Step 1: Buck the system.
Step 2: Do whatever the heck you want.
Okay, but what does a rogue homeschool actually look like? And how does one go about doing the unconventional?
What you probably don’t want to hear is that I can’t answer that for you. Homeschoolers are as diverse as they come. Within the homeschool community there are a multitude of styles and preferences for how to go about education, everywhere from a school room and curriculum that mimics the local school to moms who write their own curriculum, or don’t use one at all.
The Unconventional Homeschooler
When we first started homeschooling I couldn’t even fathom that some moms WROTE their own curriculum. How is that even possible?! What it took me a few years to realize is that they weren’t writing out a year-long, day by day teacher’s guide for every single subject. (Maybe there’s some who have that much time and motivation – who knows.) What these moms are doing is creating a plan for how to go about their year – what subjects to study, which books will complement it, where they’ll conduct their research, movies to watch, field trips to take, discussion questions, etc.. Generally they aren’t creating 9 months worth of worksheets.
Other families don’t use curriculum at all, or only purchase materials that will assist in what their children are interested in learning. The really cool thing about kids is that they are naturally curious. They pick up all sorts of quirky interests and will often deep dive into those subjects when given the time and space to do so. It’s the unconventional homeschooler who makes the effort to support those areas of study, and allow it to take over. Mom planned on reading a book about DNA today, but one kid wanted to bake cookies, and another wanted to fix his skateboard? That’s a great opportunity to put mom’s plans on hold and let the children learn for themselves.
Taking Off Your Blinders
These are some of the moms (and dads) who said, “what’s expected isn’t for us,” and chose a new, less trodden path. They’ve paved their own way – one that’s free of expectations. Free of the norm. They’ve opted to take off the blinders that tell the world, “this is what education looks like” and made a hard right, instead. You don’t have to write your own curriculum to be an unconventional homeschooler, but it is one option.
The hardest part of moving forward with true freedom in homeschool is walking away from everything you know and were taught, and finding your own unique road. Accepting that your life and education might look nothing like anyone else’s, and being perfectly okay with that. It’s okay to let go. It’s okay to start over. It’s okay to be different. Trust in the Lord, and lean not on your own understanding. He just might lead you somewhere unexpected, and better than you could have ever imagined.
Making the Change
For a lot of families, coming around to what many would view as an Unschooling way of educating doesn’t happen overnight. I’ve heard from countless moms who started off one way, and ended up finding freedom in letting go.
Our story was very similar, beginning our homeschool journey in a fashion that most people probably assume when they envision homeschool. It took time – many years of shedding layers of the only education system I even knew, and realizing that it didn’t have to be that way. It took trust to start letting go of my need to control all of the details, and allow my children to show me where they could thrive. It’s still a work in progress. It always will be. But how beautiful to watch our babies grow in confidence and joy because they’re learning what they love and will carry them through life. And because we aren’t bogged down with learning that won’t matter years from now, we have more time to enjoy our family and friends (and of course to go adventuring!).
If you think you’re ready for something new, don’t wait. Just start. Even if you have no clue exactly what you want, give one new thing a try. Make small changes and see what works. Drop what doesn’t. And most importantly, ask your children what they enjoy. Find out what they want to learn about. Observe them and suggest new subjects you think might bring about new passions. Go on an adventure. Travel. Take field trips. Spend time with other homeschool families. Read books together. Watch movies. Cook dinner. Fix something that’s broken… try it all. There’s no wrong way to start the journey toward being an unconventional homeschooler. The only wrong way, is to not start at all.
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