PODCAST · kids
Exploring Unschooling
by Pam Laricchia
Explore unschooling with Pam Laricchia, unschooling mom and author. Choosing to live and learn without school isn’t as intimidating as you might first imagine. Children really do love learning when it's driven by curiosity rather than curriculum, and the connected and trusting relationships that develop in unschooling families are priceless.
Episodes
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EU419: On the Journey Part 2 with Nora McDonald
We’re back with another On the Journey episode! Pam, Anna, and Erika talked to Living Joyfully Network member Nora McDonald, who was also on the podcast a few years ago. Nora shared an update about her family and spoke about how her unschooling journey has progressed. She also dove deep into a...
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EU418: When Teachers Become Unschoolers
Pam and Anna interviewed three former teachers who are all unschooling parents and members of the Living Joyfully Network. Erika Ellis, Jen Hollis, and Michelle Kren shared their experiences becoming teachers as well as their thought processes as they chose unschooling for their own families.…
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EU417: On the Journey with Julia Triman
We’re back with another On the Journey episode! Pam, Anna, and Erika had fun connecting with Living Joyfully Network member Julia Triman. Julia was on the podcast with Pam back in 2021, when she talked about her unschooling stories. It was really cool to hear how things have changed and how…
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EU416: A Field Guide: Accepting the Value of All Experiences
We’re back with the fourth episode in our series in which we’re working our way through Pam’s book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. Today, we’re continuing our exploration of the deschooling phase of the journey with stage eight: Accepting the Value of All Experiences. We’ve questioned…
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EU415: Growing Up Unschooling with Halie Barrick
For this new Growing Up Unschooling episode, Pam, Anna, and Erika were joined by 26-year-old Halie Barrick, who has always been unschooled. Halie shared about her experiences growing up, her journey through college and grad school, the business she created with her mom, and her advice to newer...
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EU414: When Unschooling Kids Choose School
We invited a panel of three unschooling parents to join us to talk about what happens when unschooling kids choose school. Ari, Terri, and Kinsey are all members of the Living Joyfully Network and they all have children who have chosen to try school. They shared about what led to the decision…
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EU413: A Field Guide: Shifting from Control to Connection
We’re back with the third episode in our series on the podcast in which we’re working our way through Pam’s book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. Today, we’re continuing our exploration of the deschooling phase of the journey with stage seven: Shifting From Control to Connection. Last…
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EU412: Foundations: Recognizing Our Biases
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Recognizing Our Biases. Let’s talk about cognitive biases. Commitment bias, confirmation bias, and negativity bias are common thinking patterns that can lead to errors in judgment...
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EU411: On the Journey with Sam
We’re back with another On the Journey episode! Pam, Anna, and Erika had a powerful conversation with Living Joyfully Network member and unschooling dad Sam. Sam shared deeply about his journey with his daughter through autistic burnout. We talked about Sam’s experiences in both PDA and…
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EU410: On the Journey with Ari Lambie
We’re back with another On the Journey episode! We had a fascinating conversation with Living Joyfully Network member Ari Lambie. Ari is a mom of three young children and she spoke with us about her journey. We talked about the philosophy of learning, the fallibilism of humans, creativity,...
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EU409: Foundations: Baby Steps
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Baby Steps. So often, when we’re faced with a challenge or making a choice, we don’t need to have the full picture or the final answer in order to move forward. By taking a baby...
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EU408: A Field Guide: Challenging Our Beliefs About Learning
We’re back with the second episode in our new series on the podcast, in which we’re working our way through Pam’s book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. Today, we’re beginning our exploration of the deschooling phase of the journey with stage six: Challenging Our Beliefs About Learning....
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EU407: On the Journey with Lucia Silva
We’re back with another On the Journey episode! We had a rich conversation with Living Joyfully Network member Lucia Silva. Lucia was previously on the podcast in episode 251, Unschooling as a Lifestyle. She is an unschooling mom of two and she came back to share some updates about her…
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EU406: Foundations: Open and Curious
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Open and Curious. Open and curious is a helpful mindset shift for navigating relationships and challenges. In this week’s episode, we dive into Pam’s mantra and some of the many...
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EU405: A Field Guide: Choosing Unschooling
Welcome to a new series on the podcast that we’re calling A Field Guide, in which we’re working our way through Pam’s book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. We’re using the chapters of the book as monthly themes in the Living Joyfully Network, which is bringing everything top of mind for…
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EU404: Foundations: Stories
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Stories. Humans are storytellers. We choose the stories we tell about our lives. In every situation, we can come up with a number of ways to tell the story of it, and they’re all…
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The Unschooling Summit, 2026
Join other parents from around the world for three days of inspiration and community at The Unschooling Summit. This free virtual event will feature 90+ unschooling experts and advocates.
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EU403: On the Journey with Erin Rosemond
Pam, Anna, and Erika talk with Erin Rosemond about her unschooling journey.
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EU402: 10 Years: What Still Matters (Part 3)
The Exploring Unschooling Podcast has now been around for over 10 years and 400 episodes! This month, we’re celebrating these huge milestones by looking back and reflecting on three big questions. In Part 3 of our celebration, Pam, Anna, and Erika explore the question of what still matters over…
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EU401: 10 Years: What’s Changed (Part 2)
The Exploring Unschooling Podcast has now been around for over 10 years and 400 episodes! This month, we're celebrating these huge milestones by looking back and reflecting on three big questions.
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EU400: 10 Years: What We’ve Learned (Part 1)
The Exploring Unschooling Podcast began at the beginning of 2016 when Pam released episode EU001: What is Unschooling? 10 Years! And 400 Episodes! To celebrate these huge milestones, we are looking back and reflecting this month. In Part 1 of our celebration, Pam, Anna, and Erika explore the...
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EU399: On the Journey with Jenna-Gaye Hollis
This week, we have a wonderful conversation with Living Joyfully Network member Jenna-Gaye Hollis. Jenna is a mom of four living in Australia. Her sons are 17, 16, 14, and 9, and she shared some of her unschooling journey with us.
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EU398: Foundations: Polarizing Paradigms
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Polarizing Paradigms. While it’s common to see things through the lens of right and wrong or good and bad and to look for someone or something to blame, these polarizing paradigms...
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EU397: Celebrating Interests
On this episode of Exploring Unschooling, Pam, Anna, and Erika talk about the immense value of celebrating interests. As humans, what we are interested in really makes us who we are as individuals. When we celebrate and show interest in the things that our children and partners love, our...
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EU085 Flashback: Deschooling with Lucy AitkenRead
In this episode, we’re sharing a conversation that Pam had with Lucy AitkenRead in 2017. At the time, Lucy unschools her two children and blogs at Lulastic and the Hippyshake. Pam and Lucy talked about her family’s move to unschooling, the hardest parts of her journey, the most surprising bits…
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EU396: Foundations: There’s Plenty of Time
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, There’s Plenty of Time. It’s amazing how so many things that come up in our days can feel like emergencies, like they need to be solved as soon as possible. Taking a moment to...
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EU395: Navigating All the Needs
In this episode of Exploring Unschooling, Pam, Anna, and Erika talk about navigating all the needs in our unschooling families. Navigating all the needs can be one of the biggest puzzles of parenthood. In many cases, we’re going from only being responsible for ourselves, to then being in...
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EU394: Weaving Together Neurodivergence and Unschooling with Melissa Crockett-Joyoue
In this episode, we were so grateful to be joined by Melissa Crockett-Joyoue of the Unschooling Summit and Weave ND. Melissa shared her dramatic journey to unschooling, her experience as a neurodivergent parent of neurodivergent kids, and how amazing unschooling has been for all of them. We also...
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EU393: Foundations: Every Moment is a Choice
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Every Moment is a Choice. It’s common in our culture to look at our lives in terms of “have-tos,” but staying in that space takes away our agency and our joy. By getting curious...
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EU392: Unschooling Stumbling Blocks: Strong Beliefs
We are back with another episode in our Unschooling Stumbling Blocks series and this time, we’re talking about unschooling with strong beliefs. Sometimes our strong beliefs can be a stumbling block along our journey when we put the belief ahead of our relationships. When those moments come up in...
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EU132 Flashback: Deschooling Two Cultures with Iris Chen
In this episode, we’re sharing a conversation that Pam had with Iris Chen in 2018. At the time, Iris was new to unschooling her two sons in China and was writing blog posts about her experience at her website, Untigering. Pam and Iris talked about why she and her husband decided to move to China,...
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EU391: Foundations: Boundaries, Comfort Zones, and Capacity
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Boundaries, Comfort Zones, and Capacity. The idea of boundaries comes up pretty often in conventional circles, often through the lens of self-care, encouraging people to set...
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EU390: When School Isn’t Working
We talk about changes you might notice in your child, about the choices that we have when it comes to living and learning, and about the value of community during that big transition away from mainstream schooling.
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EU110FB: Unschooling Dads and Music with Alan Marshall
In this episode, we’re sharing a conversation that Pam had with unschooling dad Alan Marshall in 2018. At the time, Alan was a professional musician and a university music professor with three kids at home. Pam and Alan talked about his family’s journey to unschooling, his eldest’s transition to...
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EU389: Foundations: Consent and Consensual Living
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Consent and Consensual Living. Consent is really the backbone of everything we talk about. Everyone, regardless of age, wants agency. When we can shift away from control, because…
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EU388: Bids for Connection
Join Pam, Anna, and Erika to talk about bids for connection. John and Julie Gottman from the Gottman Institute coined the term “bids for connection” to describe many moments through our days when people in our lives try to connect with us. In our conversation, we talked about what those bids can...
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EU286 Flashback: Connect with Courage with Roya Dedeaux
This week, we share a conversation that Pam had with Roya Dedeaux in 2021, diving into her book, Connect with Courage. Roya is a grown unschooler, a marriage and family therapist, and an unschooling mom of three, so she has lots of experience to draw from as she considers how children learn and...
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EU387: Foundations: Seeing Through Someone Else’s Eyes
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Seeing Through Someone Else’s Eyes. “Seeing through someone else’s eyes” is a shift from the typical phrase, “walking in their shoes.” And it’s a valuable paradigm shift to…
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EU386: Building Confidence
In this episode, Pam, Anna, and Erika talk about building confidence. We had an interesting month in the Living Joyfully Network recently where we dove deep into this topic and it was fascinating how many layers we found to uncover. In this episode, we talk about letting go of comparisons,...
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EU163 Flashback: Growing Up Unschooling with Adrian Peace-Williams
This week, we share a conversation that Pam had with Adrian Peace-Williams back in 2019. At the time, she was 24 years old and in college. Pam and Adrian talked about her childhood unschooling, her choice to go to high school, her years of traveling the world after high school, where she was at…
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EU385: Foundations: People Are Different
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, People Are Different. It’s natural to assume that other people see the world in the same way we do, and that they experience and process things just like we do. But in reality, we...
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EU384: Unschooling Stumbling Blocks: The Stories We Tell Ourselves
We are back with another episode in our Unschooling Stumbling Blocks series and this time, we’re talking about the stories we tell ourselves. Stories is a topic that comes up a lot in conversations on the Living Joyfully Network. In fact, we had a monthly theme by that name! When we start to get...
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EU105 Flashback: Unschooling Dads with Nick Hess
In this week’s flashback episode, we’re sharing an interview that Pam had in 2018 with Nick Hess. At the time of the interview, Nick, also known online as The Unschool Dad, and his wife were unschooling their five children. They chatted about about his family’s move to unschooling, what it was...
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EU383: Foundations: Connection
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the next Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Connection. How connected we’re feeling to the people in our lives is a helpful barometer of our relationships. Feeling disconnected can be a sign that it’s time to more...
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EU382: Unschooling Stumbling Blocks: It’s Not the Unschooling
We are back with another episode in our Unschooling Stumbling Blocks series and this time, we’re talking about how it’s not the unschooling! It can be really common for newer unschoolers to blame unschooling for the things that come up in their family lives. Unschooling was a big new change in...
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EU036 Flashback: Deschooling with Lauren Seaver
In this week’s flashback episode, we’re sharing an interview that Pam had in 2016 with Lauren Seaver about deschooling. At the time of the interview, Lauren Seaver was an unschooling mom to 9-year-old River. She first considered the possibility of homeschooling way back when she was in college to...
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EU381: Foundations: Priorities
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing the first Foundations episode of the Living Joyfully Podcast with Pam and Anna, Priorities. We are handed a set of priorities by society and our culture, but when we really consider ourselves and our personal values, we can see how individual our priorities...
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EU380: Revitalizing Our Nest
In this episode, Pam, Anna, and Erika talk about revitalizing our nests. Our homes are such an important part of our unschooling lives. We can get open and curious and creatively find ways to make the spaces in our home fit the individual people in our family. After all, people are different! We...
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EU379: Unschooling Stumbling Blocks: Personal Hygiene
We are back with another episode in our Unschooling Stumbling Blocks series and we’re talking about personal hygiene. Questions and concerns about hygiene come up regularly in parenting circles and, in unschooling communities, this topic can sometimes trigger fear. We wanted to dive into personal...
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EU378: Bringing a Playful Energy to Our Days
In this episode, Pam, Anna, and Erika explore bringing a playful energy to our days. Shifting to a playful energy can be helpful when we’re feeling stuck, with spinning thoughts, worrying about the future, or focused on external expectations. We can cultivate a lightness and curiosity that helps…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Explore unschooling with Pam Laricchia, unschooling mom and author. Choosing to live and learn without school isn’t as intimidating as you might first imagine. Children really do love learning when it's driven by curiosity rather than curriculum, and the connected and trusting relationships that develop in unschooling families are priceless.
HOSTED BY
Pam Laricchia
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Exploring Unschooling have?
Exploring Unschooling currently has 300 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Exploring Unschooling about?
Explore unschooling with Pam Laricchia, unschooling mom and author. Choosing to live and learn without school isn’t as intimidating as you might first imagine. Children really do love learning when it's driven by curiosity rather than curriculum, and the connected and trusting relationships that...
How often does Exploring Unschooling release new episodes?
Exploring Unschooling publishes regularly with 300 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Exploring Unschooling?
You can listen to Exploring Unschooling on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Exploring Unschooling?
Exploring Unschooling is created and hosted by Pam Laricchia.
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