About Unschooling Mom2Mom
YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT UNSCHOOLING
Frequently Asked Questions About Unschooling
How will your child learn math? What happens when they reach the teen years? What do you actually do all day? These are questions parents bring to Unschooling Mom2Mom every day. Find a starting answer here, then follow the links for more examples, resources, and support.
GETTING STARTED
Understanding Unschooling
What is unschooling?
Unschooling is an approach to homeschooling that builds learning around your child’s interests, questions, and everyday life. Parents stay involved by offering resources, sharing experiences, and helping children explore what matters to them. Learning doesn’t have to follow a curriculum or look like school to be meaningful. Learn More About Unschooling
What’s the difference between homeschooling and unschooling?
Both are legitimate methods for educating children at home. The Unschooling philosophy is that learning is innate and parents can create environments that are more conducive to learning without copying school at home. Read More/Listen: Homeschooling vs. Unschooling - What's the Difference?
Is unschooling even legal?
Yes! From a legal standpoint, unschooling is a subcategory of homeschooling. It's a homeschooling method/style. Families who unschool follow the same legal requirements for homeschooling. State requirements vary (legal in all US states) so parents need to learn and understand what is expected. (providing notification, testing, subjects, records) Families outside the United States should check their local home-education laws. More About Legal Requirements
How do we start unschooling?
Start with your child and your relationship. Spend time together, listen to their interests, and make room to recover from school pressures. Offer interesting things to explore without turning each one into an assignment. Learning about deschooling will help you recognize the expectations you’re bringing into this change.
Do we have to stop using every class, workbook, or curriculum?
No. A resource your child wants can be useful. The question is whether it helps them do or understand something that matters to them. Choosing a workbook together is different from requiring one because you’re afraid learning won’t happen without it. Explore Learning Without a Curriculum
READING, WRITING, MATH & MORE
How Learning Happens
How do unschoolers learn the basics?
Children encounter reading, writing, and math while doing things that matter to them. Games, conversations, cooking, projects, messages, and everyday decisions give those skills a purpose. Parents help by answering questions, finding resources, and offering support. You don’t have to divide life into subjects to support academic learning.
How will my child learn to read without a curriculum?
Written language is part of everyday life. Read together, help with words when asked, and make books and other reading materials available around your child’s interests. Reading develops on different timelines, and independent reading isn’t the only way to learn. Audiobooks, videos, conversation, and reading aloud keep information accessible.
Don’t we need a curriculum for math?
Math doesn’t have to be the exception to unschooling. Children use numbers, patterns, measurement, probability, and strategy through games, building, cooking, and other interests. Start noticing the math already happening and help your child explore it. You don’t need a textbook to make those experiences count.
How will my child learn to write without assignments?
Writing gives people a way to communicate and share ideas. Messages, stories, lists, game chats, and projects provide reasons to use it. Handwriting and composing ideas are separate skills; typing or taking dictation can help a child tell a story without handwriting getting in the way.
What about science, history, and other subjects?
Children’s questions rarely stay inside one subject. An interest in animals can lead to biology, geography, conservation, and history. Cooking brings up chemistry and measurement. Help your child follow those connections with conversations, experiences, books, videos, and people who know more.
How will I know they’re learning enough?
Start by asking what you’re measuring against. Grade levels and finished worksheets are school’s markers. Look at your child’s growing understanding, questions, skills, and interests. Notice what they return to and where they need help. Getting to know their learning takes attention and time.
LIFE AT HOME
Days, Interests, and Relationships
What do we do all day without a curriculum?
Live an interesting life together. Play, cook, read, go places, meet people, make things, and follow questions. Offer ideas and help your child pursue theirs. Some days are busy and others are quiet. You’re building a life with room for learning, rather than filling the hours with substitute schoolwork.
What if my child doesn’t want to do anything?
Look closely at what “anything” means. Is your child uninterested in everything, or in the activities you hoped they would choose? Notice what holds their attention and spend time with them there. After leaving school, rest and recovery can also matter. Keep offering connection and help without making every invitation a test. Read/Listen: Lacking Motivation
What if all they want to do is use screens?
Start by finding out what they’re doing. Gaming with friends, making videos, researching an interest, and watching a favorite show are different experiences. Join them, ask questions, and understand what draws them in. That gives you more to work with than judging the activity by the number of hours alone.
What about socialization and making friends?
School is one place to meet people, but it isn’t the only one. Friendships can grow through shared interests, neighborhood connections, activities, work, and online communities. Help your child find people they enjoy and opportunities that fit them. Their social life doesn’t have to resemble a classroom to be meaningful. Read/Listen: How Kids Make Friends WIthout School
How do I explain unschooling to relatives or a reluctant partner?
Start with the concern they’re raising rather than trying to explain the entire philosophy at once. Share what you’re noticing about your child and offer a relevant resource. You don’t have to win every argument. With a partner, make space for an ongoing conversation about your child’s needs and your shared decisions. Read More Here
THE TEEN YEARS
Unschooling and What Comes Next
Is it too late to unschool a teen?
No. Start by talking with your teen about their experience, what isn’t working, and what they want to change. Their interests and goals belong in the conversation from the beginning. You don’t need to recreate their earlier school years before supporting the learning they want to pursue now.
Can unschooled teens go to college?
Yes. Unschooling doesn’t rule out college. If your teen wants to pursue it, look together at the requirements of the colleges they’re considering. Then work out what to document and which preparation they need. Sue’s college resources and transcript options can help you understand the next steps. Teens and College
What if all they want to do is use screens?
Start by finding out what they’re doing. Gaming with friends, making videos, researching an interest, and watching a favorite show are different experiences. Join them, ask questions, and understand what draws them in. That gives you more to work with than judging the activity by the number of hours alone.
How do we create a transcript without traditional classes?
A transcript can organize learning that happened through projects, independent study, classes, work, and other experiences. The task is to describe and document that learning clearly. You don’t have to turn your teen’s life into school just to give it an understandable record. Read/Listen: Unschooling Transcripts
WHEN QUESTIONS KEEP COMING
Finding Support
Why do I still feel afraid when unschooling makes sense to me?
School expectations are familiar, and they often return when you feel responsible or uncertain. A question from a relative or a comparison with another child can bring them back quickly. Deschooling helps you recognize those expectations and look at what’s happening in your family before reacting to them.
How do I find other unschooling parents?
Look for local homeschooling groups, interest-based activities, and online unschooling communities. For your own support, it helps to have somewhere you can ask questions openly. Creating Confidence offers ongoing guidance from Sue and connection with other parents.
What if I’m overwhelmed or need help with my particular child?
You don’t have to explain your whole situation through a series of internet searches. Talk with Sue about what’s happening, what worries you, and what you’ve already tried. Private coaching gives you time to work through your family’s questions individually.
FIND YOUR NEXT STEP
Get Help With the Question You Have
Talk with Sue
Share the whole story and get individual support with your next steps.
Join Creating Confidence
Bring your questions to an ongoing community with guidance from Sue and other unschooling parents.
Courses & Tools
Take a closer look at a subject or concern with resources you can use on your own schedule.