What if we abandoned the question "How do we know they're learning?" and trusted that they are? In this conversation, Cecilie Conrad, Sandra Dodd, and Sue Elvis look closely at the fears that drive many unschooling parents to seek proof of learning—and why those fears may come from old conditioning rather than real concerns.

They explore how learning in an unschooling context doesn’t always look like progress, mastery, or academic benchmarks. Instead, it often appears as play, conversation, curiosity, or even stillness.

The episode also addresses the "big mix-up in the mind of the parent" who must navigate between their children's authentic learning experiences and the official education system's expectations, the pressure parents feel to produce results, the danger of clinging to school-based frameworks, and the importance of stepping back and observing life as the curriculum.

Sandra, Sue and Cecilies invite parents to shift their perspective away from questioning if their children are learning enough, toward cultivating environments rich in trust, conversation, and genuine curiosity.

🗓️ Recorded March 20, 2025. 📍 Barcelona, Spain

🔗 Links & Resources

• https://sandradodd.com
• https://storiesofanunschoolingfamily.com
• https://cecilieconrad.com

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In season two of The Ladies Fixing the World, host Cecilie Conrad is joined by renowned unschooling advocates Sandra Dodd and Sue Elvis to explore unschooling as a lifestyle.

In this episode, we explore one of the most persistent questions in unschooling: What about math?
Cecilie, Sandra, and Sue examine the widespread belief that children can’t learn math without formal instruction — and explain why that belief doesn’t hold up.

Cecilie reflects on the early years of home education in her family, the pressure to “cover” math, and the quiet fear of doing too little. Sandra shares examples of how her children developed mathematical thinking through games, practical needs, and everyday problem-solving — without ever relying on school-based methods. Sue talks about letting go of structured lessons and learning to trust her children’s approach to math.

Together, they look at how math fits into unschooling — and what becomes possible when we stop trying to teach it and start noticing how it shows up in real life.

🗓️ Recorded February 27, 2025. 📍 Finhan, France

🔗 Links & Resources

• https://sandradodd.com
• https://storiesofanunschoolingfamily.com
• https://cecilieconrad.com

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In season two of The Ladies Fixing the World, host Cecilie Conrad is joined by renowned unschooling advocates Sandra Dodd and Sue Elvis to explore unschooling as a lifestyle.

Dinner tables, car rides, bedtime chats, café corners—this episode dives into the real places where unschooling lives and grows. Cecilie Conrad, Sandra Dodd, and Sue Elvis examine how conversations—often unscheduled, informal, and unplanned—become the central structure of a learning life.

They discuss the Danish tradition of the daily family dinner, the rigid rituals of American mealtime culture, and the café catch-ups that shaped Sue’s large family. The conversation travels through memories, cultural habits, and practical insights into how families can hold space for curiosity, connection, and growth—without curriculum, tests, or set agendas.

From Barbie movies to Shakespeare, from family language to late-night moral debates, this episode makes a clear point: talking is the work. The learning isn’t beside the conversation—it’s inside it.

🗓️ Recorded February 20, 2025. 📍 Finhan, France

🔗 Links & Resources

• https://sandradodd.com/latenightlearning
• https://sandradodd.com
• https://storiesofanunschoolingfamily.com
• https://cecilieconrad.com

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In season two of The Ladies Fixing the World, host Cecilie Conrad is joined by renowned unschooling advocates Sandra Dodd and Sue Elvis to explore unschooling as a lifestyle.