how unschoolers learn – Christian Unschooling

Unschooling Prepares Kids For Life

One of my biggest concerns upon starting out on this unschooling path was that a relaxed, unstructured learning lifestyle couldn’t possibly prepare my child for real life. My rationale went something like this:

The vast majority of the adults in this country went to a traditional school, studied traditional subjects, and did so in the traditional way. Those people are living real lives. Therefore, to be able to live a real life, one must follow the traditional path.

And it’s certainly true that the traditional educational path works for a lot of people. It worked for me, so I’m not knocking it.

But it’s also true that it’s not the only path. Or necessarily the best path. Continue Reading

The Reluctant Unschooler

We didn’t intend to homeschool.

Our son attended pre-k and kindergarten in public school. I had the typical my baby’s going to school all day pangs, but that was the norm, so I dealt with it. Pre-k was fairly smooth, but things started getting bumpy in kindergarten.

One day my little guy came home from school and said, “Mom, would you please homeschool me? School is chaos!” Tears became part of our bedtime routine, crowding out our stories and prayers. I was at a loss. I’d loved school as a child. I couldn’t understand what was causing our son so much anxiety. Continue Reading

Unschooling to Us Is About Being Whole

When we first started on our unschooling journey, I was desperately trying to ease the frustration that my daughter and I had over the formal curricula I had chosen.

Unschooling was an escape from the tests, grades, and pressures of academia. But over the years, unschooling has come to mean much more to us.

Unschooling to us is about being whole.

whole: adjective

comprising the full quantity, amount, extent: entire, full.
containing all the elements properly belonging; complete.
not broken, damaged, or impaired; intact.

Unschooling Myths and Misconceptions: Gaps in Education

Gaps in Education for Unschoolers. It’s what all the Charlie Brown teachers want to stress and argue about.

What I don’t like most about this argument, is that it’s spoken with the premise that traditionally schooled children don’t have gaps in education. And, frankly, I think that’s a load of hogwash. (Woah, did you see the southern seep out of me just then? Weird.)

From everything I’ve read and experienced, I actually think (typically) that unschooled kids probably have less gaps than traditionally schooled kids. Plus they truly understand what they do know, and understand how it relates to real life. If anything, their gaps are things like, “I’ve never eaten in a cafeteria” and “I’ve never been bullied on a school bus.” Continue Reading