For those NOT unschooling...

[illinoismommy]

.... do you ever feel like unschooling is "in" and you are just "out"? :giggle .....because I keep reading about all these different types of homeschooling and the one thing I have determined is I am not an unschooler.... but it seems like everyone is doing it ;) ... even in my local mom's group, all the homeschoolers are unschoolers and if you are not its almost like you must be squashing your child's interest in learning :doh (which I do not believe) .... I see us providing lots of free time for the kids after or between whatever form of homeschooling we determine is right for our family, and that time they can do with what they will ...

[MamaMansa]

We don't unschool, and I have found that unschoolers are the minority in our homeschool group. Out of 60+ families, only two come to mind immediately.....I know several others that are "relaxed." Can you find an IRL homeschooling support group to join as well as the mom's group? It has helped me a lot to be in a large group with pretty much every method represented. There's always someone to get advice from. :)

[illinoismommy]

I have! I found a homeschooling group the other direction from where I live thats filled with classical, Charlotte Mason types, etc... and something I've never heard of called "a thomas jefferson education" .... I still like the first group of friends though too :yes .... but even here (gcm) it almost seems like the majority unschools....

[Reva]

I feel that way too.

[booboo]

No, I don't feel like my type of schooling is "out." :mrgreen I'm doing what's best for my kids. Rabbit needs the structure and Piglet, well she'd never do school if we were unschooling. :poke People love hearing about the curriculum we're doing, since it's a unit study. It does focus on Rabbit's special interests, which is I guess a little like unschooling. But I structure it too and they get the subjects they don't like (math!) ;)

[ArmsOfLove]

I have! I found a homeschooling group the other direction from where I live thats filled with classical, Charlotte Mason types, etc... and something I've never heard of called "a thomas jefferson education" .... I still like the first group of friends though too :yes .... but even here (gcm) it almost seems like the majority unschools....
The thing about unschoolers *here* is that many of us are Classical and Charlotte Mason types. IOW, we're not uneducators ;) So, for me, we take from Classical in that we are going through the timeline of history 3 times during our educational journey and that is our throughline. I want them to learn Latin (And Hebrew and Greek) and be very rooted in the process of history and know their place in time. From Charlotte Mason we are incorporating nature journals and quality literature, narrations and an emphasis on delight driven education (not at the expense of a thorough education, but allowing our interests to guide where we focus our most time). I like to think that rather than trying to conform our education to this style or that, I'm incorporating all the best as relates to my family. But I respect many different styles and if a child fit completely into the framework of one style I'd be fine doing that :tu

I find that most "homeschoolers" who have been at it awhile fall into one of two staunch categories: School at home where they buy each grade in a box and drill the child to fit that curriculum OR unschoolers who adapt lots of different stuff to meet their family. On the spectrum there is any level of how relaxed a family might be. I think what makes you fit into the unschooling umbrella is whether you feel as though a day without formal learning was a total waste of educational time :)

[booboo]

I guess I'm really out in space, Crystal! :laughtears It's not boxed, it's a book that gives ideas what books to use for each section. No math, gotta find that myself, as well as spelling, etc. You can say it's a mix and match *the kids* curriculum. Add the social stories book for their special needs and I'm an oddball homeschooler and proud of it. :sillygrin

[teamommy]

See that is where I get really confused about what "unschooling" means and I get the idea it means different things to different people.

Mine is only just getting ready to start "kindergarten" so who knows what I will say in a year or two. I feel like I want to start with a curriculum, but the more curriculums I look at, the more I see that we aren't really going to follow one as written and that we will be using lots of different things and taking detours where the kids interests lead. BUT, I do feel like certain things are going to be required (math, and probably writing assignments at some point), so I feel that means I am not an unschooler, but more like "relaxed" and "eclectic".

On other boards I have looked at, I get the idea that unschooling means the child decides everything. I like the idea of it, but I don't see that working for my family long term. Too early to say, though. :) It seems like for young children, though, it is hard to have "pure" unschooling, no matter what you call it, because as parents we create the learning environment and lead with our attitudes and our own interests.

Just rambling I guess, but I have wondered about the same thing you post about in the OP, and I do get a little confused about what unschooling means.

[illinoismommy]

I find that most "homeschoolers" who have been at it awhile fall into one of two staunch categories: School at home where they buy each grade in a box and drill the child to fit that curriculum OR unschoolers who adapt lots of different stuff to meet their family.


I don't know about that.... I am thinking of GCM's Leslie at the moment.... she seems very Charlotte Mason to me.... which is neither of those things :)

[blessedmama]

I guess I'm really out in space, Crystal! :laughtears It's not boxed, it's a book that gives ideas what books to use for each section. No math, gotta find that myself, as well as spelling, etc. You can say it's a mix and match *the kids* curriculum. Add the social stories book for their special needs and I'm an oddball homeschooler and proud of it. :sillygrin

Me, too! No boxed sets...but an eclectic mix with a structured, classical format, lots of great literature, "immersion" study, and a pinch of Charlotte Mason thrown in. But I've only been at it for four years now. Maybe as time goes on and I add more kids into the mix, I'll find myself gravitating toward one of those "staunch" categories Crystal has observed. (I hope I'm not the "boxed set" kind...but being an "unschooler" just doesn't seem to fit my personality either.) We'll see... :)

[Leslie]

I don't know about that.... I am thinking of GCM's Leslie at the moment.... she seems very Charlotte Mason to me.... which is neither of those things :)


She is very Charlotte Mason! :mrgreen Actually, I find that, the longer people homeschool, the more they tend to move away from labels and clean-cut definitions and mesh with different styles as they feel more confident about doing their own thing. But then they tend not to need as much support, so you don't run into them as much.

I feel like I'm in a world where everybody homeschools, and everybody is doing CM or a combination of CM/classical - until I come here, and there's a higher proportion of people doing unschooling. :giggle I think it just depends on who you hang out with. If your local group has a lot of unschoolers and this is your main online hangout, you could feel surrounded by unschoolers. My local homeschool group has mostly people doing either "school at home" or The Well Trained Mind. But since I'm not involved in the group, I'm hardly aware of it.

I've heard of Thomas Jefferson, it seems to be especially popular with LDS members (probably because the author is a Mormon?), and looks like a combination of Classical and Principle education. It looks like a pretty sound education, as far as I can tell.

[illinoismommy]

I don't know about that.... I am thinking of GCM's Leslie at the moment.... she seems very Charlotte Mason to me.... which is neither of those things :)


She is very Charlotte Mason! :mrgreen Actually, I find that, the longer people homeschool, the more they tend to move away from labels and clean-cut definitions and mesh with different styles as they feel more confident about doing their own thing. But then they tend not to need as much support, so you don't run into them as much.

I feel like I'm in a world where everybody homeschools, and everybody is doing CM or a combination of CM/classical - until I come here, and there's a higher proportion of people doing unschooling. :giggle I think it just depends on who you hang out with. If your local group has a lot of unschoolers and this is your main online hangout, you could feel surrounded by unschoolers. My local homeschool group has mostly people doing either "school at home" or The Well Trained Mind. But since I'm not involved in the group, I'm hardly aware of it.

I've heard of Thomas Jefferson, it seems to be especially popular with LDS members (probably because the author is a Mormon?), and looks like a combination of Classical and Principle education. It looks like a pretty sound education, as far as I can tell.


I'm reading some on your blog when I have time :giggle I just read Charlotte Mason's opinion of Montessori :mrgreen

So what is LDS?

[Cheyenne]

LDS = Latter Day Saints :)

[illinoismommy]

LDS = Latter Day Saints :)


Oh huh, I'll keep an eye out for that... they are "Christian" but I haven't gotten an LDS spin yet... that explains why I haven't heard of it before :think

[Teacher Mom]

I find that, the longer people homeschool, the more they tend to move away from labels and clean-cut definitions and mesh with different styles as they feel more confident about doing their own thing. But then they tend not to need as much support, so you don't run into them as much.


I think this sums it up! I belong to a homeschool group where I feel like I am the only one who "unschools" and I belong to another group that my homeschooling appears to be un-unschooling, as in more school-like than not. :shrug

[ArmsOfLove]

I see I confused people with that division--sorry :blush What I was trying to say is that people either tend to make their children conform to the curriculum or conform curriculums to their children. I believe that those who homeschool in such a way that a variety of curriculum are used to fit their children and their interests they are "unschooling"--ultimately "unschool" means that you don't follow the model of public schools. Some "radical unschoolers" reject the use of curriculum, but imo that's throwing the baby out with the bathwater. AFAIC if your goal is to teach your child and you seek out the best means for doing so, if you believe children must own their own learning and can't be force-taught anything, and if you seek to woo your children into learning rather than conforming them to some curriculum or model of learning, you fall under the larger umbrella of unschooler.

[illinoismommy]

ultimately "unschool" means that you don't follow the model of public schools.


That's what I got from John Holt too, but I think the general public has made it to mean something else.... I think you can "reject" the method of public schools and still "do school" :shrug

[ArmsOfLove]

ultimately "unschool" means that you don't follow the model of public schools.


That's what I got from John Holt too, but I think the general public has made it to mean something else.... I think you can "reject" the method of public schools and still "do school" :shrug
Yeah, I just reject the general public's efforst to make it mean something else. The one who coined the phrase gets to define it :grin

I think you can "reject" the method of public schools and still "do school" :shrug Right--but you are either Public schooling at home OR UNschooling (iow, school that looks nothing like public school and has different goals)

[illinoismommy]

ultimately "unschool" means that you don't follow the model of public schools.


That's what I got from John Holt too, but I think the general public has made it to mean something else.... I think you can "reject" the method of public schools and still "do school" :shrug
Yeah, I just reject the general public's efforst to make it mean something else. The one who coined the phrase gets to define it :grin

I think you can "reject" the method of public schools and still "do school" :shrug Right--but you are either Public schooling at home OR UNschooling (iow, school that looks nothing like public school and has different goals)


I admit I am still learning about this, but it seems to me that there are other options that are neither student-led nor like public school ... I don't really know how to explain. I think that, as evil as it sounds, parent-led makes sense to me in the Charlotte Mason way: parent led in short lessons where they are still free for at least half of the day to explore what they will, parents exposing them to many things they wouldn't choose on their own until they were already involved ... I don't think that's public school, but I don't think its unschooling either. I did go to a public school that did a few revolutionary type things, I was a part of an educational experiment in high school (you could call it that) where my teachers did a lot of things that the best homeschoolers do (combine literature and history, and science with math) but they also also exposed me to things that I never would have exposed myself to-- teacher-led. We also tried to build Thoreau's cabin in the courtyard for the same price he did and read Thoreau's works at the same time.... now I never would have chosen Thoreau on my own, but it changed me none the less. I hope this jumbled paragraph makes some sense :shifty

[birthchic]

I really think it's a both/and (again)....If your children have grown up attatched to you- then you know them- their interests, their frustrations, their goals. When broader learning begins your role doesn't really change from what it was- facilitator of learning and setter of boundaries, provider of experiences and translator of the hard to understand. We know our children intimately and so we can introduce them to new things when they seem receptive, through a style that will be engaging to them.

I think at its best homeschooling is neither child-led nor parent-led, but rather a symbiotic balance between the two.

[ArmsOfLove]

I really think it's a both/and (again)....If your children have grown up attatched to you- then you know them- their interests, their frustrations, their goals. When broader learning begins your role doesn't really change from what it was- facilitator of learning and setter of boundaries, provider of experiences and translator of the hard to understand. We know our children intimately and so we can introduce them to new things when they seem receptive, through a style that will be engaging to them.

I think at its best homeschooling is neither child-led nor parent-led, but rather a symbiotic balance between the two.
:yes and I don't define unschoooling as "child LED". I introduce all of the important things I want them to be exposed to and then pay attention to their response to it. Some things light them up; some things :shrug I definitely think symbiotic is the word :heart

In a sense . . . you can look at it as "school in a box" being "authoritarian" in approach; "extreme unschooling" being permissive; and what I read long time homeschoolers describing as symbiotic. It fits with UNschooling because it's not following the public school model--it's UNschool. BUT--it's not extreme unschooling that takes education and surrenders it all to the whim of the child. It's interactive; parent still as authority; and uniquely put together for each child. As much as I :heart Charlotte Mason it's not the best match for every child. So I use a lot of her stuff, but also other stuff. ;) I take my cues from my children but I take responsibility for providing the education (and trust that they will own their learning :tu)