Siblings Laura and Allen Ellis join me this week to talk about growing up unschooling. They share how their childhood interests and experiences connect to the work that they currently do and some of the realizations they made along the way. We talk about the role their mother played in supporting their interests and providing opportunities that fit their goals without controlling or adding weighty expectations. Laura and Allen also describe the benefits they see in retrospect of living an unschooling life as they were growing up. It’s wonderful to hear their perspective and to see how their two different journeys have unfolded so far!
Questions for Laura and Allen
Can you share with us a bit about you and your family?
What did your family’s move to unschooling look like?
What were some of your interests and passions growing up and how did you pursue them?
Let’s shift to your young adult years. What choices did you make and how did they unfold for you?
At this point, you’ve each ended up starting your own multi-passionate companies. What does that look like and how do you see your unschooling background continuing to weave into your lives?
What do you each appreciate most about growing up unschooling?
Things mentioned in the episode
Their website, Why Unschool?
Laura’s business Bridges Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine website
Allen’s business website
Transcript
Video
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I just love hearing from unschooled children – now adults. I love to listen to the threads of interest that weave through their lives and are reflected in their future career paths. I appreciated how different these siblings paths looked – one more focused from early on and the other a more seemingly “disparate” path.
Pam, would Laura and Allen’s mom be willing to come on the show to answer questions about her journey from her well-schooled background to homeschooling and then to unschooling. It sounds like their mom was able to give her children the freedom to discover themselves and in their own time and ways.