Unschooling

There are so many misconceptions surrounding Unschooling. Most think it is simply tossing children into the backyard to fend for themselves and learn life's valuable lessons from the squirrels. Of course, there's a lot to learn from squirrels, but unschooling is so much more than that. Let it be said, as with all home education, unschoolers have the opportunity to receive the same diploma one would in public schooling and continue on to college if they desire.

Unschooling is the idea that children can direct their own learning, at their own pace, without the rigid structures of a strict curriculum. Instead of following curricula, students are given a supportive setting that fosters their natural curiosity about the world. (To put it simply, unschooling is not following any one strict curriculum but instead designing a curriculum that works for you. It's choosing to use subjects from multiple curricula, it's using everyday life as a learning tool, its learning through hands on experience.

To successfully unschool, you have to treat everything as a potential learning experience, because everything IS a potential learning experience, (for children and adults). There's no doubt it takes extra time and effort. It requires the parent to slow down and be patient, which is beneficial for everyone!

One of the most important things you can do as a homeschooling/unschooling parent is to encourage your children to ask questions. Never stop your child from asking questions.

Too often when parents are bothered with their children asking too many questions, it creates the belief that questioning anything is negative. Questions are how one learns! If a negative stigma is created around something as simple as a question, how would that effect one in adulthood? It results in adults who question nothing, unable to think for themselves. We should be questioning everything; we should stay hungry for knowledge in every area surrounding our lives.

Education In Everyday Life

A task as simple as cutting up citrus can be turned into something educational. Take the time to discuss which vitamins and minerals are found in the fruit, talk about the benefits of each vitamin and mineral for the body. Finally, discuss the negative effects on the body a deficiency in this vitamin could have.

The entire grocery store can be turned into a giant math lesson. Let them weigh produce and learn to work with decimals.

(Ex. These oranges are $.89lb, weigh them and tell me what the final cost will be).

Writing and grammar can be as simple as reflecting on what you did that day. Keep a journal. Take your journal to the zoo and have your child observe the animals. Have them write about what they saw, what they thought and a fact about that animal. Teach them to observe everything and reflect on what they observe.

There's no denying it takes extra effort and time to unschool, but what better way is there to spend your time than with your children. All above being said, each and every individual is unique. Not everyone should be expected to thrive in the same learning environment. It's up to parent and child to communicate. To share their thoughts with each other, to listen to each other and respect each other.