parenting our children without coercion and domination, about unschooling and how to break free from dogma, and how you don't have to be the perfect parenting or excel at unschooling! (in fact both of those things comes from schoolishness!).A bit about Iris:2023-03-3053 min
A Life UnschooledEp 9. Literacy & Liberation (and consent!) with Nikolai PizarroFran chats to Nikolai about centering literacy in our homes and taking back the tools to support our children with learning to read and write. We talk about perceptions around literacy in both unschooling and schooling spaces, and Nikolai speaks to literacy as a tool for liberation. We also talk about the importance of relationship and trust, of non-coercion, and of decentering school as a movement for all families (unschooled, homeschooled and schooled!). More about Nikolai:For over 10 years, Nikolai Pizarro, has worked to empower predominantly Black and Brown parents and caregivers, particularly...2023-03-2252 min
A Life UnschooledEp 8: Give Children the Vote with John WallFran chats to John Wall about giving children the vote! We discuss barriers and preconceptions about children's suffrage, how it's actually not such a scary idea, and the sorts of repercussions it might have. We touch upon the potential shifts in politics and political engagement that expanding the suffrage to children might bring, and how it might all work in practice. We talk about children's rights, childism, adult bias and adult fears and worries around giving children the vote, and more!John Wall is a professor of philosophy, religion, and childhood studies at Rutgers University Camden i...2023-03-1343 min
A Life UnschooledExploring Self-Consent with Dr Sophia GrahamFran chats to Dr. Sophia Graham about all things Self-consent: what it is, why it matters and how do we even do it? We talk about all the various aspects of being in a consent-based relationship with ourselves, including interoception (what on earth is that? find out here!), sociocratic decision-making, healthy self-trust and healthy self-doubt, and so much more!A bit about Sophia:Dr Sophia Graham is a recovering academic who has become a coach after completing therapy training in the UK. Self Consent is her passion project – and the work she finds mo...2023-03-0651 min
A Life UnschooledCreating a Life without School with Sara MacdonaldFran chats to Sara about all things living and learning without school, including the ways we see children, how we respect consent when things need to get done, "non-negotiable", building community and of course the every-present question of: how will they learn if we don't force them? ;)Sara is a Mum of four girls from Brisbane, Australia. Her children have never been to school and instead live an unschooling life where they live and learn naturally from the world around them, with her help and support. Sara started sharing her family's experience with unschooling, as well...2023-02-1957 min
A Life UnschooledConsent as Disruption of Rape Culture with Rosalia RiveraFran chats to Rosalia Rivera about talking to children about consent as a way to educate them about their bodies and their right to safety and bodily autonomy. They chat about what this might look like, how it's a gradual process, how to chat to other adults in our lives about consent-based parenting and why creating a culture that is anti-abuse matters. They also talk about creating consent cultures within schools and other institutions, online safety, and changes that are happening on a wider scale.About Rosalia:Rosalia Rivera ia a passionate consent...2023-02-1258 min
A Life UnschooledRight-based Parenting + Child Liberation with Eloise RickmanFran chats to Eloise Rickman about parenting rooted in children's rights and why research around children's rights and education can be so gatekeepy and obscure. They also talk about writing about adultism and how it shows up, about the way we see children, and what child liberation is and can look like!More about Eloise:Eloise Rickman is an author, home educating parent, and founder of A Beautiful Childhood. She works with clients around the world through online courses and coaching. Her work focuses on children’s rights and liberation, and asks what par...2023-02-031h 00
A Life UnschooledPracticing Presence with Sherene CauleyFran talks to Sherene Cauley about gentle parenting and how we can reframe it, about the role of presence in our lives and our relationships with our children and others, and why boundary work is not really what we think it is! Sherene Cauley is a Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, the founder of The Nurtured Life, and the Associate Director of The Whole Health Center Bar Harbor. She provides wellness coaching services for clients across the country and hosts numerous programs on attuning to our inner and outer realities to build supportive, sustainable lifestyles. S...2023-01-2858 min
A Life UnschooledConsent in community with Nadia ErlendsonIn this episode Fran chats to Nadia Erlendson about creating and running a self-directed, consent-based community of young people in Pai, Thailand. They talk about how consent-based decisions are made, gathering as a group, respecting autonomy in our young people, the ways relationships can control and empower, and much more.Nadia is an International School Educator turned Unschooling parent and Self Directed Education facilitator. After years of exploring humanistic approaches to teaching and learning in the classroom, Nadia left the school system to explore how she could contribute to community as an educator outside of schools...2023-01-1852 min
A Life UnschooledCreating Consent Culture with Erica ScottFran chats to Erica Scott, creator of The Consent Culture Intro Workshop and co-author of the book "Creating Consent Culture: A Handbook for Educators". As a survivor of child sexual abuse, 20 plus years of working in a male dominated industry, and as a mother of young adult children, they feel the urgency to bring more effective consent education to a wider audience. She is the CEO of Creating Consent Culture and has taught consent in Canada, India and the US. In 2019 she was given the Rex Karmaveer Global Award for Social Innovation.**Just a heads up...2023-01-1149 min
Out Of LineOOL_0003 Deschooling Part 1-Start From Where You AreCandis and Annie discuss the motivations to walk away from the school system and begin to work toward something new. This work begins with deschooling, the ongoing deprogramming process to shed the expectations and beliefs internalized through being part of the school system. As we set out on this experience of letting go of our schoolish ways, we share the raw and vulnerable steps we'll encounter along the way. We mention many of the wise guides who have already helped us along the way. Here are some of them along with their Instagram accounts: Dr. Rema @drrema; Akilah Richards @fareofthefreechild...2022-03-0828 min
The Unschool Space#12 Living without school, from Dubai to Maine, with Fran Liberatore.My guest in this episode is Fran Liberatore. Fran has two children, aged 7 and 9, and has just moved to an island in Maine after spending three years in Dubai. Fran first came across unschooling some years ago when she discovered John Holt, and her intention had been to to home educate her children. For different reasons, it took until the pandemic for her to finally take the leap. We talk today about how she and her children have adjusted to life without school, the importance of being able to set and maintain our own boundaries (both us a...2021-08-2339 min