In my last post, I said that we’re “Charlotte Mason-Unschooling-Touch-of-Classical-Unit-Study-Book-Loving-Learners.” Since I’ve already covered much of the Charlotte Mason aspect of our homeschool, I’d like to touch on what we do that could be called “unschooling.”
What, exactly, is unschooling? Well, it may just depend on who you’re talking to. One of the problems with homeschooling lingo is that it’s not really standardized. A lot of terms, such as “unschooling,” are used differently by different groups, and that can lead to misconceptions and confusion. But, I’ll try to touch on some general definitions.
“Radical” unschoolers generally advocate a hands-off approach, allowing children complete freedom in what – or perhaps even if – to study. A more mainstream, less radical unschooler, one who subscribes to “delight-directed learning,” might require some work in core subjects, but leave non-core work open to being pursued in a variety of ways. A “sometimes unschooler” may unschool for a season (perhaps during times of illness, a new baby in the family, or unforeseen circumstances), dropping formal curriculum for a time.
We fall somewhere in the “less radical” and “sometimes” camps. My faith and my beliefs about raising children leave me out of the “radical” camp. I’m not an “authoritarian” parent, in style, but I do believe that my authority as a parent is vitally important to my children’s well-being. While I allow them much freedom in many areas, my kids don’t have total freedom. They are still being formed emotionally, spiritually and academically, and they need my husband’s and my loving guidance, wisdom and support.
That said, I know that my children have learned incredible amounts on their own, by “unschooling” themselves in their free time. While I do require certain work in the core subjects, and especially in subjects that are not my natural strength (such as math, which gives most of us around here headaches), I also allow a lot of “book grazing.” Book grazing is what my kids do when left to themselves. They graze on our collection of literature and poetry, on encyclopedias, on informative and fun non-fiction, and on the never-ending stacks of library books that are always piling up around our house. Through their book grazing, my kids have become obsessed with, and subsequently learned loads about Helen Keller, Braille and sign language, Harriet Tubman, Kateri Tekakwitha, Wilma Rudolph, Scotland, polio, and animals from aphids to wallabies.
I think of our unschoolish book grazing as a serious and important part of my girls’ education. It’s “unschoolish” in that I don’t force books on them (though I have been known to leave things lying around that they just happen to pick up….) and, in that we often end up following interests and spending more time on them than I had planned, taking intriguing learning detours and exploring new paths. But, it’s certainly not unschooling in the radical sense. I maintain control of the helm, rather than handing it over entirely to my kids.
The result, for us, is a lot of delight-directed learning, that keeps homeschooling fresh and fun. Until we get to that math stuff.
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