I’m Sue Patterson, and this is the Unschooling Mom2Mom podcast. (See past episodes)

After 30 years in the homeschooling and unschooling communities, I’ve learned a lot about what works—and what doesn’t work—when families move away from school.

I bring you these short unschooling pep talks to offer a little reassurance, help you recognize the learning already happening, and make this way of living easier.

If that’s something you need, take a minute to subscribe—whether you’re listening to the podcast or watching on YouTube. That way, we can stay connected.

Now, let’s talk about Rice Krispie treats.

Maybe you mention that Rice Krispie Treat Day is coming up, and your child wants to make some.

They read the recipe. They measure ingredients. They watch marshmallows change as they heat. They estimate whether everything will fit in the pan. They figure out how to cut the finished treats so everyone gets one.

Maybe they wonder who invented Rice Krispie treats or why cereal makes that snapping and popping sound.

Or maybe they dump in the cereal, lick the spoon, eat two squares, and move on.

That’s okay too.

The point isn’t to turn Rice Krispie Treat Day into a lesson.

The point is that when children are engaged in real life, learning naturally weaves through what they’re doing.

Some of it looks like math. Some looks like science. There’s reading, problem-solving, sequencing, cooperation, and independence.

Your child isn’t dividing life into subjects. They’re simply making something they want to eat.

The subject labels are for us.

They help parents who are still learning to see that education doesn’t disappear when we stop using curriculum.

It simply looks different.

Learning Weaves Through the Month

Once you begin to recognize learning this way, the next question is often, “Where do all the ideas come from?”

Because you don’t want to replace curriculum with a new job where you have to manufacture fascinating educational experiences every day.

Fortunately, interesting possibilities are everywhere. They’re in the changing seasons, something happening in your community, a new food at the grocery store—or one of those fun, sometimes silly celebrations you didn’t even know existed.

That’s where strewing comes in.

Strewing is simply bringing possibilities into your child’s world and seeing what catches their attention.

You aren’t assigning it. You aren’t disguising a lesson. And you don’t have to know where it will lead.

Strewing is scattering ideas you can run with.

September alone offers all kinds of possibilities. There are celebrations every single day of the month!

Maybe your child would perk up if they knew about celebrations around desserts!

Or maybe they’d be more interested to know there are Video Games Day, Batman Day, or Hobbit Day this month.

A child who loves animals might not want to miss Crab Fest Day or Rabbit Day.

Each of these daily celebrations can be jumping off places to learn more. 

That child interested in crabs or rabbits may encounter animal habitats, adaptations, food chains, geography, life cycles, size, speed, populations, or comparisons between species.

They may watch videos, read facts, draw pictures, build habitats, or tell you everything they’ve discovered while you’re trying to make dinner.

Science is there.

Geography may be there.

They’re building vocabulary as you read more or talk about the topics. They may run into numbers, measurements, graphs, or comparisons.

But you didn’t have to assign a science lesson about crabs.

You mention it, and you see if they’re interested.

The learning weaves its way in because the child is engaged.

That’s the shift.

Instead of asking, “How can I get my child interested in the lesson?” we start with something that interests them and notice where it leads.

You Don’t Have to Know Where It Will Go

This is where unschooling can feel uncomfortable at first.

Curriculum tells you what the child will learn before the activity even begins.

It gives you an objective, a lesson, and usually some way to prove they absorbed it.

Real-life learning doesn’t always announce itself that neatly.

You may mention Rabbit Day without knowing whether your child will watch a funny rabbit video, research different breeds, ask for a pet rabbit, or ignore the idea completely.

You don’t have to know in advance.

Strewing is about bringing interesting possibilities into your child’s world without needing to control what they do with them.

Some ideas go nowhere.

Some lead to a five-minute conversation.

Others open the door to an interest that lasts for weeks, months, or even years.

You’re not planning the outcome.

You’re creating more opportunities for curiosity to bump into something interesting.

September Keeps Offering Possibilities

The Autumn Equinox is this month too.

That gives you a natural reason to pull out the globe or notice how the daylight hours are changing.

Maybe someone asks why the seasons are changing—or why it’s becoming autumn where we live while spring is beginning somewhere else.

Maybe you begin paying attention to sunrise and sunset times.

You might compare temperatures, notice shadows, talk about the Earth’s tilt, or wonder how people in different places mark the changing seasons.

I even recorded a podcast about Daylight Saving Time last spring.
You could listen to that here and see how many different directions one topic can go.

• History.
• Geography.
• Government.
• Science.
• Math.
• The way people organize time

Learning doesn’t stay inside one subject box because life doesn’t stay inside one subject box.

And you don’t have to follow every possible path.

Maybe your child only notices that it’s getting dark earlier.

That moment of observation is still part of understanding the world.

Fun Factor Scale

Some ideas will be a ten on their Fun Factor Scale.

Some may only be a six—but still interesting enough to explore

.

And some won’t appeal to them at all.

That’s fine.