🎩 Unschooling: Not A Luxury

ANYONE CAN UNSCHOOL.

Not that everyone should, or will, it's just really important to dispel the myth that being able to facilitate a free learning life is limited to those who are somehow privileged.

You need to be well-off. Our family is far from being financially comfy. It takes a lot of creative thinking and living without things other's find vital to make our Freeschoolin' life work. We are below the poverty line in our country's scale and have always been. So if it was money that fueled our ability to unschool, we would have never begun. It does take an outside-the-box mindset, stamina, curiosity and a willingness to let go of a schooled way of thinking. It can't be done with a large family. Please go to youtube, facebook or instagram and look up unschoolers to see them for yourself. Many successful unschool families have generous numbers and very few are ones with only children. If families are satisfied and functioning with the number of current house members, living with unschooling principles would not be a hindrance.

Certain kids can't be unschooled. Often we hear that special needs kids or children with other challenges are just not candidates for unschooling but if you really look at the philosophy of unschoolers, it seems that these specific children would be the best candidates for unschooling. Instead of training these special little minds to be a part of a system that does not follow their unique way of thinking, they are taught to follow what naturally comes to them as growing little people without pressure or testing, building confidence and a joy of learning.

Unschooling is literally living life playing, creating and exploring, something any individual can do. All that said, nothing in the world works for every family. Do what really inspires a life long love of learning, whatever that is for your family, and you will have given the next generation all they need to not only survive, but thrive in the future.

THIS WEEK

Hope took over the camera some and gifted us with some adorable selfies and our cat on top of our mattress while I was cleaning out our bedroom. Tananger is always "up" for a spot above the rest of the family. *grin* Nature was calling and we answered with campfires and forest walks; some with snow, some without. The feature of our week was definitely our much anticipated return to Blue Mountain's Plunge Aquatic Centre, an event organized by a local homeschool group. It features indoor and outdoor swimming areas, slides, an action pool and a wonderfully large hot tub area. Hope passed the swim test required to go into the deep pool and was cannon balling into the 11ft depths in no time, much to my admitted worry. Hope loves the water almost as much as drawing and animals so we were so grateful to have this affordable opportunity to facilitate her passions. As a former lifeguard, I now have no concerns with Hope in the water at any depth; she can swim confidently and safely in lakes or pools. She never took any lessons, Hope just watched us swim and learned how with her own body, listening to tips and advice we shared along the way. Blue Mountain Village was decked out for the holidays so we took the opportunity to see the sights and take pictures. We're going back again in less than two weeks and we can't wait!

The moon was so bright and full this weekend it was almost like soft daylight at our campsite long after the sun had set. Hope has been going on along on car rides with Sarah, her Fairy Godmother, who has been living here with her fiance Kevin for 3 months now. They have found a place close by and are moving out in a week. Having them in our home has been a wonderful and exciting learning experience that we will cherish forever. Love you guys! Hope draws, roleplays and learns things on youtube every day. She has recently, through youtube, discovered a dinosaur game she decided to buy with her own money and is loving the experience so far. We needed to gather firewood before the snow flies and Hope was super helpful in doing so with Jaze and I, all her choice. No required chores to make her responsible and a team player. A good relationship and the freedom to be a kid fully while growing up is all that we have used. Now at the age of 10, she finds helping out a joy and working together as a family, a fun pastime.

SUBJECTS LEARNED Navigation, Water Safety, Phys Ed, Team Work, Survival Skills, Socialization, Reading, Writing, Art, Math, Finances, Conflict Resolution, Energy Management, Emotional Coping Skills, Technology, Nature, Meteorology, Creative Thinking, Bonding, Confidence, Risk Assessment, Decision Making, Travel, Planning, Patience, Community, Communication Skills, So Much More...

VIDEO

Much Love Always, Wendy BOOKS, CLOTHING & MORE About the Author

Wendy Elizabeth Hart - Author, Illustrator, is a radical unschooling, homesteading Mom of 2 amazing kids and wife of more than 10 years to her bff, Jaze. Together with their daughter Hope, 10, they live a life of daily discovery in rural Ontario, Canada and share it with the world to connect with other families in the unschooling community.