What is Unschooling?

Every child should have a choice as to how he would like to LEARN. Some prefer going to public or private school, other prefer to study the same curriculum the state requires at home; the final option, which I recently learned about, is unscholing. We chose the third because it fit the kids' style of learning and our lifestyle. As it says in the book "Free to Learn" there is "no one method of learning that is superior to another except to an individual. Truly, learning is everywhere".

So... what exactly is unschooling? I will again quote the author of "Free to Learn", a book I highly recommend you read if you want to learn more about this method of learning. "Unschooling is not about just getting rid of school; it's about replacing school with a different environment for learning, one that is more supportive of how people learn naturally (the way your children first learned when they learned to walk and talk".

How can I evaluate if the kids' are learning, you might ask? Well, let me answer that with a question - how can they NOT be learning? We don't ask a child if he can walk or read; we simply see them do this and know without a doubt that they have progressed. I don't ask Emmanuel if he's learned how to play the piano; I can see him play and learn songs off the internet everyday, getting better and better each passing week, and I am simply amazed! Here are some other examples: I can tell my kids have learned about finances when they budget their money and save up for what they desire. I can tell they are learning to take care of themselves when they make themselves a sandwich or a shake, or pour themselves a bowl of cereal. My highest goal goes beyond a piece of paper students get when they finish high school; my goal is for my kids to have the skills they will need to succeed in their daily life! I want them to be able to budget their money properly so that they will spend less than they make each month and will be able to pay all their monthly bills; I want them to know that paying off their credit card at the end of each month is far wiser and will help them not go bankrupt. I want them to be able to stand firm on all the promises God gives them in the Bible so that they will be peaceful, relying on His care at all times. I want them to be able to enjoy life without having to worry about money at any time. I want them to be able to get along with people of all ages and communicate well with them. I want them to learn the skills that are necessary to stay in touch with others like email, Facebook (without games), blogs, etc. There's so much to learn, and yet these skills are easily learned in our daily living; there's no need to learn them in the confines of four walls.

Here are some great resources to learn more about UNSCHOOLING, if you so choose:

~ Free to Learn: Five Ideas for a Joyful Unschooling Life by Pam Laricchia

~ The Unschooling Handbook : How to Use the Whole World As Your Child's Classroom by Mary Griffith

~ Unschooling 101: Top 10 Questions About Learning Without School by Sara McGrath