Since making the decision to homeschool we went through a transitional period of traditional learning, Montessori, and now I’d consider us Unschoolers. We allow our children to lead their own learning journeys and we both try to tune into their natural curiosities and interests.

When we homeschool by tuning into our children’s natural curiosities it allows for a lot more flexibility and fun in our days. We don’t have to abide by any strict schedule but make sure to find time to work on projects or activities that we are interested in!

The best part is I never have to FORCE learning. It’s a natural process that happens when our children are in a state of flow. Playing, exploring and enjoying life.

When I have fallen into the mindset that I need to be leading their learning and assigning lessons, my children have been agreeable for a time but after a while they begin to resist my suggestions. They have other ideas of how they want to spend their time and what they want to learn about.

I see the opposite of learning happening when I plan lessons that are not interesting to them. When I let go of my need to control their learning they will demonstrate abilities in subjects that I never even thought they were capable of!

As my children are getting older they are showing more interest in learning practical skills like reading, writing, and math. These subjects naturally come up throughout the day in our home.

My oldest decided last year she wanted to read because she wants to be able to access the world in deeper ways. My 5 year old wants to write because he sees his older sister writing letters to pen-pals and cards to friends. This is purposeful work that they are both intrinsically motivated by.

By participating in our local homeschool entrepreneur market our children have discovered the importance of understanding money. Adding, subtracting, profit and loss, multiplying, dividing. Math is much easier to learn when it’s practical, useful and fun! 

By having ongoing conversations around our interests, places we want to explore, people we want to connect with, skills we want to get better at, learning naturally unfolds and learning together becomes weaved into our daily lives. 

So no, homeschooling doesn’t have to be hard. I find the hardest part is letting go of the conditioning that children need us to pour information into them or they may never “learn” it. Children are capable of so much and they have their own unique design that allows for their gifts and talents to come through. With attuned parents/caregivers children will naturally find inspiration to learn, grow, and succeed in their own way. 

If you are considering homeschooling, what are your concerns? Do you worry it will be hard? Let me know in the comments!