Best Danii Oliver Podcasts (2024)

1
#64 Living, learning and healing, with Linsey, in the East Midlands, UK 49:22

3d ago49:22

49:22

My guest today is Linsey, who lives in the UK with her partner and three children who are 10, 6 and 1 and a half. Her family’s journey to unschooling started when they decided to take their eldest son out of school after two years extremely difficult years. Linsey soon realised that a schooled approach wouldn’t work at home either, so began to lean…

1
#63 Finding our balance, embracing rest, and lots of self-compassion, with Claire Windmill in Devon, UK 52:20

1M ago52:20

52:20

Today I’m chatting with Claire Windmill who lives in Devon in the UK with her husband and two children, who are seven and nine. Claire was a social worker and early years teacher and is now a parenting mentor and coach. She shares how her family came to unschooling after taking some time out to travel and they realised how much happier and less str…

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#62 Trusting our children, and learning to value rest and play, with Robyn Tamlin-Lea in New Zealand 46:45

2M ago46:45

46:45

My guest today is Robyn Tamlin-Lea. Robyn is South African but now lives in the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand, with her husband and two children who are seven and three and a half. Robyn took her daughter out of school when she saw that already at a very early age, there was a strong narrative around academic expectations and her daughter not doing …

1
#61 Honouring our children and learning to let go, with Danii Oliver in Texas 46:45

2M ago46:45

46:45

This episode, I’m chatting with Danii Oliver, who lives in Texas with her husband and two children who are almost 6 and 11. Danii shares her story of leaving New York City behind in search of something new for and her and family, and to live a more gentle and connected life, which they now do on their permaculture farm in Texas. We talk about the d…

1
#60 Unschooling and playful living, with Heidi Steel in West Sussex, UK 44:50

3M ago44:50

44:50

In this episode. I’m delighted to chat with Heidi Steel who was first on the podcast in 2021. Heidi is a former teacher and has four children who are 16, 15, 12 and 9 and who have never been to school. Heidi shares what unschooling looks like for her family and we talk about the enormous value of play in children’s learning and development. And, am…

1
#59 Four of the most-asked questions I get about unschooling, with Esther Jones 28:38

3M ago28:38

28:38

Once in a while it felt like it could be helpful to take a moment to answer some of the most common questions that I get. Of course, every family is completely different, so if any of these questions or worries are relevant to you, you might want to take my thoughts as a hopefully useful starting point for your own reflections. Let me know if this …

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#58 Unravelling our own stories to raise empowered children, with Adrienne Miller in Vancouver 53:17

4M ago53:17

53:17

My guest today is Adrienne Miller who lives in Vancouver with her husband and three children who are 10, 7 and 4. Adrienne was a teacher, and realised when her oldest child turned school age that it wasn’t a choice they wanted for him. After growing up in a strict, religious home, Adrienne also shares her journey of unravelling her deep conditionin…

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#57 Embracing the ease of natural learning, with Julie Walter in Ontario, Canada 52:43

4M ago52:43

52:43

In this episode, I’m chatting with Julie Walter from Ontario, Canada. Julie has three children who are 9, 11 and 13 and have never been to school. As a former teacher, Julie talks about how impacted she was by the differences between the resistant nature of learning in a classroom and the kind of natural learning she was seeing unfolding happily at…

1
#56 Older unschoolers and the value of practising being yourself, with Missy Willis in North Carolina 52:39

4M ago52:39

52:39

My guest today is Missy Willis from Charlotte, North Carolina. Missy is a former teacher who lives with her husband and two children, who are now 21 and 16. They chose to unschool when their eldest child reached school age as it felt like a better fit for their family. Missy’s experience in the classroom as a teacher had also made her question a mo…

1
#55 Deschooling and moving beyond our limiting beliefs, with Lucy Aitkenread in New Zealand 51:10

5M ago51:10

51:10

In this episode, I'm chatting with Lucy Aitkenread. Lucy is originally from the UK, but 10 years ago, set off travelling with her partner Tim, and their two young daughters. They settled in New Zealand, which is where they live now. Their daughters are now 10 and 13 and haven’t been to school. So, today we talk about the culture of school and what …

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#54 Nature, freedom and slowing down, with Ruth Macallan in Zambia 53:45

6M ago53:45

53:45

Today, my guest is Ruth Macallan. Originally from Edinburgh, Ruth now lives for most of the year in Zambia with her husband and her two children, who are 2 and 5. We talk about what Ruth’s child-led days look like, what it means to allow a child the freedom to go at their own pace, and how living in rural Zambia has helped Ruth to learn how to slow…

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The Business Of Getting What You Want 58:31

6M ago58:31

58:31

The Business Of Getting What You Want is the first episode of the podcast's rebranding. We focusing on the The Business Of Life, finding personal alignment for professional progress. It's all personal, it's all mental, its about about being in the right, mind body and spirit. Let's get into it. The Business Of Getting What You Want with Host Danii …

1
#53 Living, learning and thriving as a family, with Claire Gillespie in Hertfordshire, UK 52:15

6M ago52:15

52:15

My guest today is Claire Gillespie from Hertfordshire in the UK. Claire lives with her husband and two sons, who are 15 and 13, and they’ve been unschooling for four years, after their oldest son asked to leave school. Amongst other things, we talk about the fascinating learning journeys children embark on when they’re in charge, how different we a…

1
#52 Intentional deschooling and lining up with our values, with Daniel Moeller in Pennsylvania 55:32

7M ago55:32

55:32

Today I’m chatting with Daniel Moeller from Pennsylvania. Daniel is a former teacher and has a 10-year old son, called Kai who has been unschooling for four years. Daniel came across unschooling whilst struggling himself to reconcile many parts of the school system, and in particular the power over dynamic that he was expected to conform to as a te…

1
#51 A place of possibility - living, learning and healing beyond school, with Donna in East Sussex 48:38

7M ago48:38

48:38

My guest today is Donna, from East Sussex in the UK. Donna has two daughters, who are 13 and 11. Her eldest daughter had always struggled with school, and it wasn’t until Covid that Donna realised just how deep the school stress was embedded in the whole family. Eventually feeling that there was no alternative but to try something different, she to…

1
#50 Unravelling our stories, with Dr Emma Svanberg 52:57

8M ago52:57

52:57

Today, I’m chatting with Dr Emma Svanberg. Emma is a clinical psychologist, author of Parenting For Humans and mother of two children. As well as exploring unschooling with her family, Emma helps other parents on their own parenting journeys. We talk about how the deeply held narratives we all have about ourselves often don’t serve us as parents, a…

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#49 Putting the relationship first, with Hayley in Derbyshire, UK 47:09

9M ago47:09

47:09

My guest today is Hayley from Derbyshire in the UK. Hayley has four children, who are now 25, 22, 18 and 10, and her journey to unschooling started 14 years ago when her eldest child was 11. We talk about how unschooling is so much more than education. It’s about the importance of relationships, and of living in a way that feels coherent to us, and…

1
#48 Unschooling our children and our own lives, with Holly from South Wales 42:11

9M ago42:11

42:11

In this episode, I’m chatting with Holly from South Wales. Holly has three children, aged 9, 7, 5 and began unschooling three years ago, when her eldest started to struggle at school. Holly worked as a teacher, and shares her experience of transitioning from a schooled way of thinking about learning to unschooling. We chat about how this way of lif…

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#47 Consent-based parenting around the globe, with Fran Liberatore 52:32

9M ago52:32

52:32

My guest today is Fran Liberatore. Fran is Italian but lives with her family between Bangkok, Maine and Sicily. Her children are now aged 10 and 12 and If you’d like to hear more from Fran you can also hear her in episode 12 of the podcast a couple of years ago. Today we talk about how Fran and her family have found community in the different cultu…

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#46 Unschooling and shifting our parenting paradigms, with Chelsea in LA 57:47

11M ago57:47

57:47

Today, I’m chatting with Chelsea, who lives in LA with her husband and two sons, who are 10 and 6. Chelsea had never planned to unschool, and in fact her older son was very happy at a project-based school in his earlier years. She tells us about why they made this choice and what it has meant for her family. We talk in particular about how the pare…

1
#45 Healing from school and holding our children's journeys lightly, with Rhonda Ziman in East Sussex 46:14

12M ago46:14

46:14

My guest today is Rhonda Ziman. Rhonda lives in East Sussex with her husband, 14-year-old stepdaughter and 11-year-old daughter. I’ve known Rhonda and her daughter Martha since last year, when her daughter finally left school after struggling to attend for a long time. Today, Rhonda talks about that time and how difficult it was. And she talks abou…

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#44 From high school teaching to unschooling, with Angela Harders in Maryland 39:46

1y ago39:46

39:46

Today I'm chatting with Angela Harders who lives in Maryland with her two children, who are now 9 and 4. Angela was a public high school teacher for 12 years. And although she took her daughter out of school four years ago when her daughter was five, she continued to work as a public school teacher for three more years, until it felt too at odds wi…

1
#43 Creating a self-directed learning community, with Lorna Norton in North Yorkshire 47:13

1y ago47:13

47:13

In this episode, I'm chatting with Lorna Norton. Lorna has a 5-year-old son and, together with her husband, founded a learning community called Kith Homestead in North Yorkshire. Lorna came to alternative education through her studies of psychology and education and then her many years of working with children. We talk about her own deschooling pro…

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#42 Why self-directed learning is a natural fit for our children, with Naomi Fisher 59:51

1y ago59:51

59:51

My guest this episode is Naomi Fisher, who I am delighted to have back for a second conversation (see #5 for our previous chat). Naomi is a clinical psychologist, mother of two children who are at a self-directed learning centre, and author of the book Changing our Minds, which is about the importance of choice, autonomy and self-direction in educa…

1
#41 In search of wholeness - deschooling and shedding all the layers, with Sari Gonzàlez and Becka Koritz in Mexico 49:50

1y ago49:50

49:50

Today I'm joined by Sari Gonzàlez and Becka Koritz wholive in Puerto Escondido in Mexico. Becka moved to Mexico from Sweden and Sari from the US, both leaving lives that felt stressed and disconnected. They now run Explora ALC, an agile learning centre. Both Sari and Becka have neurodivergent sons but began their deschooling journeys long before ha…

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#40 A new journey - slowing down, reconnecting, and embracing our children's autonomy, with Caroline Frances in Ontario 52:40

1y ago52:40

52:40

Today I’m chatting with Caroline Frances from Ontario. Caroline lives with her husband and two sons who are 7 and 10, and they are just in the second month of their unschooling journey. They had tried different school environments, but found that, in particular for their eldest son, who is diagnosed Autistic with a PDA profile, they needed to find …

1
#39 Unschooling on the path to healing, with Sarah Rose in Maine 52:52

1y ago52:52

52:52

My guest today is Sarah Rose. Sarah lives in Maine with her husband and her 11-year old daughter. Her family’s journey to unschooling stemmed from their daughter’s illness, which resulted in her leaving school and embarking on a long healing journey at home. We talk today about providing a judgment-free space in which our children feel seen and sup…

1
#38 How children naturally educate themselves, with Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn 1:00:19

1+ y ago1:00:19

1:00:19

I’m so delighted to be talking today with Peter Gray, author and research professor at Boston College. Many of you will have read his wonderful book, Free to Learn, or his regular writing for Psychology Today about children, play and learning. Among many things, we talk today about his experience of self-directed education through his son, what sel…

1
#37 The natural joy of living in partnership with young children, with Lou Westall in Brighton, UK 47:31

1+ y ago47:31

47:31

My guest today is Lou Westall, who lives in Brighton, in the UK, (though she was travelling in South Africa when we recorded this episode). Lou and her husband have two daughters, who are 6 and 8. They had never considered home education until their eldest daughter began school, and things just didn’t feel quite, particularly regarding the early ap…

1
#36 Unschooling and living a slower, more intentional life, with Ashley Short in Ontario, Canada 53:40

1+ y ago53:40

53:40

Today, I’m chatting with Ashley Short. who lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two sons, who are 6 and 9. Ashley is a former teacher, and her family came to unschooling during the pandemic, when her son, who had always found the school environment difficult, refused to engage in any school-like work. Among other things, we talk about prio…

1
#35 Healing, trust, and low demand parenting. Unschooling and PDA, with Amanda Diekman in North Carolina 51:34

1+ y ago51:34

51:34

My guest this episode is Amanda Diekman. Amanda lives in North Carolina with her husband and three sons, who are 6, 8 and 10. Amanda’s journey to unschooling started with her 8 year-old who is autistic, PDA and the reality that school was a difficult and traumatic experience for him. Her 10 year old son, who is also autistic later chose also to lea…

1
#34 Creating an authentic life that meets everyone's needs, with Emma Hosfeld in Illinois 52:17

1+ y ago52:17

52:17

Today’s conversation is with Emma Hosfeld from Illinois. Emma lives with her husband and three children, who are 7, 5 and 4. Emma traces the roots of her journey to unschooling back to when she was pregnant and the sense of disempowerment she felt within the medical system, and the choices she then made for a more empowered birth experience. She de…

1
#33 Living joyfully and in relationship with our children, with Pam Laricchia in Ontario 55:22

1+ y ago55:22

55:22

Today, I am beyond thrilled to be chatting with Pam Laricchia. Pam lives in Ontario, Canada and has three adult children, who are now 30, 28 and 25, and I came across her website about unschooling, which is called Living Joyfully, early on in my own journey, when I was still a little shaky. I found her so incredibly warm and reassuring. So, it was …

1
#32 Worldschooling and partnership parenting our teenagers, with Lainie Liberti in Mexico 48:52

1+ y ago48:52

48:52

Today, I’m chatting with Lainie Liberti. Lainie is originally from California, but, in 2008, decided to go travelling with her 9-year-old son for a year. She closed the business she had been running for some years and took her son out of school. He is 24 now and they never went back. They’ve travelled extensively, given a Ted talk together on world…

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#31 Moving from eclectic homeschooling to unschooling, with Marni Kammersel in Colorado 53:28

1+ y ago53:28

53:28

My guest today is Marni Kammersel from Boulder, Colorado. Marni lives with her husband and three children, who are 13, 10 and 6. She tells us about her family’s recent transition from an eclectic homeschool style to full-on unschooling, a move inspired by her oldest entering his teens, and her youngest having a huge need for autonomy. We talk about…

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#30 Four different journeys - as our unschoolers become adults, with Erin Rosemond in Ontario, Canada 55:06

1+ y ago55:06

55:06

Today I’m chatting with Erin Rosemond in Ontario, Canada. Erin has four children, who are now aged between 17 and 23. Erin came to unschooling when her oldest child reached school age, after connecting with home educating parents and realising that school would be a bad fit for her son. Today we talk about what unschooling looks like as our childre…

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#29 A new unschooling journey and challenging old stories, with Katy from Connecticut 55:08

1+ y ago55:08

55:08

Today, I’m chatting with Katy, who lives in Connecticut with her husband, her five year old son and her two year old daughter. Katy and her family have just started out on their unschooling journey. As a teacher for many years, Katy had frequently felt uneasy about many aspects of mainstream education, but felt she had no other option for her child…

1
#28 Deschooling, healing, and stepping off the treadmill, with Emily Ghassempour 40:29

1+ y ago40:29

40:29

My guest today is Emily Ghassempour. Emily has a son and a daughter, who are 8 and nearly 6, and they left mainstream school just six months ago. School had become a source of extreme stress for the whole family. Daily meltdowns and anxiety finally culminated in the children refusing to go to school and in the family’s decision that they had to try…

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#27 Reflections on life with grown unschooled children, with Ann Hansen in Oregon 47:16

1+ y ago47:16

47:16

My guest today is Ann Hansen from Oregon. Ann has two sons, who are now 19 and 20. They went to an alternative school for a couple of years but decided to try out unschooling and were immediately hooked. Besides teaching yoga, Ann now works as a coach with other families who choose not to take the mainstream route. Today Ann reflects on what she le…

1
Fall Chats. 20:30

1+ y ago20:30

20:30

Let's talk--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thebusinessoflife/message

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#26 Unschooling and healing from trauma and upheaval, with Melissa Crockett-Joyoue in New Zealand 44:42

1+ y ago44:42

44:42

This week I’m chatting with Melissa Crockett-Joyoue from New Zealand. Melissa lives with her wife Doria and their two children, Tumana, who is 7 and Hine who is 4. Their journey to unschooling began about a year ago because their son, who is diagnosed dyslexic and gifted found school extremely difficult and stressful. Both Melissa and Doria have al…

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#25 From tiger mother to peaceful parent, with author, Iris Chen 45:13

2y ago45:13

45:13

My guest today is Iris Chen, author of the wonderful book, Untigering: Peaceful Parenting for the Deconstructing Tiger Parent. Iris and her husband have two boys, who are 12 and 14, and in the book Iris charts her journey from strict, perfectionist mother to advocate of peaceful parenting and unschooling. Iris is Chinese American, as is her husband…

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#24 Unschooling and unraveling our beliefs, with Esther Jones (and guest host Nicola Corcoran) 42:56

2y ago42:56

42:56

A few people have asked me to talk about my journey so, in this episode, my good friend Nicola Corcoran is taking over as host, and is interviewing me : ) Nicola has two children, who are 19 and 16, and she and I often enjoy long conversations pondering our experiences as mothers, and as people in the world, so it's a delight to have this conversat…

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#23 Three unschooled journeys. Reflections on her adult children's paths in life, with Jane Evans in New Zealand 45:12

2y ago45:12

45:12

Today, I’m chatting with Jane Evans from New Zealand. Jane has three adult children, who are now 23, 21 and 18. We talk about how important it is to trust our children and the choices they make, and how learning can just take so many forms. And, we reflect on how vastly different each person’s path will be if it comes from their own deep knowing. A…

1
#22 A healing journey. Autism, PDA, and life beyond school, with Eliza Fricker 47:58

2y ago47:58

47:58

My guest today is Eliza Fricker. Eliza has a 14-year old daughter who is autistic, PDA, and who struggled hugely with school. Eliza spent many years attempting to navigate the education system and advocate for her daughter, but after much frustration and despair, finally decided that leaving mainstream education was the only option. Eliza has publi…

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#21 Trust and flow - a post-pandemic unschooling journey, with Arielle Nobile in Argentina 51:20

2y ago51:20

51:20

My guest today is Arielle Nobile. Arielle is an artist, musician and filmmaker who lives with her husband and 11-year-old daughter. They moved recently from Illinois to Argentina, where her husband, who is also an artist, is from. Arielle and her family came to unschooling mid-pandemic after a number of years struggling with the school system, and …

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#20 Reflections on an unschooled childhood, childbirth and self-directed education, with Bria Bloom 42:31

2y ago42:31

42:31

In this episode, I chat with Bria Bloom, from Portland, Oregon. Bria lives with her husband and her 11-year-old stepson, who attends a self-directed education project. I've known Bria for some time through her work as Community Manager for The Alliance for Self-Directed Education (ASDE), but only recently found out that she was unschooled herself. …

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#19 Unschooling and living in relationship with our young children, with Sarah Plazas in Boulder, Colorado 40:23

2+ y ago40:23

40:23

My guest in this episode is Sarah Plazas, who lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and two children, who are three and five. When her son, Arlo, was three, Sarah and her husband realised that he wasn't coping with the demands and stimulation of preschool. They made the choice to change the way they were living, with both parents moving to pa…

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#18 Tending relationships. Reflections on self-directed education and living with adult children, in Montreal, Canada, with Renee Tougas 44:27

2+ y ago44:27

44:27

My guest in this episode is Renee Tougas, who lives in Montreal, Canada with her husband and three adult children (22, 21 and 19). Renee discovered self-directed learning when her children were small and, whilst she had initially imagined that homeschooling would be all about academics, she soon realised that things just naturally unfolded in the r…

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#17 The right environment and lots of trust - two essential ingredients for unschooling with autism/PDA, with Simon Crummay 35:57

2+ y ago35:57

35:57

Today, I’m talking with Simon Crummay. Simon lives in East Sussex in the UK with his partner Wendy, and their son Luca, who is 13. Luca is diagnosed autistic with demand avoidance and went to school on and off for some years. After almost two years out of school, during which Simon and Wendy adopted an unschooling approach to learning, Luca now att…

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