What Is Unschooling And Is It Right For Your Child?

What is unschooling- kids playing in nature

Also known as natural learning or independent learning, unschooling is an education model that is quickly growing in North America. Technically a method of homeschooling, unschooling allows a child to determine what and when they want to study. The underlying premise is that children learn best when they are left to pursue whatever peaks their interest at any given time.

"You cannot make people learn. You can only provide the right conditions for learning to happen."

Vince Gowmon Tweet

Nearly 3 million parents have opted to educate their children from home, either using a formal homeschool curriculum or the unschooling model. It is believed that 10-20 percent of children schooled at home are unschoolers. The number of children who are learning at home continues to grow each year. Only eleven states require parents to have any type of experience or educational qualification to homeschool or unschool, and there are exemptions in those states for which parents can apply. For this reason, deciding that you want to unschool your child is fairly simple. 

"If the goal is to know everything, and if each person's internal 'universe' is unique, then the order in which the information is acquired isn't as important as the ease and joy with which it is absorbed."

Sandra Dodd Tweet

History of The Unschooling Movement

Although the formal concept of self-directed learning has been discussed by child development professionals as far back as the 1800s, the official unschooling movement in North America is traced back to the late 1970s. John Holt, a former private school teacher and author in Vermont began advocating for self-directed learning after leaving his career in education. He asserted that the natural learning process when a child follows their interests is impeded by formal education and strict curriculums. John Holt coined the term “unschooling.”

Advocates of unschooling remind us that before formal schools were created, communities included children in the process of learning and education was more experiential and practical. Unschooling children reminds them that simply living life means that you are learning. 

When a child appears to be “wasting time” or “daydreaming,” they are likely mentally preparing for a creative project or maybe they are formulating a complex question to ask. Parents who practice unschooling trust their child and create an environment where the child decides how to spend their time. 

More recently, Sandra Dodd furthered the concept of unschooling by developing a philosophy known as Radical Unschooling. This extension of unschooling involves a parent partnering with their child, not only in academics, but in all daily activities. It is based on a belief that our children can rely on their inner wisdom to follow guided principles to live a balanced life devoid of coercion. Parents who participate in radical unschooling are very involved in their child’s life, leading with mindfulness and intention.

What Is Unschooling, Exactly?

Parents who adopt the unschooling education model for their child apply it within a broad framework. The unschooling community has adopted a core set of beliefs about their role and about the capabilities of children and they are detailed below.

Learning Is Innate

Humans, both small and grown, are naturally curious and passionate about learning about their surroundings. Socialization and unnatural learning structures may cause our desire to learn to wane as we grow older. Unschooling is designed to prevent that for as long as possible. Children naturally explore their world, test their environment, and draw conclusions based on their experiences and observations. The act of playing is the primary way that children of all ages learn. 

Passion Sparks the Best Learning

Think about your continued learning as an adult. When you see something that peaks your interest, you are compelled to dive in and learn more about it. We learn, sometimes obsessively, about our hobbies, about medical conditions that affect our family members, about regions we wish to visit, etc. We don’t need assigned desk work or tests to learn. Our motivation for learning is directly tied to our interests. The same applies to children. When children are exposed to experiences and learning opportunities that excite them, they will naturally become voracious learners. 

Caregivers Are Not Formal Teachers

If we embrace the belief that learning does not occur as the result of formal teaching, then we must deduce that the role of a parent is not one of a formal teacher. The role of a parent or caregiver is to develop a meaningful relationship with the child that includes deeply understanding their interests. Once an interest is identified, unschooling involves the parent organically exposing the child as much as possible to that interest. For example, if the child expresses an interest in ships, the parent could plan a trip to a naval yard, obtain books, and look up videos. The goal should be continued exposure, ensuring that the child has the necessary resources to learn everything they want to about their interest. When their interest wanes, identify their next interest(s) and repeat. Do not become their instructor, but rather, clear the path for them to learn. 

Playing Is Learning

Play is the language of children and so it follows that learning happens during play. Learning is a natural by-product of play. A child wants to play a new game that involves a more advanced skill, so they learn it. A child wants to play a game that involves reading, so they develop an interest in reading. Both gross and fine motor skills are developed through play. Play is central and learning is the by-product. 

Benefits of Unschooling

There are hundreds of reports that substantiate what unschooling claims- that learning occurs naturally. In fact, research specifically shows a strong relationship between nature and learning. Time in nature has been shown to boost academic learning, encourage personal development, heighten levels of attention, and increase environmental stewardship. 
 
LEGO conducted a study that revealed that play is the best way to support a child’s learning and that our brains literally change as we learn. Playful exploration is the way that babies and children of all ages naturally learn. And the research specifically claims that child-led learning is best. Unschooling is based on sound research that simply confirms that it is better to expose children to what they are already interested in rather than try to make pre-determined subject matter peak their interest. 

When unschoolers are left to learn in the manner that is natural to them, obstacles to learning are never introduced. Learning isn’t associated with the anxiety of tests or sticking to a curriculum. Learning is simply attached to everything in life without the negative associations that traditional school can create.

Unschooled children thrive in today’s society where “out of the box” thinkers are rewarded. A young adult who enters the world with confidence and a solid understanding of their strengths and passions has an excellent chance of success. After all, they have learned that learning is an on-going process and not a graduation destination. 

What Does An Unschooling Curriculum Look Like?

The simple answer is that unschooling does not have a curriculum. A curriculum, by definition is “the subjects comprising a course of study in a school.” In the case of unschooling, the subjects and classroom are life. 
It may be unsettling, as a parent, to embark upon an educational journey for your child without a concrete plan. Most likely, you were not taught this way and it can be uncomfortable until you trust the process. As long as you are living an active lifestyle and exposing your child to new experiences and opportunities and paying attention to their interests and questions, it is entirely possible for you to teach appropriate and necessary subject matter. If you are still skeptical, here are some examples. 

Unschooling Science

Science is, quite literally, all around us. Children will naturally make observations, test hypotheses, and draw conclusions- that is the scientific method! Encourage this in your child and offer them additional learning opportunities when they show interest. 
For example, when you wake up to a foggy morning, your child may want to understand what fog is and how it comes to be there. That expressed interest is your opportunity to talk about weather systems and different types of weather. Books, videos, and actual experiments can all be offered to your child to encourage their interest. 
While playing in the yard, your child may want to understand why different rocks are different colors and textures. This opens up an opportunity to learn about geology. 

Unschooling Math

So many activities in our daily lives require math. For example, if your child is constructing a wall using stones, they will need to know how many stones they need as a foundation. If they decide that they need twenty stones and they already have six, that is a math problem they need to solve in order to build their wall. There are also many games that involve math. Guess My Number, Milles Bournes, and Mancala are just a few. If your child loves games, give one of these a try. 

Unschooling History

Opportunities to learn history are all around us. Day trips to museums and parks present many fun ways to engage with history in a way that interests children. Many times, spontaneous conversations with your child will lead to them learning about history. Talking about older family members, places visited, and reading books are a few organic ways that children begin to learn about history.

Unschooling Language Arts

Children naturally want to engage in conversation, sing songs, act out conversations between toys- all of these are practicing language arts. When your child wants to know what a street sign says or asks about a word in a book, they are learning language arts. As you notice them become interested in a specific area of language arts, you can dive in to feed their curiosity. 
 
It is important to keep in mind that unschooling isn’t about “sneaking” subject matter into your daily activities. But, rather, it is taking advantage of your child’s interests and expanding upon them with additional learning opportunities and explanations. 

Create Unschooling spaces

Much in the same way that Montessori, Waldorf / Steiner, and Reggio Emilia have prepared learning spaces, there are ways to create unschooling environments that will encourage learning. The primary goal is to remove obstacles that may impede natural learning. One way this can be done is by setting up spaces conducive to a child’s comfort. Here are a few ideas:
  • Furniture should be appropriately sized for the size of your child. 
  • Take advantage of floor space with small rugs and sitting pillows.
  • Make supplies within reach and readily available.
  • Rearrange spaces to inspire creativity.
  • Organize books in a way that makes sense to your child.
  • Encourage Google-ing. Have a tablet, laptop, smart phone or desktop available for learning. 

It is important to seize the learning moment when a child expresses interest in a topic. They need accessible resources to dive into a topic in multiple ways when they become interested.  

Is Unschooling Right For Your Child?

You are most likely here, learning more about unschooling, because you are frustrated that there hasn’t been a change in the education paradigm in North America. Your frustrations are far from unwarranted. 

Unschooling can potentially work for most any child, but that doesn’t mean it will be a good fit for the child’s family or lifestyle. Many parents initially believe that unschooling your child is a hands-off approach to an organic education, but that isn’t true. Facilitating the unschooling education model is intensive and requires you to spend most of your waking hours with your child helping them to learn and grow and exposing them to new opportunities. Unschooling may be a great fit for your child and your family after careful consideration of the following practicalities.

Available Resources

Although unschooling doesn’t require a set curriculum and subject matter planning, it does require that resources are available and ready for when a child expresses interest. An unschooling house may include:

  • books of all levels and covering a wide range of subject matter
  • games
  • arts and crafts supplies
  • musical instruments
  • 3D printer
  • garden
  • digital devices for videos, games, movies, and Googling
As a child’s interests grow and expand, so must the available resources.

Schedule Flexibilty

If the adults in your household must work a full-time schedule, it may be difficult to unschool your child. Unschooling requires supervision and a level of attention to your child’s interests that can be time consuming. At least one caregiver must dedicate most of their time to introducing new opportunities and recognizing when the child is developing passion about a topic.

Access to Travel

Since families who choose to unschool are not restricted by a school schedule, they are free to travel. Travel is an important part of most unschooling families. One of the best ways to learn geography, history, culture, fine art, and language arts is by taking trips to new places. Unschoolers can gain a tremendous experiential education through frequent travel. 

Outdoor Time

Nature is the best classroom and unschoolers are driven to outdoor learning. Playing in the woods, by the river, in the snow, at the beach- these are just a few places in nature that provide immense learning opportunity. Building forts, fishing, digging for earthworms, gazing at the stars, and building a bird house are only a few activities that inspire learning and growing.
 
Now that you are well-versed in unschooling, you are better prepared to make the right decision. While not the right fit for everyone, there is plenty of research to support that “real world” learning can provide the education needed for a child to grow into a well-adjusted, happy, creatively thinking adult. 

 

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