Good afternoon y'all,
How many of you out there have heard of unschooling?
did you know that all 50 states legally accept unschooling as a form of Homeschool. Though unschooling is considered to be less formal.
Where traditional schooling and a lot of the time even homeschooling students learn certain subjects by either a formal teacher or parent, Unschooling is learning subjects based on the interests of the child. The knowledge is acquired by the child where as the parent or teacher is more so a supervisor. Children will learn from resources like books, parents, siblings, out doors and over all life experiences vs textbooks and work sheets.
Though I whole heartedly believe that learning out of textbooks and having essays, research papers, even worksheets are a good tool to see where my children are at and how much information they are retaining. Today as my children filled up their little buckets of soil and water making "mud pies" mixing them with sticks and adding sprinkles of grass for flavor and bark from pine cones as "croutons "out in the yard, I couldn't help but smile.
Smile at my children as they enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air. Smiling at the the fact that my children live life freely and have the ability to use their creativity and imagination in a way that not everyone takes the time to embrace.
Though I don't define us as an "unschooling" family. I find it so important to let your children be children. To let them make their mud pies or run around in the yard. To stay up late watching the stars or catch frogs in the creek. To color outside the lines and build a space ship out of boxes.
Life beyond the page of any book cant help them learn problem solving skills, leadership skills, body control, sharing, patience, creativity and more. After all, Aren't these skills that will also carry out through out their life just as grammar or arithmetic would?
All to often traditional schools set standards for children. When to eat, when to talk, to raise your hand, when to use the bathroom, to need a hall pass, to only be allowed outside for a chunk of time during the day (recess), to take only the classes that the school system seems fit.
Well, when all of that is said and done, when do the children have time to find their passions? Time to find themselves in this big, scary, yet wonderful world?
Many young adults head off to college undecided on their major, because they don't know enough about themselves to know what they want to do in life. With that said, what if children had more time to develop their own interests and passions so that by the time they were ready for college they already had a better picture of their future.
One of my daughters loves everything Astronomy related while my older one wants to be an anesthesiologist. So, this year for science we are doing astronomy and anatomy and physiology courses for them. You know what I've found? They're thriving! why? because its something they are excited and happy to learn about.
So, though unschooling isn't exactly the right thing for my family per say. Homeschooling is what you make of it! Maybe we are two quarters homeschooling, a quarter unschooling mixed with a lets just make it up as we go along for the remainder 25% lol.
Sometimes letting our children guide their learning teaches us just as much if not more than us teaching them. Children have a wonderful way of looking at things from a different point of view. Nothing skewed or black and white. But rather everything in color and full focus.
So next time your littles are fighting the desk or pushing back a little when it comes to another day of book work. Grab a coffee and let their imagination take flight outdoors. You will be surprised how much they can learn, even when no books are around.
