The Unschool Space

Esther Jones

Unschooling isn't just about education, it's a life choice! For most parents, embracing unschooling requires some serious unravelling of old paradigms around parenting, learning and childhood, and that can be both challenging and exhilarating. Join me, Esther Jones, a mindful parenting coach and unschooling mother-of-three, as I take a look at the many opportunities for reflection that naturally arise in an unschooling home. Each episode, I chat with other parents about their family’s  experiences. From self-care, neurodiversity and mindfulness, to how to live consensually and trust our children, this podcast is here to help parents navigate the everyday challenges so they're free to create a healthy, nourishing and enriching space for themselves and their family. Thanks for listening!Join my mailing for regular offerings and updates at: www.esther-jones.comor get in touch with me at: contact@esther-jones.com.Instagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

  1. #103 Embracing a different kind of learning, with Zahra Lightway and Patricia Sprenger

    1 DAY AGO

    #103 Embracing a different kind of learning, with Zahra Lightway and Patricia Sprenger

    This episode, I am with Zahra Lightway and Patricia Sprenger of Light Way Learning. Both came to alternative education through feeling disilusioned with the education system, Zahra as a teacher whose son had found the system difficult, and Patricia as a parent whose children were struggling at school. We talk about learning looks when it doesn’t look like school, the power of just observing our children, and the amazing things that can happen when they have agency over their own learning. And, they explain why they started Lightway Learning, to help parents with their transition to learning beyond school. I hope you enjoy the conversation. Zahra Lightway, M.Ed, BA Co-founder of Light Way Learning and creator of Famli & Light Way Home Educator Academy. I understand what it's like to watch children lose their spark in traditional schooling. I witnessed it for over a decade as a classroom teacher. That heartbreak led me to spend four years researching how children actually learn best, drawing from 150+ years of alternative education research and real experience with hundreds of families. I created the Light Way Home Educator Academy to give parents what I wished I'd had: a clear, proven framework that honors how children naturally learn while giving families the structure and support they need to feel confident: a course, coaching, community and AI tool to make learning visible, all in one place. My approach weaves together holistic educational principles, emotional intelligence, and collaborative decision-making tools, all designed to help parents create a learning life that feels joyful and sustainable rather than stressful and overwhelming.  You can find out more about our first course, The Foundations Journey, here and/or do our free introductory training here. Patricia Sprenger home educated her two children from ages 10 and 11 through high school, blending her 30-year background as a movement specialist with an academic approach rooted in nervous-system balance, emotional regulation, and organic, interest-driven learning. Drawing on her expertise in the language of the body, she developed a holistic educational model that was intentional yet free-spirited, honoring every curiosity with equal value. Now in their early twenties, her children are thriving—one in his first year of law school at UCincinnati, and the other completing her final year in plant science at Cornell University before pursuing a PhD. Patricia currently serves as a co-founder and academic advisor for Homeschool Directive, a globally recognized accredited home-education program that empowers families to personalize lea 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 find my blog, workshops and courses at: www.esther-jones.com Or, connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

    43 min
  2. #102 From soccer mom to unschooling coach—changing the stories in our heads, with Sue Patterson in Austin, Texas

    1 APR

    #102 From soccer mom to unschooling coach—changing the stories in our heads, with Sue Patterson in Austin, Texas

    In this episode, I am talking with Sue Patterson, who lives in Austin Texas. Sue is an unschooling coach, author, and the founder and voice behind Unschooling Mom2Mom. Sue has three adult children, who are now in their thirties, and who were all unschooled. Sue tells of how she came to unschooling when her children were young, after seeing how they were failing to thrive in traditional school. We talk about her deschooling process and how important it is to change the stories in our heads, and to focus on the here and now and the connection with our children. I hope you enjoy the conversation. Connect with Sue Unschooling Mom2Mom: http://www.UnschoolingMom2Mom.com Creating Confidence Daily App: https://www.unschoolingmom2mom.com/creating-confidence-daily Unschooling Membership Community: https://www.unschoolingmom2mom.com/creating-confidence-membership Strewing Calendar: https://www.unschoolingmom2mom.com/strewing-calendars 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 find my blog, workshops and courses at: www.esther-jones.com Or, connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

    47 min
  3. #101 Unschooling and one child's recovery from burnout, with Jenny Mainwaring in Oxford, UK

    19 FEB

    #101 Unschooling and one child's recovery from burnout, with Jenny Mainwaring in Oxford, UK

    In this episode I’m chatting with Jenny Mainwaring who lives near Oxford in the UK. Jenny took her oldest son out of school while still in primary school and suffering from burnout. Jenny describes the slow process of helping him feel safe again and how they have seen him come back to his interests and the things he naturally wants to explore. In fact, Jenny’s son who is now 12 encouraged Jenny to share their story so other children can know that things do get better. A little later, Jenny also took her younger son out of school and we talk about how they try to work together to meet everyone’s needs, what socialising looks like, and the importance of safe adults.  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 find my blog, workshops and courses at: www.esther-jones.com Or, connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

    46 min
  4. #100 In celebration of 100 conversations and The Unschooling Summit 2026, with Melissa Crockett-Joyoue

    3 FEB

    #100 In celebration of 100 conversations and The Unschooling Summit 2026, with Melissa Crockett-Joyoue

    To mark the podcast's 100 conversations, this episode is a little different. I am in conversation with Melissa Crockett-Joyoue who runs the Weave online community  and is also an unschooling mother. She and I co-founded The Unschooling Summit with last year and we are currently working on this year’s event. It is free, online and takes place on March 20th-22nd, with recordings available. You can sign up for reminders at www.theunschoolingsummit.org. We just wanted to talk a bit about the summit, and how our experiences, and all the podcast conversations have helped to shape this offering. And we go off on a couple of tangents too. I hope you enjoy the conversation and hope to see you at the summit! 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 find my blog, workshops and courses at: www.esther-jones.com Or, connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

    31 min
  5. #99 Trusting the ebb and flow - unschooling with four neurodivergent children, with Cassie Emmott in East Sussex, UK

    20 JAN

    #99 Trusting the ebb and flow - unschooling with four neurodivergent children, with Cassie Emmott in East Sussex, UK

    My guest this episode is Cassie Emmott from East Sussex in the UK. Cassie lives with her husband and four children, who are all neurodivergent, and two of her children have additional needs.  We talk about how unschooling looks in Cassie’s family and how she and her husband manage everyone’s different needs and interests. We talk about the deep learning that she sees happening in its own time, and the importance of those moments of deep connection with our children that naturally arise in the day. And we talk about how important it is that we are able to stay resourced in order to be able to stay present and keep our own nervous systems regulated. Connect with Cassie on Instagram 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 find my blog, workshops and courses at: www.esther-jones.com Or, connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

    40 min
  6. #98 There is no one right way to live, with Stephanie McDowell in Texas

    6 JAN

    #98 There is no one right way to live, with Stephanie McDowell in Texas

    In this episode, I am talking with Stephanie McDowell. Stephanie lives in the US with her husband and five-year old daughter and is a former high-school teacher. Burnt out from her teaching career, she and her husband chose to homeschool their daughter, but Stephanie found the structure and school-focused ways of the homeschooling community an uncomfortable mismatch. She realised that she needed to focus first on herself and began to unpick some trauma from her childhood and her relationship with food. Stephanie shares how a large part of the healing work came from realising that there is no one way to live, as she had been told as a child and how this helps her to live in a more authentic way with her daughter.  Stephanie's website: https://www.mamabearyourself.com/ Weave online community: https://weave-community.mn.co/ 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 find my blog, workshops and courses at: www.esther-jones.com Or, connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

    43 min
  7. #97 Looking back—reflections on grown unschooled children, with Linda Velwest in New Jersey

    10/12/2025

    #97 Looking back—reflections on grown unschooled children, with Linda Velwest in New Jersey

    In this episode I am chatting with Linda Velwest, who lives in New Jersey and has three adult son, now aged 26, 28 and 31, who were all unschooled for many years. It’s always lovely to talk with parents of adult unschoolers, and Linda reflects on their journey, the very different paths each child took and the many things that she and her family all took from the experience. Linda also recently published a fiction book called City Rescue Pets: Second Chances for Love and Hope featuring an unschooling family, and inspired by her own family’s fostering adventures. You can find the link to that in the notes. I hope you enjoy the conversation! 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 find my blog, workshops and courses at: www.esther-jones.com Or, connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

    38 min
  8. #96 Following a deeper knowing and letting go of systems that don’t serve us, with Ash Winton in Queensland, Australia

    27/11/2025

    #96 Following a deeper knowing and letting go of systems that don’t serve us, with Ash Winton in Queensland, Australia

    Today I am chatting with Ash Winton. Ash has lived in Queensland, Australia for the last 12 years, but is originally from Alaska, and is of the indigenous Tlingit people. She and her husband, who run a trail building company, have a four and half year old son, who they unschool and plan to continue doing so. Among lots of things, we talk about what natural learning looks like, how social norms can often be in direct opposition to our intuition, and the importance in all this of being in touch with our own nervous systems, and what it means to be our true selves. I hope you enjoy the conversation. 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 find my blog, workshops and courses at: www.esther-jones.com Or, connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estherjones.unschooling Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnschoolSpace

    47 min
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About

Unschooling isn't just about education, it's a life choice! For most parents, embracing unschooling requires some serious unravelling of old paradigms around parenting, learning and childhood, and that can be both challenging and exhilarating. Join me, Esther Jones, a mindful parenting coach and unschooling mother-of-three, as I take a look at the many opportunities for reflection that naturally arise in an unschooling home. Each episode, I chat with other parents about their family’s  experiences. From self-care, neurodiversity and mindfulness, to how to live consensually and trust our children, this podcast is here to help parents navigate the everyday challenges so they're free to create a healthy, nourishing and enriching space for themselves and their family. Thanks for listening!Join my mailing for regular offerings and updates at: www.esther-jones.comor get in touch with me at: contact@esther-jones.com.Instagram: @_esther.jonesFacebook:@theunschoolspace

Information

  • Creator
    Esther Jones
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    103
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Unschool Space
  • Show Website
    The Unschool Space

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