Unschooling as our form of homeschooling, naturally developed through years of learning about becoming a conscious parent. Consciously parenting (parenting with intention rather than through subconscious preprogramming) led me to re-evaluate my own internalized thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

Maybe you’ve felt this too? Perhaps you’re considering unschooling and are unsure you can step off the path that falsely assures you everything will turn out okay.

Something I didn’t expect by taking this leap from working mom, stay-at-home mom, homeschooler and now unschooler was the big shift I’d have myself.

Children learn best when they have the freedom to explore and follow their own interests. This is easy for a child to do yet a challenge for the parent who takes responsibility for the child’s learning. On the surface, unschooling sounds good but it is not practical in a world that sees progress through benchmarks and test scores.

It takes a leap of faith to do things differently however, when you decide to see your children as individuals who constantly absorb knowledge in all that they do/see/hear/experience you’re embarking on a new path for you and your family. 

How unschooling can change your life:

Allows You the Freedom to be Who You Truly Are

There is freedom in living on your family’s own terms. It can be scary, yes, but it gets easier. Living a life you can take responsibility for is empowering. Empowering us to be ourselves and allowing our children to be their own individuals naturally breeds confidence.  

Find Deeper Meaning in Your Everyday Life

Life naturally takes on a deeper meaning when we live with intention and eliminate the things that don’t fill our family up. Your conversations with your children will be enlightening. You’ll see beauty in more of your life experiences. You can even find learning in everything you and your children do throughout the day.

Discover What You’re Conditioned to Believe VS What is Right for You and Your Family

There are so many layers to pull back from what we’ve been conditioned to believe is learning and success. It doesn’t happen overnight and may continue for many years. I still find myself struggling with old thoughts as new experiences in my life arise.

Does my 5-year-old really need to sit down and practice writing (when he doesn’t have any interest) or can I let it go and focus on what he’s curious about instead?

Does my child need to be with other children her own age for 8 hours every day? Or is that something we’ve become conditioned to believe is socialization?

It’s hard to let go of the school mindset. I find listening to podcasts or finding other stories of parents living this unconventional life can be really helpful in allowing me to re-evaluate what matters to me. Usually, when I do my children surprise me with what they decide to do all on their own without me pressuring them. 

Discover your own passions and hobbies

Give yourself time to discover what lights you up. AND uncover what has been schooled out of you. Do you actually enjoy something that you always thought you hated ? When we’re forced to do something vs. given freedom to do it on our own terms it can actually be fun. Playing with numbers, writing creatively without purpose, making up songs on the piano, exercising for fun, cooking for fun, etc.

When our children see us learning in real life, trying new things, failing and trying again they are learning what it means to be a life long learner. 

An unschooling lifestyle is more than just kids learning. It impacts the entire family and how you all live in harmony with one another. When mutual respect and connection is at the forefront of your home everyone gets to grow and learn in their own unique and exciting ways. 

Have you thought about trying Unschooling? What is holding you back?