| Why We Call It Unschooling? |
 |
| Before our son arrived, we already knew we wanted to homeschool. In fact, after looking at all the schools in our area, we had realized that we couldn't afford the type of education that we wanted him to have. Fast forward to our son's first sentence: Ahhhh...we were his fan club. We couldn't imagine anyone else loving him or raising him like we could, so why did we want anyone else to teach him? Our research began when he was about two years old. We began to run into alot of confusing information. Some families were homeschoolers, some were schoolers at home, some were eclectic homeschoolers, and some were Unschoolers. I met a couple at our local co-op who had three children. Their youngest, who seemed to always be at their art shop was very well manered and intellectual. He was about 14 when I met him. Their older children were already in college. I learned that children had never attended school. They called themselves "unschoolers". I asked them what it meant to be an unschooler. They simply said that their children have had the freedom to explore and obtain knowledge as they found they needed to learn something. No one has ever "taught" them mathematics or English literature. In the everyday course of events, their children have discovered the information they needed to learn. Counting isn't a rote skill, it is a game...fun. History isn't taught with meaningless text books, it is experienced. Reading isn't expected by a certain age, it is an aquired skill at the time the child finds she needs to read. Education comes from within... Spending time with this family was more compelling than hearing them talk about it. Their children were so very well rounded, articulate and bright, that I knew they must be on to something. Later I was turned onto John Holts books and website, and other websites like Unschooling.com and became hooked for life. We will allow our children to be children, to explore, run, play, and learn naturally. Unschooling is many things, but summed up...it is child centered learning. |