Australian Homeschool Summit final talk - how to motivate yourself and your teenagers (without going crazy!)

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Today marked the end of the incredible first Australian Homeschool Summit, online, and despite being 8 months pregnant, with fluid retention, and chubby little feet jammed up in my ribs, we had a really fun day with Kelly from Fearless Homeschool, talking about Motivating yourself and your teenager (without going crazy!). This summit was the second that I have ever been to (I wrote about my first over here) and the very first online homeschooling summit.  I really loved watching all of the other presenters from my bedroom laptop, in my pyjama's, with the kids asleep! and everyone knows how much homeschoolers love doing things in their pj's! 

Today we talked from the perspective of maintaining good mental health while homeschooling or unschooling your teenager, so that you are better able to weather the changes of hormones, increased physical and psychological demands on your teens, and the sometimes uncomfortable process that can be growing up! We looked at Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs, and how to do a needs assessment of yourself, as well as your teens, to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as it can through this period of intense growth. 

We also touched on the often heated unschooling topic of internet restrictions (do you restrict your teen's internet access? and do you have their internet passwords?) and being brave enough to admit that you don't advocate unlimited internet, if you are in radical unschooling circles! 

I also spoke about why it is important to let your child be bored! to encourage minimalism and self-sufficiency, and to practice loving deprivation. Which gave me an excuse to showcase my (very rare) art project (above) - a restored chest, with chalkboard paint and chic chalkboard-label pasta sauce bottles (reduce, reuse and recycle). 

You can read more about our chic chalkboard restoration project over here, and take a small tour through our creative tv-free spaces in our new home, over here. 

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I will also write a separate blog on the highlights of the first Australian Homeschool Summit over here, for anyone that missed it! And if you would like to watch all of the highlights, and keep the re-runs of the entire summit, you can purchase a membership here. This includes hours and hours of talks from homeschooling, unschooling and natural learning families, and professionals, bonus downloads, discounts and extra talks on everything from unschooling children 0-5 years old, to gaining university entry for homeschooling teenagers. I loved being a part of this summit and look forward to next year! 

xo Allira