Homeschool? Unschool?

Question

Do you really do much school work?

Do you have a schedule?

Does anyone unschool?

Answer 1

Hello,

Yes I am unschooled and have many friends that also do.  Unschooling and Homeschooling can be very different. Unschoolers do not have any school work or have a schedule. Homeschoolers may have them. There are many websites with more info. Here is some info from Wikipedia.

Unschooling is a form of education in which learning is based on the student's interests, needs, and goals. It may be alternatively referred to as natural learning, child-led learning, discovery learning, delight-led learning, or child-directed learning.

Unschooling is generally considered to be a form of home education, which is simply the education of children at home rather than in a school. Home education is often considered to be synonymous with homeschooling, but some have argued that the latter term implies the recreation of school in the context of the home, which they believe is philosophically at odds with unschooling.

Unschooling contrasts with other forms of home education in that the student's education is not directed by a teacher and curriculum. Although unschooling students may choose to make use of teachers or curricula, they are ultimately in control of their own education. Students choose how, when, why, and what they pursue. Parents who unschool their children act as "facilitators," providing a wide range of resources, helping their children access, navigate, and make sense of the world, and aiding them in making and implementing goals and plans for both the distant and immediate future. Unschooling expands from children's natural curiosity as an extension of their interests, concerns, needs, goals, and plans.

Answer 2

We unschool.

No schedule, no schoolwork.

We learn by living life.  Everything is educational, from books to TV, to Playstation, to museums, to trips to NYC or Washington DC, travel in our RV, build forts in the back yard, ride horses, and on and on.

Learning is fun and not a chore, and is relevant to life, not an abstract concept that isn't important in their lives.  If they need to know it, they will learn it.

My job as parent is to make sure they live full lives with opportunities to explore their world.  No curriculum required.

Answer 3

We do natural learning which is a lot like what they call unschooling, but I don't like to call it that because what we do is a far cry from a school and unschooling. We all learn on a daily basis. We continue to learn our entire lives. My Daughter has no worksheets, she reads the books she enjoys and has interest in, we go places that she is interested in, no homework, no curriculum, no schedule, and pretty much learns from everyday life experiences. We take every opportunity and learn about it. Say for instance when we had these heavy rains our park across the street filled up like a Lake. We saw all these interesting birds. She decided she wanted to know what they were. We got a closer look, she took pictures, she drew pictures of them, looked them up on the internet and studied them. Now where ever we go she keeps her fieldguide with her so we can look them up as we see them. Children love to learn and please at a young age and if you give them the tools they will learn. The trick is to make learning fun and interesting so they will continue to want to learn.

Answer 4

Don' be homeschooled!

It's horrible....

I made the wrong choice....

=)

Answer 5

What is unschool?

I was homeschooled up until high school and yes we had a schedule.  As homeschoolers we had to choose a curriculum and take tests and log our scores and even take standardized testing and physical fitness testing every year.  Its not a game, my mother worked overtime to homeschool my sister and I the right way.  Our schedule HOWEVER was much more relaxed in the sense that we could choose our daily schedule as long as certain tests and chapters got done by the end of the day/week, depending on importance.  But just like regular school, will-power and motivation are a big factor so if the work isn't done by the afternoon then you don't feel like doing it, and thats why we tended to do school in the morning just like everyone else.  

I LOVED homeschooling but I only recommend it if the whole family is committed and if you live in a community that has homeschooling support groups and sports teams and stuff.

Answer 6

Good for you for asking!!

Curiosity is the root of the very best learning!

Lots of people unschool.

Actually most homeschooling families that I know started out planning to do a structured "school at home" and ended up relaxing into the more people friendly version of "sort of unschooling". "School at home" is the fastest route to burnout that I can think of.

The school system does a great job of doing "school". Why on earth would you take it home and do a poor shadow of that? Being home educated opens up the entire world for learning and enjoyment. There is no good reason to be stuck to specific books, schedules or learning methods unless they work really well for you.

What exactly is school work?

Who said that these specific subjects are the only ones that matter? And only these small pieces of those subjects? Who can genuinely put an exact number on the age by you which must be able to read? They do that in school, where if a kid can't read yet, he'll be left behind and cause teaching problems. It doesn't have anything to do with what is, in fact. right for that unique child.

Assuming that something is right just because it has always been done that way or because every one else is doing it is a poor way to lead your life. Look at it for yourself. Make an informed and logical decision that works for you and your family.

We have homeschooled all 3 of my kids for the last 6 years and they love it and have become fascinating people who are delightful to be around.

Answer 7

My 9th grader is homeschooled and does anywhere from 6 - 10 hours of work per week day.  He has homework, tests, projects, participates in clubs, community service and other activities.

College prep courses + apprenticeship work.

Answer 8

I am homeschooled, I do it through a program for California I have teachers and I do one lesson a day for each of my 5 courses!

Then take a 3-4 question quiz. After I finish the unit I take a big test on what I learned.

Have plenty of friends, and I don't plan on shooting up any schools. =)

Answer 9

Homeschooling and unschooling will look different in every family.  Here's some information on unschooling for you:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Hope this helps!

Answer 10

I do kind of a combination of traditional structured homeschooling and unschooling. Really though you  might call it all unschooling because I do the traditional sit-down textbook work by choice. Yes,I do quite a bit of work, and I am usually very much ahead of my public schooled age mates. I don't have a schedule in the sense you're probably thinking. (8-8:15 silent reading, 8:16-8:45  algebra, etc etc) but I do have a self imposed guideline. I have due dates... some I impose upon myself, and some given to me by parents, teachers/people in the community (braille, ALS, music, mobility, people I volunteer for, teachers of people I tutor, etc) and some big due dates that are both self imposed and given to me by an outside person at the same time... A good example would be the dates by which I need to be fully prepared for the SAT and SAT II subject tests. I also have certain days that I can do certain things, and so I schedule everything around this. I have Braille and Mobility on Tuesday a. Ifternoons, so I plan my week in such a way so thatI h ave the afternoon free on tuesdays, and do the work that I might miss that day on another day. Wednesday mornings I volunteer at the local senior center, and the same rule applies. I usually do lots of computer science related work on Fridays and Saturdays because those are the days I get to spend the most time with friends of mine who are avid programmers. I also travel quite frequently, especially now that I'm able to travle alone to visit far-away friends and check out out-of-town colleges. Of course, if I'm going to be away for a long peroid of time I will bring all of my school work with me so I can still work durring down time. The point I'm trying to make is that I do have a schedule, but it's really more of a general guide line, and it flexible enough to meet my needs as they change over time.