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I began A Place on A Hill in 2018. We were still fairly new to unschooling and living in an old house on a hill about half an hour north of Barcelona. I was healing from a burnout of 25 years of striving for success, whilst also deeply immersed in my own deschooling and in…
My new book is coming soon!
I’m excited to share that I have a book coming out on August 21st — it’s called The Parent’s Handbook to Unschooling Yourself, and it’s written for anyone beginning (or deepening) the journey of deschooling. The book is a guide for parents who are learning to let go of their conditioned, school-based thinking and create…
Not sure what you should be doing? Try being instead
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been slowly painting our hallway and landing. I bought the paint about six months ago, and it felt like such a chore that I’d been putting it off. But finally doing it has been a revelation for several reasons. Firstly, I had forgotten how much I enjoy…
Why your own happiness is your best starting point
If you knew nothing about unschooling, you might understandably assume that, liberated from the worries of exams, curriculums, and school meetings, unschooling parents are a carefree bunch, joyfully surrendering to the present moment and deeply connected to what makes themselves happy. In fact, although living without school absolutely gives us the opportunity to live with…
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Welcome!
Hi, I’m Esther Jones, writer, editor, speaker, childbirth educator, and lifelong learner. Welcome to A Place on a Hill, where I share my thoughts and observations about life and learning with my three children, D (15), E (13) and C (8).
For many years, I ran a small publishing company that I founded in Barcelona, Spain. When that came to an end in 2018, we spent two years living in an old house in the hills near Barcelona. There, after years of just dipping our toes in, we finally embraced unschooling and consensual living in all its glory. Since then, my life has been a continual unravelling of everything I had ever taken for granted about children, learning, parenting and myself. This process is sometimes challenging, but always thought-provoking and enriching.
We’re now back in the UK, and enjoying the next part of our journey. I teach Hypnobirthing, enjoy sea swimming, Zen meditation, poetry, bright ideas and feeling inspired.
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A PLACE ON A HILL 