Celebrating an Unschooling Life

Guest Blogger
Evon, from Forever Unschooled shares about her family's unschooling journey.

Tell us a little about your family

Our Afrikan family is made up of myself, Evon, single mom to 2 young ladies, 24(KK) and 17(G).  While KK is off on her adventures as a young adult, living in another state, G is still at home and technically in her "Senior" year of "High School". 

Our family activities vary on a daily basis and are generally determined by what we decide we're in the mood for from one day to the next. Together we play cards, watch shows and movies, cook, show each other cool things we've learned how to do individually, develop business ideas/brands, get on each other's nerves and best of all, talk... A LOT.

 

Mom Questions

 

Did any particular events lead you toward unschooling?

In a world that rewards "cookie-cutter" and coloring in the lines, it became clear to me I had birthed two young ladies that didn't fall into either category. This realization, coupled w/ discovering this concept called Unschooling , made choosing the lifestyle a logical choice.
As a single Mom, I only have so much time in a day. By bringing them out of the "school" structure, our day opened up and gave us sooo much more time to be able to highlight each of their unique skills and talents.
 

How would you describe your “path to unschooling?” 

Our "Path to Unschooling" was an interesting one. Those who've known me for a long time would always say I've been a non-conformist. Going against the grain and asking the questions few seem bold enough to ask is normal for me. I had already been researching homeschooling for about 7 yrs when I came across the topic of Unschooling. Once I started studying the principles, it seemed like a natural fit for our family. 

What were your hesitations about unschooling (if you had any), and how did you overcome them?

The biggest hesitations I encountered during this journey have been around freedom around electronics. Overcoming those hesitations has been an evolution of try a little, observe a little.
As with anything else, we use a lot of Space and Grace when we encounter resistance to an idea.

What words of wisdom would you give someone just starting out with unschooling?

As this is a life-long journey, be easy on yourself and your children. This gets to look the way you all evolve into it looking and there's no "destination" outside of continuing to learn, which is always happening anyway.
 

About the Kids Questions

 

Did your kids ever go to school?

Yes, KK went to "school" through 8th grade. G went to "school" through 1st grade and then returned the last 6 weeks of 8th grade and went through 11th grade before opting out of continuing and choosing to return to Homeschooling for her "Senior" year.

How was that for them?

KK missed the kind of life and programming she had always known and the traditional "landmarks" it seemed most of the other children(going to school) in the same age bracket as her were experiencing (like homecoming and prom in particular).

To this day, though she blossomed as an author, entrepreneur, author, blogger, vocalist, songwriter, seamstress, inventor, motivational speaker, workshop facilitator and more, while homeschooling 9th thru 12th, I regret not giving her more choice in whether she could return back to school and more choices in general. She had been experiencing such intense bullying, while in school, I was more focused on trying to bring that to an end vs recognizing, as I do now, that a lot of unschooling is about empowering our children to listen to and trust their intuition by, first listening to them and trusting their intuition, ourselves.

As a 2nd grader, G was all for homeschooling at first. As the years went on, she would sometimes raise the question of whether she wanted to return, before determining she would miss her homeschooled life too much.

Once she began her "7th grade" year, she started pondering the question more seriously than she had before. She finally made her mind up to give it a go, as she wanted to see what all the fuss was about. She wanted to make sure, since she felt fairly certain she was going to college to pursue Veterinary Science, that she would do fine in a structured learning environment.

While she was there, it was interesting to watch her evolution of self. In her words, she learned about different "types" of people and became clearer, within herself, about what is most important to her. Once she felt "done", she expressed that she wouldn't be returning for her "Senior" year and would homeschool.

What hobbies/interests have your kids enjoyed?

As younger children they enjoyed exploring new places, parks, museums, situations, environments, meeting new people and learning new things. As they've gotten older they seem to enjoy the Freedom to...just...Be...Whatever they choose to Be.
 

What strengths do the kids have because they've been unschooling?

The three primary strengths they seem to have directly due to our Unschooling lifestyle, is
  1. their ability to think critically,
  2. their ability to find the answers to whatever questions they have...about anything
  3. their knowledge that they can teach themselves how to do anything they're passionate about learning and put their mind to.

What are the kids doing now?

KK is an extraordinary entrepreneur (beauty business with a lash and wig collection,hairstyle services and waistbeads to name a few), w/ a blossoming Vlogger career and continuing to figure out this thing called life.
G is finishing up her Homeschool "Senior" year, interning at an animal hospital, starting up a new business, thinking over multiple college "acceptance" offers and finding time to still just be 17.
 

All in all, we're continuing to evolve on this journey, as we've been doing since the day we started.

I'm grateful for the privilege and recognize this is the attitude that has been assisting me the most.

 
Wishing you all the best on your journey!
 
A blogger, author, journalist, poet, songwriter, vocalist, ghostwriter, curriculum developer and more, Evon  has been writing for over 20 years. Her vast experience from various walks of life (single mom, diagnosed with various mental illnesses, etc.) has given her a broad base from which to approach many topics. She especially enjoys burning capes anyone may try to put on her back.  Learn more about her family's Unschooling journey ( ForeverUnschooled ) and so many more of their endeavors at Abundance is Our Birthrite
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