5 Ways Homeschooling is Easier!
So often, we hear other parents say, “I could never homeschool my kids!” for whatever reason. But I want you to know that homeschooling is easier than you think! And unschooling can make your life so much better!
They have a variety of reasons for this - they don’t feel smart enough, maybe not creative or organized enough. They may not have even thought it all the way through... they just know that “leaving it to the experts” is the best way to go. While that’s a whole ‘nuther blogpost/podcast, thinking we need someone else to teach our own kids, whether they’re five or fifteen… there’s a lot to unpack there, right? And some of that may haunt you as well.
But I want us to break down why homeschooling your kids is actually the EASIER path to take!
5 Reasons to Consider Unschooling!
- Your calendar is yours! You’re not checking for permission to have a snowday or extend a vacation during non-peak hours. I think this might have been one of my biggest Bonus Reasons when we first started out on our home education adventure.
- Kids can learn to listen their own body signals
about hunger, thirst, contentment, nervousness - even frustration. Parents are there to help kids figure out how to handle their feelings without having to conform to whatever everyone else is supposed to be feeling. And this may really be hard for us as parents - no one necessarily taught us how to do this, so we have to find resources to make these shifts in how we, as parents, deal with our kids and their emotions. But the payoff for this extra effort is huge! Huge within our daily lives as they’re growing up - but also for them to know themselves better when they’re venturing out into the adult world in the years to come.
- Avoiding the People Pleaser Habit.
Woo Boy! That’s a biggie that many of us adults are still trying to work through! All those years of learning to conform really do condition our brains to seek approval. This is one of those things many unschooling parents need help with - but our kids won’t have this tendency as badly as we do. And when we’re not faced with this on the daily, we can break the grip a little quicker.
- Think of all the time and frustration you’ll save. No more frantic mornings trying to find everything your child needs to make it to the school bus in time. Or if you were the school-at-home type of homeschooler, no more late nights trying to find the math program that would fit your child perfectly. You know, the ones that lure so many of us into those financial mistakes… the ones that PROMISE our child will “love this engaging material!” Imagine how much easier life will be when we’re not beating ourselves up over those bad investments of money and time. Imagine if your late night web searches were more about finding fun things to do WITH your kids or ways to simply bring more joy into our homes.
- This approach will make it a little easier on the pocketbook. Or at least we’ll feel good about the purchases we are making. We’ll have a more deliberate choice of how we want to spend our money. Instead of pouring money into curriculum, that we or the kids will not even like, we can spend it on day trips to interesting locations out in our communities, season passes to all sorts of places we may not have had the leftover money for. Now we CAN afford these things that make life more fun and give us more shared experiences within our family.
I know many parents see this as unrealistic or maybe “shirking our responsibilities” as parents.
But I’m here to tell you that’s not even close to true.
New to Unschooling? Get this Guide!
A 27-page full color mini-magazine to help you pull back the curtains, see how successful unschoolers do this!
If you're new or feeling not-so-confident, here's what you'll learn:
- Ways to set up your unschooling home
- Creating a personalized philosophy about children and learning
- Worksheets to help you explore and identify your own priorities
- Ways to find education within everyday activities
- Ways to get more unschooling support
- How to identify your kids' strengths
- The New Unschooler Checklist
- Memes & Inspiration
- A Quick Resource Guide for ways I can help you
For decades, parents have been coerced and shamed into prioritizing school demands over their own child’s true needs, interests, curiosities, and even connection within their families.
But it doesn’t have to be this way!
If You're Worried, Know This:
- Doors will NOT close when you choose this unconventional approach.
- Relationships will not be sacrificed because your child will feel valued by the adult that is supposed to love them the most - and who gets to spend the most time with them!
- Employers don’t care when your child learned to read or if they know the quadratic equation. They’d prefer to hire people who can get the job done, work cooperatively with their coworkers, problem-solve difficult situations instead of needing it all spoonfed to them.
- And, for those that are worried about this...
Colleges accept unschoolers all the time - unschooled teens HAVE been learning all along. Colleges are happy to have applicants who have real life experiences instead of the one-size-fits-all college freshman that has a really high likelihood of washing out.
I have a Mini-course on Creating Transcripts, if you need help with this.
You really can be your child’s advocate
- even when you’re not quite sure what all that entails.
You DO know what’s NOT working for thekids or for your family.
Stepping away from an over-reaching school system
will allow the space to see what’s possible.
I’ve heard this time and time again from parents I work with.
Covid brought many people to this homeschooling concept, and then they/you? learned more about unschooling. And as everyone leaned into these principles, the children stopped having so much anxiety - they started to thrive.
All it takes was making a different choice. It doesn’t even have to be a “forever choice.” Just for now, drop the things that TRULY are making your life and your kids’ lives harder. Focus on connecting with them - prioritize this part. And you’ll see the that things that really matter will show themselves while the more arbitrary busy-ness of a schoolish day, will fall away.
All because you drop the notion that “This Homeschooling Thing is Going to be Way Harder.”
Because homeschooling doesn’t have to be hard.
Unschooling can make it win-win.
Ready to Dive Into Unschooling?
My
Jumping Into Unschooling course will help you find the clarity and direction you want!
- Overcome your fears.
- Learn how they'll learn what they need.
- Find out how to parent as unschoolers too!
Easy to go through the materials in one weekend!
