Choosing to Make Shifts

With a little creativity, parents can make the shifts needed to unschool - even when funds are low. Lots will depend on the parent's attitude. Looking for abundance instead of scarcity, getting out of the comparison game - these two mindset shifts will really help you.  families are shifting toward prioritizing creating a full rich life for our kids. It doesn't have to be expensive. These real-life experiences can often be free or low-cost.

Sometimes our priorities BEFORE unschooling may have been different. One of the huge advantages to unschooling is having the ability to pivot when you see fit. No outside approval needed. No “we have to finish this first...” The situation changes or the INTENTION changes, and you can do whatever you need to do. 

In order to do that, we sometimes need to make shifts.

1. Mindset Shift: Money Priorities. We can almost always shift our financial priorities. We just have to weigh out what matters most. If you’ve been caught up in the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses rat race, you might consider rethinking it. It’s the first place to make cuts - those things you spend money on that are for appearances sake. It might even be big. You might consider buying a smaller home, a used car, thrift shop purchases, changing to more flexible work schedules. My point is to think about  where you’re putting your money and where COULD you make some changes?
   
   
2. Mindset Shift: Parenting Choices. Parents are obviously responsible for all the finances... but that's not a Forever Thing.  Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we have our entire lives to do what we want to do. If you’re thinking there’s still one thing you’d like to have, maybe you can make sacrifices in other areas and get it. Or maybe you need to remind yourself that there's plenty of time when the kids are grown. I’m not saying you can’t have what you want while they're still under your roof, far from it. A huge advantage of unschooling is living right alongside our kids, making choices and loving our lives too.  But I'm mentioning this because full time parenting usually only lasts about a quarter of your life. Everything doesn’t have to happen all at once. It helps to remember that we have choices all the time.
   
   
3. Mindset Shift: Developing Self Confidence. If you’re leaning toward that math curriculum that says it will "handle it all for you"...it’s time to notice something. Growing up in a capitalist society, as most of us have, we’ve really been trained to do two things - throw money at a problem if we get nervous and find an expert, because certainly we're not smart enough or capable enough to manage our own life. Marketing has pushed us to spend more - often more than we even have. And then that contributes to feeling badly about ourselves. We follow their advice, buy the stuff, then the kids don't like it or it's not that great - and we blame OURSELVES instead of the company for making something lame! And that idea about finding experts. John Holt talks about how we're conditioned to not trust ourselves. So it's no wonder we tend to want to push the responsibility off our shoulders onto someone who seems more competent. So this is a mindshift idea to be aware of and maybe work on.
   
   
4. Mindset Shift: Stop making Comparisons. We’re all on budgets of some sort. Or most of us are. And some of us have really been heavily indoctrinated with comparisons.  We can feel jealous or envious about others "having more." My mom used to always tell me, "The Getty's are jealous of the Rockefellers. No one is ever satisfied." 
   We can all read more about abundance and scarcity and get ourselves onto steadier ground.  We want to individualize our lives - so that means what other people are doing isn't even relevant.
   

How to Unschool on a Budget:

At Home

So let’s think about what we have right under our noses - Every Day Life at home. We have simple ways available where would could cut back - and still create that fabulous learning environment we want to provide.

1. Games and toys offer a variety of learning opportunities. Don’t feel like you have to run out and buy curriculum to make sure they learn the basics - or any subject really. Card and Dice games are all about math. Setting up scenes for My Little Pony or Lego cities - that’s all about Creative Writing. Story development starts in the imagination - don’t tie it to writing if you’re kids don’t like to write. But characters and story arcs? You can hear that in their imaginative play. Garage sales and thrift stores are great spots to get "new" games to try out at a fraction of the price!
2. Cooking together - which could include budgeting, servings, dividing up the cookies fairly. Maybe it’s casual conversations about nutrition and how foods affect our bodies. You’re probably already doing that! That counts too.
3. Decorating or noticing shapes and patterns in the rooms - all geometry.
4. Building forts in the living room helps kids understand even more in that area.
5. Technology - I don’t want you to be afraid of technology. Think of it as just another wonderful thing on the buffet. And when your budget is limited, having Wi-Fi can bring in so many opportunities to learn. From Googling to videos to games and apps - it can all help expand your kids' world..  Don’t let society’s anti-internet perspective keep you from all the free information that’s available for you and for your kids.
   YouTube has sooo many options on whatever topic interests your child. Whether it’s a video to see alpacas in or a tutorial on how to start your own YouTube channel - it’s there for you. At whatever learning level your kids (or you) might need.  Online resources such as educational websites, videos, and tutorials. Many of these resources are free and can be found through a quick internet search.

Out and About

Ok, so let’s look out into our communities. I remember my kids saying,

“Why do they call us “home” schoolers when we’re hardly ever at home??”

We did have a few years where we were on the go what seemed like all the time! So let me share what I know about tapping into the community without breaking the bank.

1. Libraries have a lot going on - and not that many people taking advantage of it all. Hop over to there to see for yourself. Check out their story times, if your kids are younger, or other events they may have on the schedule for the month for bigger kids. Sometimes they’ll let you borrow videos and games as well as books. Many libraries have really interesting structures and art on display, so look around!
2. Museums - many have a Free Day weekly or monthly. They also offer free or low-cost educational programs from time to time. It may be worth buying a membership so you can take advantage of the members-only benefits.
   When we lived in California, we looked at different museums’ membership programs. Sometimes you could find a lower cost membership somewhere that had reciprocity at more expensive museums. So be sure to look around and compare costs and advantages if you have multiple museums nearby. And in case unschooling is new for you and you’re not sure why you’d want to spend the money - think of the science, history and geography that comes from these museums!  It’s worth the investment - after all you’re not paying for a big curriculum package that’s just going to sit on the shelf. 
3. Recreation Centers nearby offer classes for kids too. If art isn’t your thing, but your kids love it, maybe that would be something to check out. 
4. Parks. Find out where all the parks are in your community and schedule time to play at each one. Big parks as well as little obscure spots in neighborhoods. Find out what they like and don’t like with each. Soon, you’ll have your favorites.
5. Hike/Bike Trails. While you’re outside, where are the hiking or biking trails? They’re free! Even if you’re not super athletic, a stroll along easy trails will give you opportunities to talk about details of what you’re seeing. And that’s a ton of science and math! Plants, animals, weather, distance… so many topics are springing up around you!
6. Farmers Markets and local Festivals give you opportunities to expand their world more, learning a little about the agricultural or even entrepreneurial sides of your community. What produce is in season? What festival themes are chosen and why?
7. Dollar Movie Theatres or matinees offer the movie theatre experience at a much lower price. And remember, movies bring languages arts opportunities with story or character development as well as the discussion afterwards.
   
8. Get Connected. It might be worth starting up your own local group to give kids an opportunity to play with others who share their interests. When they’re little, it can be simply playing together at a park on a certain day. As they get older, it may be more topic driven or “field trip” oriented. You just need a couple of core families who will come, then others will too. Sometimes you can post on a FB group something like, “My 10 year old loves… jewelry making, tree-climbing, playing board games - anyone else?  Creating groups like this can provide a support system for both you and the kids. It’s also a great way to share resources and ideas for low-cost learning activities. Networking within your community may open doors for future jobs for them as they get older. All three of my kids did various formal and informal apprenticeships that led to paid work down the road.
   

Unschooling is a great way for children to learn and grow on their own terms - you know that!
And, with a little creativity and resourcefulness, it can be done on a tight budget!

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That's it from me for this week. Enjoy your kids, Happy Unschooling and we'll talk again soon.

~Sue