Laurie Chancey grew up in Louisiana with a mom determined to help her daughter find her own way in the world. Most of us know her as the "Unprocessed Child" from the book by the same name.

Connections is pleased to welcome Laurie to our lineup of regular writers in a new feature column, "Unprocessed."

In her debut column, "What Unschooling Means to Me," Laurie pnders what growing up unprocessed has meant to her, what kinds of connections that background creates with other unschoolers, and how her childhood influences her current choices.

Life's most poignant lessons seem to be right in front of us when only we know how to see.

Unschooling mom, Sarah Briand, invites us into her family's homesteading adventures in Ontario, Canada, and shares the important learning moments found at every turn through natural, simple living.

Dragonflies traditionally symbolize metamorphosis, and the Briand family serendipitously discovers their own deschooling metorphosis as they watch and learn from a dragonfly's journey, celebrating simple moments through mindful introspection.

Don't have the time to keep up with unschooling and mindful parenting e-lists?

Read the hot topics each month at Connections.

  AlwaysLearning
     On television

  AlwaysUnschooled
     On reluctant spouses
     On the paradigm shift of unschooling

  Shine with Unschooling
     On deschooling and moving away from control

  UnschoolingBasics
     On limits and guidance
     On tv violence

  UnschoolingDiscussion
     On unschooling as an educational method

This is just a sampling of the higher-volume, on-topic lists. Find links to other unschooling and mindful parenting lists on Connections'  Web Resources page.