Can We Talk?

I don’t know if you know this, but I have no big strategy when it comes to these podcasts. I TRY to lay out a plan for the month, but something always gets in the way. Either some question rolls in a few times and then suddenly THAT’S what I want to talk to you about. My Marketing coach, Gwen Montoya, if you have a small business, you want her on your team, she tries to remind me that creating a plan for it all would be a better tactic - and while I agree, I just can’t seem to ever pull it off. So maybe I should embrace the spontaneity of it all . Feel free to leave a comment about what you’d like to hear! I’ll probably take you up on it! 

About a year ago, I did Podcast #124 about Switching from Homeschooling to Unschooling. 
I even converted it to a video, if you’d like to see it. 🎥 Watch the Video!

I gave you 5 Steps to Start if you’re ready to make the leap from the conventional homeschooling style - to this unconventional approach:

1. You don’t have to use the word “Unschooilng” if it bugs you. "Oh! That Word!"
2. You're going to have to go back to deschooling.... Truthfully, that’s what’s been your big hurdle all this time.
3. Talk Less, Listen More :)
4. Get clear on "Your Why?"
5. Learn how to Brainstorm WITH the Kids

And those are still really great first steps. You can hop over to the other podcast transcript, because I’ll give you a little more information about those 5 steps, in case you missed it. 

What's the Hesitation?

But today, let’s talk about overcoming that hesitation you have. We’re coming up to spring - and for those who have homeschooled more than a year, you know that this is the time communities really start buzzing about buying curriculum for next fall. Maybe this year didn’t go that well, but when we see that math program or that cool literature set - we are practically salivating! Maybe we WISH our own learning had looked more like this. Or Maybe we’re just victims of the marketing hype that promises your kids will be gleefully gobbling it all up, or maybe it says it will be easier, or will get your kids into college, or… something. Companies spend a LOT of money figuring out what your pain points are, and man, do they know how to hone in on them!

So let’s crank out some of those questions that pop up as you’re considering unschooling...

The biggest one is probably..

What about gaps?

Realistically though, none of us retained everything from our own school experience. Yet here we are.

Retention comes when a child is interested in the topic and, as the learner, they see the need to know it.
That doesn’t happen when you cram as much as you can in - regardless of the context or the desire.
We’re often pummeled with, “Someday they might need it!” 

But if we focus on the topics the learner wants to know about now, and ripple out from there, our kids can amass a body of information that will really be useful for them. When we start thinking about way down the line, that’s fear. And it’s distracting us from what is important right now. 

As kids explore and discover in the areas of their interests, they will inevitably bump into the need to know something we might consider as “The Basics.” That’s why we call them The Basics, because it keeps popping up. So then your child’s need to go further with their interest becomes the catalyst to learn the piece they didn’t know. And that’s how gaps fill in. 

The other thing to remind yourself - information is everywhere. There’s no gatekeeping. No, “We have to try to remember this for when we go to the library on Thursday, where all the Information is.” We can google it right now. We can watch a quick youtube video. And then suddenly, gap filled. That’s ALWAYS available to us… at 9 at 19 at 29 - whenever we need it. Better to learn how to do that, and not just wait for some powers-that-be to spoonfeed it to us. The world is changing at record speed - let’s help the kids learn to adapt to it. 

Unschooling allows kids to take initiative and really own their unique learning path.

Another question is: 

How will I know if they’re learning?

Well, You’ll talk with them. You’ll have shared life experiences. Your life will look more like a family than a Teacher/Student relationship. Plus, you won’t be too worn out to do this with them, because you won’t be distracted by checking arbitrary boxes or dragging them from one lesson to the next. Learning and life is really all meshed together - and you’ll get to take advantage of that. 

Testing and quizzes weren’t really invented for the benefit of the learner. It was for the teacher to gather hard data on the information presented. To Standardize everything so they can try to educate 20-24 kids at a time.. Or use as data to help them get a pay raise or help the school get funding. We don’t need tools like that, when conversations will suffice. We don’t need to peel back their scalp and check in on their brain - any more than we need to uproot a plant to see how the roots are progressing. We create a healthy environment and we will know they’re growing and learning and thriving.

Another question...

How will they get into college

as an unschooler, if they want a career that requires it?

This is easy. Unschoolers get into colleges and universities and trade schools all the time. Parents have to convert their unschooly life into educational jargon, but it’s not hard. And I have transcript courses and tools to help you do this when you’re ready.

The last question for today is,

How do I cope if I’m the only unschooler in my area? 

Sometimes, they’re there and you don’t realize it. But diving into kid interests that aren’t academically-focused can lure them out of the shadows. It may be about creating the community you want to see. I have some podcasts about that, and more resources to help you. We moved a lot as a military family, and I had a LOT of experience creating communities wherever we went. 

And sometimes, you need your community to be online. My membership group is going to start having Virtual Park Days and Virtual Moms Night Out - or maybe that’s really more of a Moms Night IN! So you could tap into that if you feel isolated. 

You have options!

And while it might feel scary at first, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard someone say,

“I wish I had been braver sooner.” or

“I wish I hadn’t stuck with the ways that weren’t working for so long.” 

“It ended up putting unnecessary obstacles in our relationship that had a negative impact.” 

Remember, Nothing is in stone... when I first started homeschooling, I thought, “We’ll try this for a little while and then we’ll go back.” We didn’t. And then when I was switching to unschooling, I hesitated to even call us that, because I kept thinking, “Well, for right now, it works for us. But I don’t know it always will so I don’t want to commit.” haha! That’s fine too. Live in the moment. Because all that time I wasn’t committing, I was learning more… about my kids, about learning and unschooling, about my own stories in my head of how things are “supposed to be.” Unschooling parents evolve too - you’re probably already seeing that! I just want you to know you don’t have to do it alone.

One last thing... a Project I'm working on...

I’m going to tell you something so you can be MY accountability buddy for a project I want to do!

I want to create a FREE mini-course over at YouTube about making this leap from homeschooling to unschooling. I’ve finally gotten some clarity on what I want to include, so my goal is to have this up and ready in March. 
Get Started Unschooling Course - on my course platform. OR  at YouTube

This means you have 2 things to do:

1) Get on my email list so you’ll know when it’s ready.

2) And subscribe to the YouTube channel so you’ll get a notification when it’s up. 

For all of you out there in the more traditional homeschooling communities, don’t get caught up in the conversations that are about to start, centering around curriculum purchases. It’s very possible that you already know that’s a waste of money for you and your kids. But it’s easy to get swept up in the hype - unless you do something deliberate to offset it.

Unschooling works. And you can modify it as you go - having that flexibility will be important - I can help you work on that too.



Let’s get you on steadier ground! 

That’s it from me for this week - Take care!