How Do They Differ?

Have you ever heard someone talk about unschooling and wondered what the heck is that? As homeschoolers, we know that our form of schooling can differ greatly from our peers. We have unlimited flexibility involving what, when, and how we choose to teach our children. So why is there such a thing as unschooling? How does it differ from homeschooling? Let’s examine what distinguishes these two teaching methods.

Breaking Down The Differences

Traditional homescooling relies on one or more curricula that your child’s education is structured around. Families set their own schedule, and cover math, reading, writing, history and any other subjects they prefer.

While still registered as a homeschooling family, unschoolers focus on their child’s special interests. The goal is to foster creativity and independence. No two days are the same, and children are free to read, play, and explore the world around them.

While this philosophy sounds appealing to some families, others find the lack of structure to be problematic. Unschooling families can easily fall into a cycle of little to no learning if parents fail to support their child.

How To Unschool Successfully

Let’s consider two types of unschooling families. Type A is a family that loves to travel. They spend their days exploring national parks, museums, and roadside attractions. Parents have remote, flexible jobs, and they readily participate in their child’s preferred activities.

Type B parents have similar jobs to Type A family, but they do not engage regularly with their children. Instead, children in this family play video games or watch T.V. most of the day. At times, they read or go outside to play, but without parental support, there isn’t much learning occurring each day.

They are both unschooling families, but Type A family is a “doing” family. This means that they learn and explore the world together. Parents show their support by staying involved and encouraging their children to have fun while learning.

Independence is encouraged through child-directed activities that they all participate in. As these children grow and their interests change, so do the activities in which they are involved. As a result, creativity and self-confidence allow them to prepare for the future careers.

Setting Your Unschooler Up for Success

First things first. What does “success” mean to you? What does it mean to your child? In the early years, children typically show interest in public service careers. Police, fire, retail, medical, or military jobs are all very popular choices.

While these are all admirable career choices, they may not fall into your child’s idea of “success” as they age. Goals change and your job as an unschooling parent is to encourage your child to explore their ever-changing interests.

To set your child up for success, (this is just a suggestion folks, please don’t bite my head off) incorporate some traditional schooling.

If your child likes to cook, teach them how to understand measurements and other essential mathematics skills. If your child loves to read and write, offer workshop enrollments to help foster their language skills. In other words, encourage growth through their interests.

There’s a big difference between child-directed learning and child-directed…well, to put it delicately…nothing. If you want your child to succeed, try mixing both methods into your day, and above all else, stay engaged.

*This post is intended to be information and opinion-based only. Every family will have their own way of schooling that works for them. PenningHouse respects and invites all homeschooling families to join our community.