Homeschool for Beginners: Unschooling Method
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- Опубліковано 14 сер 2024
- Learn more about what unschooling is all about. How do you do it? Is it legal? How is it different from traditional school? In this video, I share about one of the methods for homeschooling- the unschooling method.
Subscribe to my channel for more videos like this: / @bethpavlik
Welcome! If you're new around here, I have a whole series of videos for homeschooling beginners! In this video, I share about the Unschooling method.
In this method, parents let their children lead and let them choose what they want to learn. The belief is that children are naturally curious about the world without anyone teaching them how to be, and they will learn so much just by what they choose to learn about.
Parents are there to support their kids in whatever they want to learn about by providing resources or places to visit to learn more.
Time codes:
0:00 Intro
0:38 What is unschooling?
1:02 Welcome to Teach From Home/ subscribe
1:30 Throw out the traditional school model
2:50 What unschooling looks like
4:49 Parents’ role in unschooling
5:26 The goal of unschooling
7:27 Example of unschooling in my homeschool
8:31 What unschoolers understand about learning
9:10 What I agree with about unschooling
9:23 Two unschooling book recommendations
10:00 Subscribe, leave a comment
Here's my whole unschooling playlist: tinyurl.com/42...
Here are two books that would be helpful to read if you're interested in learning more about this method:
How Children Learn: amzn.to/3lsrq2T
Teach Your Own: amzn.to/3j9RGfI
My favorite curriculum options:
Reading and phonics: www.allaboutle...
Science: www.apologia.com?a_aid=5f5806b82bb80
Math: www.apologia.com?a_aid=5f5806b82bb80 and mathusee.com/p...
History and geography: welltrainedmin...
Spanish: tinyurl.com/jt...
Watch my most recent videos: / teachfromhomebeth
I have been homeschooling for the last 6 years. Over the years I’ve been called and called to Unschooling but I have been too afraid to change. Your words were exactly what I needed to hear at just the right time. We have been stuck in a rut and I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong and now I know I need to follow my heart. Unschooling Day 1 begins tomorrow. Thank you for helping me gather the courage.
I'm so happy for you, Nicole! Always listen to your heart and what you know will be best for your family.
This is such a breath of fresh air to know I’m not alone. That our kids can learn so many traits and skills when they aren’t confined to what we think they need to learn. I love that your son loves meteorology
I was unschooled except I did learn how to read and write and do basic math. When it came to every other study, I was encouraged to follow my passion, which was history.
After 14 years of trying every other method, we’ve landed at unschooling. I love it so much. Our 6, 8, and 13 year olds are thriving with this method. I wish I could have a do over with our oldest who is now 21, and unschool him too!
I love to hear this! I’m so happy you found what worked best for you and your kids. ❤️
@Redefined Homeschool -What things do you find that your children drawn towards learning? I am new to homeschooling and want to take the unschooling approach. My children are 6, 6, 9, 11 and 13
Same thing happened with my babies. My two eldest, have told the youngest, how lucky they are. ❤️Live & learn. When we know better, we do better.
@@empress1371 my younger two love to build things so I make sure they have plenty of tools for building. Their favorite thing is Brain Flakes. My 8 year old loves music and has an imagination like no other and my 6 year old is very crafty and enjoys baking. The 13 year old loves animals, nature, and cars. Allowing a ton of free play is so beneficial for their brains.
The best thing to do is to retrain your own mind. What we’re told is learning, isn’t the only way, that’s just lies from the world that places so much value on traditional school. If my son loves learning about cars, that has way more value for him personally than forcing Literature down his throat would. We need to learn to value our children’s interests more than valuing a system that has failed so many people.
Hi...this is alot like my story...I am considering unschooling finally too...how can I talk to personally..? I need some advice please
This is what we do, I do have them so a little math sometimes just to keep them sharp. But they learn what they want, I have found out from my experience I can't force them to learn something they don't want to. When I told them that the plan is to buy a sailboat in a couple years after some full-time RVing my youngest daughter learned a crap tone about scuba diving and all the different sea creatures. It was cool! we are planning on learning lots of different history from the places we visit.
Thanks for sharing your experience. How exciting to go RVing! I've wanted to try that for a few years now.
Love it! We are unschoolers…I can’t say it hasn’t been without challenges, but I truly believe this is the best way to raise confident, happy children 💞
We can do hard things, right?! Good for you! 👏🏼
Dear, you have explained so accurately what we've been doing all this while with our kids, but have been so unsure. And after watching this video, I am so much more confident about myself as an unschooling parent! Woohoo. Thanks a ton.
I’m so happy to know I helped you feel more confident in yourself as an unschooling parent. Thank you for your thoughtful message. ❤️
Same. There has been a lot of pressure lately
I understand more now than I did when I was a kid. My son wanted to learn about fractions and I was worried because I remember learning about fractions in school and not understanding it. But as an adult and I returned to fractions to teach my son, I picked it up very quickly.
I was surprised how easy fractions are and how back when I was a kid, they were so hard for me. I unschooling myself while unschooling my own kids.🙂
Same here! I have a lot of people (who's kids are in traditional school) ask about "well, what if they want to go to university or become a lawyer, engineer, doctor, etc? They should be studying higher math and sciences NOW to prepare them." But i have found time and again that my kids actually learn the things they need as they advance in a particular interest very easily, usually bc they are older and pick up subjects way faster, they have learned *how to learn* for themselves by following their own interests and curiosity so much, and if it is something directly related to their interest then they will eventually want to learn it bc it means they can understand their interest subject more. I am not at all worried my kids won't be able to become an engineer if they aren't mastering fractions in the 4th grade.
Thanks for sharing this! Yes, you absolutely redeem your own education when you homeschool your kids. You’ll learn so much that you didn’t learn as a child by teaching it to you kids. I’m so happy to hear it’s working out for you.
I have done the same! I hated school and I've never cared about it. Fast forward to now and I'm learning more now, than I ever have. To me, learning comes with maturity too. I didn't attempt school until I was a junior. Then I was always straight As and high Bs before that I failed everything. I enjoy learning new things as an adult now.
Same here. My kids are learning fractions now. And I had to learn myself and understand it cuz I have time and not pressured to understand it. They take their time learning and if we have to stay on something for awhile we do.
@@BethPavlik now my son is 12 and this is his second year being homeschooled. I didn’t realize how he couldn’t read and I’m starting him over again with it all. So not putting a grade on it is great. Cuz he’s going to the 7th but people are expecting him to learn as a 7th grader and some things he can and others things he learns as a 1-3 grader. Thanks for this video. I think next year is going to be different for us. However I do need some kind of curriculum because I work at the same time. But the kids do teach themselves. Something they struggle with I’m there to help them learn. And I love that I don’t have to rush them. Like if in public school. Where the teacher would give 1 week to learn fractions. They take all the time they need cuz it’s no pressure. I do grade them on things to see how well they learned this and that but it’s no stress on them. My son and daughter hated reading and now they love it. Found a library in another city from ours and they love to go there
I do a hybrid approach both traditional and unschooling depending on the subject and season. Great video. I so appreciate everything you had to say and it further validates my choice to incorporate this approach.
I’m so happy that you found an approach that works best for your family! ❤️
Haven't started yet. But I plan on doing a hybrid as well. But I believe it's just to help me kind of keep track what they are learning and keeping them at least age appropriate learning or above if they choose too.
I just started this and love it! I do math/LA curriculum and then they get to pick the rest based off interest. I do assign things that they would like but need some extra motivation to do sometimes too.
My question is this, my 13 year old grandson is totally into video games. How can we get him interested in other things when that is his passion?
@@inscoredbz This is my question also
This eases my mind. I'm going for a bit of mix with no strict time constraints. I've been so worried about "messing up". In my quest to unlearn traditional teaching, I've learned I can't actually mess up. Tfs.
So true! Just focus on your child and you will do great!
Wow! I just chose my homeschooling style! 💯 Thank you for this!
Yay!! So happy for you!
The first time I heard of Unschooling, I KNEW it was how I wanted to approach learning for my son. Thank you for this great explanation. I'm subscribed!!!
Happy to have you here, Carol! I’m so happy you found what will work best for you and your son.
Our first year of homeschooling, we didn't deschool and jumped straight into formal work. In hindsight, it was no different than the public school experience as far as structure. The second year just came to a close, and we unschooled the entire time, with the agreement that we'll continue MAP testing for record keeping purposes. We had so much fun, and I learned so much from my 6th grader! Going into 7th grade, we're planning the curriculum together to create a hybrid plan of sort. For my family, this experience made learning fun again! Also, I mentioned grades just for story telling purposes, we've decided not to tie his education to a specific grade level, only educational milestones.
That’s what I was thinking. My kids love progress reports and they love report cards. They like to see where they are in their learning. But we don’t ground them or punish them to do better. We discuss how we can further help them.
How do you handle high school transcripts for college?
Yes this is what I’m doing. They love getting progress reports and report cards and the love the grading but I don’t see it as important. My son is going to 7th and he still does 4 and 5 grade work. Some 6th grade. When we move on from something it’s when I do test him to see if he knows and once he shows me he does we move on.
Thanks for this video. I have daughters who are 7 and 9. They both started in traditional school in kinder, my 9 stayed up to grade 1 then home school up grade 2 and 3 with curriculum. My 7 yr started homeschool after kinder, then after a year unschooling. Then we decided to do homeschool for the both of they up until last school year. But I think I am now ready to embrace unschooling full time and I explained to my daughters that by next year it is all unschooling and they are both excited. Both of them already sharing what they want to learn. This video is really motivational for parents to who want to switch to unschooling.
So happy for your family, Michael! Thank you for the feedback.
When I was younger I was a troubled kid and I was never in school I never learn much. When i wanted to come back to school no one would take me. Then I came across a teacher who encourage to study my interest as I did not fit in in the classroom. I think she tried to do this. But When she left I did not trust other school so I did not try to get back to education until I was an adult. However now I know how to learn. As that was what she taught us. Not so much knowledge but how to learn and get the knowledge I need. I know that we need to know basic things but I do believe that if you I still a love for learning we would come to understand that we need the basic in order to go further with our learning.
Thank you for sharing your story, Athena! I love how your teacher taught you how to learn- not what to learn- and follow your own interests. The love for learning is definitely what you need above all.
I just started homeschooling my oldest this year and have had the best time! Love the unschool method!
Yay!! Welcome to homeschooling. 🤗
My daughter is in 10th an I am pulling her out. I am just so confused as to what to do. I live in NY
As an unschooled kid. Unschooling is pretty cool. But it’s also kind of stressful for me because all the responsibility of trying to become someone who can actually get a job and survive and stuff, is all on my shoulders. I’m actually ahead of most students my age. But even if I know how to get a good result on a test. I’m not sure if I’m mentally capable of going to work every day and just being bored with no entertainment for hours. That’s why I’m starting high school next year. To prove to myself that I can do it without getting depressed and stuff.
@@Mike_3060 sounds like your environment was set up for you to have lots of free access to technology, is that correct?
@@VeganKatieFaye yup. The internet has taught me basically everything I know. Btw since I made this comment I have completed my first year of high school so I guess I’m gonna be fine after all.
@@Mike_3060 that’s wonderful to hear! I’m so happy for you.
Really enjoyed your video. We are an unschool family and enjoy seeing our children learn naturally. Our boys are also into studying the weather
Thanks for watching! Yay!! I love to hear how other families enjoy letting their kids learn naturally. 💖
This video has been so helpful! I’ve been stressing about my decision to homeschool my son. He didn’t start talking until he was 4, so he still struggles some with communication at 5. I was scared to put him in public school, I didn’t start him this year because of it. He loves to learn though and knows so much. He’s already reading, writing, adding/subtracting, multiplying, knows all of this shapes that I learned in middle school, and so much more. I’ve been doing the unschooling method without knowing it, I think this is going to be great for us! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
I feel this style can be very engaging and strengthen parent /child relationship
God blessed these children. My daughter is 5 years old and my son is 2 years old I can’t wait to home school them. Our children and life is very supportive, education our children are the world
Thanks for watching.
A real education comes from life experience 👏👏👏
Exactly!
My child has decided to opt for home schooling, but both my wife and I are lecturers at the higher education so this is a whole new experience for us. We are mindful not to introduce things that are way too advanced for our 11 years old, at the same time encouraging curiosities and nurture interest exactly like what you are describing. I am now subscribed to your channel and would like to thank you for your sharing and look forward to your new posts. Ed from Herts, UK
The idea behind Self-directed learning is so important to me, that even moving to a country that allows and accepts it is a wise decision a parent can make for his child.
This is the method I want to use with my 3 year-old. I had doubts about it since the TV would always be on, and even though he loves playing, he would often get distracted by something on TV. For the past couple of days, my wife and I decided to keep the TV off the entire day and it has been amazing. My son hasn't stopped for one second with the many activities that we would offer but that would get sidelined by what was on TV. Even for us grown ups, no TV has meant us gathering in the early evening, before his bath time, playing the piano, reading a book in the living room and interacting.
I love this!! Tv is SUCH a big distraction. I struggle with it in my home too. It is amazing what happens when we shut it off.
It's so worth it. Our TV has been "broken" for the past month and it's been awesome.
Love this video. I am a first yr homeschool mom to a 5th grader. While I don't plan on doing the unschooling method, I do have a goal to get my son working more independently. Sine we are new to this, I have been sitting with my son through everything but I am now realizing he can do more on his own!
Michelle, I still sit with *my* 5th grade son and go through everything with him, if that’s any encouragement! Finding your groove with homeschooling will take a while so don’t be afraid to try new ways of doing things until you both look forward to each homeschool day. But yes, giving them more freedom to take the reins with what they learn is so good for their independence. Thanks for watching! :)
@@BethPavlik Thank you for sharing that with me.. it is encouraging :) We are finding our way and every week I feel less pressure with letting some things go and knowing what to focus more on etc.
That’s awesome! It sounds like you’re off to a great start.
Yes i did have a checklist on the fridge that the state sends me then i went online and had a more in depth checklist. Now that shes in first grade i still have a checklist
I took my son out of school this Chrismtas break! We will be unschooling and I couldn't be more thrilled about it. He is excited but states he will miss seeing his friends. That is the toughest part of homeschooling to a kid who was a part of the public system. Deschooling is going to be interesting!
How's it going?
I absolutely LOVE your walk-thru of unschooling! You really get it :D We have unschooled for 10 years and love it. Would love to hear what your own hesitancies are as you sound like a big fan of it! x x
Thank you so much! The reason why I’m not 100% unschool is because I do choose what subjects my kids learn in the end. I choose our read aloud, I choose what history we will study, I choose our field trips, etc. Half of the time I am leading them in learning that I choose for them and the other half of the time we are pursuing what they want to learn. Now when I choose our curriculum and what we learn about, I always take my kids’ interests and learning styles into account, so that’s still in school-like. I would describe myself as unschool/Charlotte Mason/classical :)
@@BethPavlik cool :D
Thank you for this informative video. I’m a nursery school teacher 3-5yr olds. Although we are a school and have a schedule, we do our best to lean into what our children are interested in as a whole group and individual. Thank you for sharing your experience and reminding me why we are a child centered school.
I was having a hard time trying to figure out how I was going to teach my child from home. I know that I didn't want to force him into a schedule. I know I'd like a routine for him, but not a "public school" routine. Thank you for all of this information. I will read how children learn and work towards some unschooling with a bit of the curriculum that I ordered already for him to start.
Good luck to you!!
@@BethPavlik Thank you. First day was a success!
Thank you, I needed this video. I've always believed that children are their own best teachers. They are born little scientists. I just didn't know it had a name. I want to transition to homeschooling, but I'm not sure how to start or what I need to do. My kids are only 7 5 and 3 so I don't think it will be too difficult to make the change. I need guidance.
I’m thinking of homeschooling my youngest this was helpful
I’m so glad it was helpful! Good luck to you!
Go for it! I’m homeschooling 4 children.
@@TMari333 I’m thinking of homeschooling (unschooling) my 5 children! Ages 6, 6, 9, 11 & 13. Any tips or advice?
@@empress1371 Yes! Educate ur self as much as you can about the different methods of homeschooling. Have some sort of structure but don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Find a curriculum that works for you and your kids also utilize ur public library most of them offer free tutoring programs that’s what I have to do since I’m not the best in math. Main thing is just keep a log book of what ur children are learning each day. Please remember to work at ur family’s pace because ur not going to master it in the first year. Homeschool takes time. Also if ur worried about cps just make sure that you have a hand written plan for your kids home school curriculum and never lose any work that they do. Hours also include any UA-cam documentary’s that they watch, Printable reading logs is another easy way to keep track of any hours spent reading. If any of that is too much you could also try the u schooling method of home school where you don’t have to have a set amount of hours. You don’t have to follow a curriculum and it’s child led learning based on their own individual interest. I hope this helps!! You’ve got this!!
@@empress1371 also make it fun!! UA-cam has been my best friend so has workbooks that I’ve gotten from Amazon it’s also another way of keeping track that’s not too intrusive while taking care of the fam!
I loved your suggestions for unschooled parents.thank you from India
I’m happy to help!
Thank you for supporting unschooling Self-directed learning. You have explained this concept so well. Self-directed learning is just the most natural, healthy and respectful way for kids to grow. Sadly not accepted in most EU countries 😢.
Thanks, Annie. What part of the EU are you in?
This was best explained unschool. Teach to research. Everyone else just went out to defend themselves.. thank u.. ill look up those books.
You’re welcome! I’m glad it was helpful.
Really helpful video for me. I’m 14 and I am suffering at school. I have severe BDD and it’s not helping. I also feel everything at school is a drag, and none of it is what I am interested in. Thanks! 👍
I’m so sorry to hear about your suffering at school. I really hope things get better for you!
@@BethPavlik Thank you but my mum isn’t completely for it yet. She’s worrying about GCSE’s but I told her it’s very relaxed and we can take them whenever :)
My child is 2, I love this unschooling method very much....my other 2 kids hated school
I'm thinking about this for my almost kindergartner. He's only 4 and he's an avid reader and loves math. Far beyond colors and shapes. Thanks for this
You’re welcome!
Thank you. Very informative and full of resources. Trying unschooling. I like the books aswell. Very informative
You’re welcome! Good luck 👍🏻
We do a combo of child-led and parent-initiated in our home because we want our kids to be fully well-rounded and ready for secondary education (ie. college) if they so choose that path. If left to their own devices, our kids would not get the level of math required for college entrance, so we set the goal for the children to have at least Algebra 1 under their belts. From there they can choose to do more math or not, but that is what we consider to be a minumim level. We front loaded math early on so that by the time our kids turned 14 or 15, they would have already taken Algebra 1. That means that for their "high school years", they could choose more subjects that are of interest to them without the "worry" of getting in more math if they didn't want to take it any longer.
We also front-loaded grammar/language arts early on, and as a result both of our children tested "off the charts" on a standardized grammar exam by the time they were 12 (ie. they surpassed grade 12 level skills). This is likely because the exams themselves are not terribly difficult. As a former educator who has administered these exams, I'd say that the grammar /LA portion of the CAT never advances in level beyond an 8th grade level. In other words, the language arts portion of the exam for an 11th grader is pretty much identical to that on the 8th grade exam.
Since both kids have math and language arts under their belts, they can spend their "high school years" pursuing their own passions, firm in the knowledge that they could very likely pass a college entrance exam if needed/desired.
i have sent my 8 yr old to school agaun after 3 yrs of homeschooling...she said i dont understand how u tell me math.. that broke my heart.but was doing fine and understanding it.
This still remains a challenge to us.. but thanks much for the input
I wish I knew this from day 1. I'm now unschooling what a major difference
I always thought what you described here was called delight directed learning, now I have to go look up the difference between the two! 😄 We used this to help our oldest several years back and it did ignite a love of learning for him. I need to incorporate more time for this into our homeschool weeks. I've been reading Teach Your Own by Holt. It's interesting!
I will say I did discover a couple uses for grading. One of course is for high school transcripts. The other is to give the kids motivation to do their best. Other than that they really don't help with much else.
I do believe they are the same thing! Sometimes it's called self-directed learning, too. I started reading Teach Your Own but did not finish it because it was due back at the library. lol Another helpful book that I've read is Dumbing us Down by John Taylor Gatto.
Yes, I can see how grades in high school can be useful for transcripts. I haven't gotten to that point in our homeschool yet. :) Thanks for sharing!
I'm new but have been researching for awhile. I am starting to unschool and reading John holt and John gatto right now.
Yes!! Good for you. 👏🏼
I would've helped my kid build a little sonar-based radar with an arduino board. This is really cool!
The possibilities are endless when we choose to follow our kids’ lead!
My plan is to Unschool for half the day and a couple of co-op classes. just have to get a full understanding
We are brand new to homeschooling and I cannot begin to tell you how much stress has been lifted by learning about the unschooling approach to homeschooling! I felt like I was going to drive myself crazy with all of these curriculums, workbooks, textbooks etc! Our children are 6, 6, 9, 11 and 13 and we will definitely be using the unschooling approach for their learning. Not sure how it will work with my 13yr old as she is approaching high school next year. Any advice on that please feel free to share! Thank you so much for this valuable content! Definitely subscribing to your channel!
Hi! I’m so glad the video was helpful to you. With your 13-year old, I would definitely have conversations with her about what she’s thinking she wants to pursue after high school- does she want to go to college or do an internship somewhere? If she doesn’t know right now, that’s ok, but it would be good to start thinking about that so that she can decide what she wants/needs to focus on.
@@BethPavlik awesome! Thank you so much!
My 4 yo has talked for months about China, he can tell you about air travel to China, the capital, animals, etc. It’s so amazing to see and hear what he’s interested in!
YES!!! That’s awesome!
How do you document a school day by unschooling with state laws? I love this video so much! My kids love being outside and I just see the light go out of their eyes when we do worksheets inside by making them learn something I picked for the day.
Unschoolers can definitely document what they learn even though they unschool. They’re still learning things that other kids are learning, just in different ways. Yes, the goal of unschooling is to keep that light in their eyes when we’re learning!
@@BethPavlik ty!!’ I was scared about the laws as well! Not sure how to tell my daughters school I want to take her out and still have her learn what she wants to learn 😍👍🏼
@@BethPavlik Can you please give some hints as to how to document learning?
I'm brand new and wondering what the point of homeschooling is if you AREN'T doing it this way lol love it. So excited
I'm so excited for you, Kasey!!
Thank you for the video I’m new to homeschooling this has given me more direction ! God bless
You’re welcome! Welcome to homeschooling 🤗
This sounds a bit similar to Montessori , child led approach to learning, but the environment is prepared for them to chose and materials are provided but the child chooses what to do.
Yes, they do have similarities.
This sounds interesting. It sounds like it's child-led, which is great when they're young. How does it evolve when they get into the higher elementary grades when they need to know math & English well by middle school?
Thank you so much for this concise and right on information!
You are so welcome! 🤗
Learning Reading and writing is actually concern ..how they learn own their own
Great question! I discuss those things in this video: ua-cam.com/video/V9rtpWlQxuQ/v-deo.html
We are starting unschooling this week. My son is so different and hapoy for once:). We pulled him 3.5 years ago. Did relaxed homeschooling while he was able to come ul with interests besides games. This year after 3 years he has asked to learn about things :) he fi ally wants to do something differenr and his eyes just lit up when i said we are doing this. He destressed:)
Congratulations! How exciting.
Excellent video!
Thank you
Content of this video: totally relatable.
Thanks! What parts did you resonate with the most?
@@BethPavlik Grades really are useless. They aren't the same as actual knowlege. I only care about my grades for 2 reasons. The post-secondary institutions look at them, and high grades (80% or higher) make me feel better. If none of these were the case, I would not care at all. Overall, I only care about understanding the content in class. In grade 10 science, I received multiple choice a lot for the test of each unit. A lot of the time, the scores I got on them were kinda low. When we looked over them with a tutor, we found out that the scores had almost nothing to do with the content.
Hello there and thank you for eases my mind I really did enjoy your video .I'm very new with the homeschooling
You’re welcome, Shanae. I’m glad to hear it eased your mind.
I'm just curious.. Do they end up with a school diploma? Everything now days is so strict .. I watched a 21 yr old get turned down for a job at a 7-11 gas station for not completing his education.
I taught in a 1 room schoolhouse for 7 years ...i was raised amish and taught amish school!!! I now have a 17 month old daughter which i will teach myself so this is really cool and really interesting!!! I give her flashcards ( abc, colors and shapes, sight words, animal , and number flashcards) she wants to do them all the time she will go over to the flashcard drawer and go moo moo !!! I read to her too ...a lot ...bible in the morning and other books throughout the day!!! She loves every minute ....singing as well !!! Any other suggestions of things her age that i could do ???
Thanks for sharing your background! It sounds like you’re doing awesome with your little one. In addition to what you’re doing, you could add sensory play, art, outings, and in general just lots of varied experiences for her to explore. Have fun!
My only issue with any kinda of home school is social skills. I've been wanting to unschool my children but family thinks I'm crazy... which I probably am but not for wanting homeschooling. My biggest issue with regular school is forced to "learn" useless information and forced agendas.
Well, I wouldn’t worry about social skills. Homeschooling does mean that we keep our kids in the house during normal school hours and never see anyone else. My kids do sports, are a part of clubs, we’ve participated in multiple co-ops, we routinely go out to various places like the store, the library, museums, parks, and interact with others. My kids have also taken music lessons in the past and been involved in activities through our church. The truth is, homeschooled kids have MUCH more chances for socialization than kids who are in school with the same kids of the exact same age for 9 months out of the year.
And yes, I have the same issue with useless information- along with many other things - of traditional school.
I don’t think you’re crazy for wanting to unschool. If you feel like it’s the best choice for your kids, don’t worry about what others think about it. You are the parent, it’s your decision. Good luck!
Don't worry what your family think cause In 15 years the last thing you want to look back on is regret. You'll have a better relationship with your kid.
I’m totally new to this. It sounds interesting and makes a lot of sense. I think I would consider a combination of unschooling and Charlotte mason...
Sounds great! Do what works best for you and your kids. You might play around with it for a while to find the right groove. Good luck!
Thanks so much,this is the best video ever.
Thank you! I’m glad it was helpful to you. 😊
Thank you I'm trying to start our own program for unschooling. And I'm trying to do it while my local public school is constantly calling cps and the cops on me over it.
Wow, Crystyl, way to go! I'm so sorry you're having trouble with the public school people. If you've looked up your state's laws and you are abiding by them, the school can do nothing.
You provide amazing tools for parents! Have you considered sharing Spanish learning tools as well?
We would love to partner with you! ❤️
Let's talk! teachfromhomebeth@gmail.com
@@BethPavlik for sure! I will email you in a minute!
@@SpanishAcademyTV how was it.
I’m curious how best to introduce them to things for them to be curious about. This topic seems reasonable but seems like they should still be led to different topics. How would they know they’re interested in learning rhetoric or logic or government or electrical circuits or medicine? Those things don’t just come up in the play room so I don’t totally understand the child led concept.
My kid was the same at 5! He studied extreme weather (Tsunamis were king!) Lol, which led to landmarks which led to geography...
My experience with unschooling is very much like "If you give a mouse a cookie. . ." LOL You never know where it's going to lead when you let your kids' minds go!
Amazing video, I have a baby girl due in 4 months. There is a lot of things I want to do the untraditional way but the “natural” way… I hope I get can get my girlfriend in the same page because I’m stuck working a job half the day…
I hated the fact that school didn't give my daughter extra math attention, instead pushed all the leg work to us after school. When we re knackered and tired after work, so that's why we're home schooling and utilising our day time energy for our kids. This unschooling method might just be the ticket!
How do you start unschooling exactly? Is the paper work that I need to file. Or do I just start unschooling on my own?
I’m planning on pulling my fourth grader out of school and homeschool him, this method will most likely fit well for my child. But I worry about the fact that he would prefer to play games online and watch shows on times when he’s supposed to be learning. How do you make sure electronic time is controlled? How do you trust an 8 year old because now he sneaks in games and shows as much as he can!
Question: my daughter and I just started this year; we do Beast Academy (which we love) and she reads, and then we do some free writing prompts. But everything else I’m like “whatever you want to do or learn!” When will she start to actually pick a thing that I can help resource for??
I used to be a teacher and I’ve always felt like typical school was just stale. When I learned about unschooling it seemed like it really fit my own mindset and feelings about learning. I’ve been trying to use this method over this past year with my 5 and 7 year old. It’s been challenging and I get a lot of criticism from my husband who thinks we aren’t learning anything. The only thing that I feel is hard is that it’s easy to get caught up doing other things around the house like cleaning if the kids are just not into doing something in any given day. Do you have suggestions for having a loose schedule but continuing unschooling method? Or is there a hybrid way u could do this?
This is my question. I dont think the unschooling is for my kid because its not structured ENOUGH. I can see it working for a high schooler or even middle schooler. But my 9 year old just can't wait to get his schoolwork done so he gets his technology time. When his time is up, all he wants to do is talk about what he created or what he will create tomorrow. He doesn't really WANT to learn anything. Unless its about minecraft. Or nerf wars. Or other things like that. Theres no wanting to learn life skills right now with my 9 year old. And I just cant imagine letting him go with basically no school since he really didn't care to learn anything at that particular time. We use Classical education. It has some structure (because he needs it), but not too much. If he decides there's something he wants to do it learn, I'm all for it. But I also think there are things a child needs to know whether they want to at the time or not. Like history and basic math. Child led is ok to a point, but right now my child would lead me off a minecraft cliff.
I can only speak for myself here. I add a touch of unschooling to my homeschool. That means I have set subjects that my kids will work on but I also give them freedom in how they learn it, when they learn it, and where (like standing up, or outside, or writing things on the whiteboard instead of in the book). We have a flexible routine we follow, not a strict schedule. Besides making them do subjects that I lead them in each day, I give them an equal or greater amount of time to do with what they want. That means either playing outside, working on art projects, reading, or playing games on their own. Maybe consider an eclectic approach where you can be somewhat unschool-y and also structured with some subjects. I hope that helps. ❤️
I totally understand where you’re coming from. There are no strict rules when it comes to homeschooling methods. Just because unschooling is largely about letting your kids lead and not doing workbook stuff, that doesn’t mean some unschoolers don’t use workbooks when they see they are needed. You can have a balance of letting your kids lead their learning and also requiring them to do workbooks/curriculum. You could also get creative with teaching them things or providing resources for them without them knowing they are learning certain things. There are so many books you could borrow from the library that teach math, language arts, science, music, history, etc. You could have fun reading time with your kids everyday and they would see it as bonding time with mom while you know they’re actually learning. 😉
Always do what’s best for you and your kids and don’t feel like you have to follow certain rules (that aren’t real) about the method you are trying to use. ❤️
Moonspun4evr have you ever heard of thinking tree journals(fun-schooling). They actually have journals that are minecraft and they dive into the subjects. I hope this helps you ☺️
@@moonspun4evr the problem is more that you don't value what he is learning - creating *is* learning, minecraft is actually quite educational, two of my boys taught themselves to read by playing and creating on mine craft, there are also quite a few minecraft themed educational maths/english/coding type books, and reading books you could leave around the house - because you know that mine craft is an interest to him.
He could be a future game creater - you could be limiting a future tech genius.
my child just said "and we don't have to worry about the school bell"
YES!! So long, school bell! 👋🏼
How do you enroll your kids in unschool?, who does the grades?
i like learning about stuff but if im forced to learn something then i just ignore it and stay away from it like my parents said we may be going to mexico soon so i watched tons of videos about mexico and i learned stuff about mexico mostly stuff grown up's should know
Exactly, learning about things you want to learn, and having a love of learning, is the key to unschooling.
What if they want to go to college and need to take the SAT?
That is an excellent question. I assume if unschoolers decide they want to go to college, they will have no problem figuring out what they need to study and what tests they need to take to get in and earn whatever degree they want. I can’t speak for all unschoolers, though.
I have been homeschooling my kids for about 10 years- different resources and approaches- i feel like they didn’t learn much-academically. My 12 year son (the last one) hates reading and writing, I don’t want him to get so behind on how to write, or know parts of speech. But I know he would love this approach. Any suggestions…anybody???
Yes, I recommend using Brave Writer bravewriter.com/
"If kids aren't led to love learning, they only see learning as something where they have to check off boxes or complete tasks." Speaking as an unschooling dad who was also unschooled, this is just plain wrong. Our natural wiring is to learn. It's school that teaches kids that learning is a chore and a task to be completed (or avoided). If you come out of school, a deschooling process will lead you back to your natural love of learning. Loving learning isn't something you can teach. It's something that needs to be discovered - or rediscovered - for yourself.
I’m a newish mom.. with an 11 year old and a 4 year old.. I say newish as I’m so uneducated with all this..
I was brought up told my kids HAVE to go to school. My experience in school was awful as a child and my oldest has also been struggling since kindergarten in school. I want to end it all.. with my 4 year old who turns 5 this year I feel heavily about homeschooling and it took me here… now there’s unschooling and it sounds just like what I wanna do.. I have so many questions!!!!
I am so happy for you! Get ready, I have TONS more videos about unschooling coming. But in the meantime, feel free to watch my other unschooling videos, including my life streams where I answer people’s questions about unschooling. ❤️
@@BethPavlik I come from a mind set that “you MUST have your children in school” for some sake of the government you have to register them etc. I feel so controlled in that way where I don’t feel like I’m allowed to homeschool my children or unschool them. I never felt it was right and I have absolutely no support on this. Today was my first step in this direction and it honestly feeling like the chains are breaking and I’m so excited now . I’m a single mom and I work and go to college. I thought only stay home moms could homeschool but with my research I’ve come to see that’s no entirely true either… this feel right to me. Thank you!
We are trying out unschooling but it does feel like my kid simply dropped out of school. and now is on permanent summer break
Be intentional with your unschooling, Adam. It’s not about letting them do whatever they want 24/7. It may take a while to adjust to a more relaxed schedule than the constant go go go of traditional school. Take this opportunity to expose your child to new ideas through books and experiences. Take him/her places, let them browse books at the library, watch educational or not-so-educational movies, tv shows, documentaries, etc. Talk with your child, about whatever they want to talk about. But also give him/her time to just be. It may seem like it’s lazy or unproductive, but the truth is, all children (and adults, actually) need down time to relax, ponder, tinker, whatever.
Give it time; you’ll get there. 😊
How do you incorporate math and writing into unschooling? I see it more as a science/history and even reading but how can you teach basic math and such or even writing and grammar, spelling? Or are those just not taught?
You can do unschooling math by baking or cooking with your kids (measurements, calculations), counting things to learn addition and subtraction, etc. It might take some time, but just thinking outside the box of regular math worksheets and seeing how we use counting , measurements, estimates, algebra, in normal life can be helpful. With writing, you can do things like asking your child if they want to write the grocery list for you, or write a letter to Grandma, or anything else that makes them interested in writing. My oldest likes to write down lists of major storms that he knows because he loves weather. My second son likes to write down his favorite Pokémon characters and list their powers and points because that’s something that he is passionate about. My 5-year old daughter has pursued writing the most by coming up with her own short stories and asking us how to spell things. She came up with the idea on her own- we did not encourage her to do it. Some kids won’t be naturally drawn to writing, but if you think outside the box and find ways that they can write things down, they could come to enjoy it and learn from it. Grammar and spelling come up when they write things down and ask me if they spelled it right, or if the sentence makes sense grammatically. Also, reading books to your kids is a HIGHLY affective way for them to learn spelling and grammar. When they read how things should be written and spelled, they know how it’s done without even knowing they learned it. It’s also a fantastic way for them to learn tons of vocabulary. I hope that helps!
@@BethPavlik yes that makes sense. Thank you. 😊
@@mrsjp10910 you’re welcome!
Hi! I love your video...ive just started homeschooling and im so lost still. Both kids dont work the same so its hard to put the same things for both. Question..how do you put this together in a transcript if you have a highschooler ? While this all seems amazing and great...how do we put what they like into a transcript if a specific child does not like all the subjects ?
What about reading and writing? Just curious. Do we teach them that as unschoolers?
- 1st year home schooler -
I started homeschooling last year. It wasn’t good as I expected. A lot of stress and fighting it my kids don’t want to go back to school and I don’t want them to go back. I tried Charlotte Mason I loved for me but didn’t work for them. So I was thinking unschooling for them would be great but not a true fit for me 🥴 I still need some more guidance
Hi Carolina! It’s totally normal to not find your perfect fit from the start. It takes time to try things out and it sounds like you’re doing a great job of trying out things that will fit perfect for your family. I would love to have you join our Intentional Homeschooler’s Membership. You’ll get all the guidance that you need there. Email me at teachfromhomebeth@gmail.com and I’ll get you on the list.
I use this method
I'm curious how unschooling would work in a state that requires record keeping, testing and reviews of the students work. Also, without grading how does a child get a high school transcript should they choose to go to college.
I discuss a lot of this in my interview with Pat Farenga, an unschooling expert.
ua-cam.com/video/aV6Ak-f97o0/v-deo.html
You can also connect with other unschoolers in your community and ask them how they handled it in your specific school district.
We are doing spelling necause of hia own writing stress and he agrees it will be a good idea. :) writing was stressful because he didnt know how to spell:)
That’s wonderful! You’re doing the best thing by letting it be his choice.
I love this but have questions 1. how do you keep track of things?
Great question. If you wanted to keep track of things, I would document everything your child does. For instance, if they cook and measure out ingredients, that’s math and possibly science. If they read books about topics like nature, historical figures, or read any other books that they enjoy, that counts as language arts and English class. You could keep copies of lists they write, letters to friends, short stories they write, etc. Those are just a few examples. I hope that helps.
Any recommendations for starting with a 15 year old boy who has and continues to struggle everyday in school?
I don’t like giving advice about teenagers and high school just because I haven’t experienced it yet with my kids, but what I tell everyone, in general, when starting to homeschool after their child has had a hard time in public school is: Deschool. That means don’t jump into using formal curriculum with them or try to force them to do any type of school work right away. Give them a break. Let them pursue hobbies- reading, playing video games, building things, whatever it is- and spend time reconnecting with them and seeing where they’re at. It will also give you time to research homeschooling methods and corresponding curriculum options.
Yes i love it you said everything with love
I have one question what about graduation? Which material do you give ? I hear you and i am in favor of unschoolimg but what about graduation, how to prepare them for college?
You can still keep transcripts and meet all the requirements for graduation and college and still teach them in a way that is different than traditional school.
This is awesome!
This was so helpful thanks
My pleasure!
My niece just watches youtube. I think it depends on the kids and living situation.
I am thinking about doing the Unschooling method for my three year old five year old and six year old. How do you go about getting their diplomas ?
Great question! You as the homeschool mom can issue them a diploma, they can attend community college starting at age 16 and get their associates, or they can simply find jobs by getting into an industry at a low level and working their way up.
I highly recommend you watch my latest interview with Peter Gray where she shares success stories of unschooled kids. Self-Directed Education | Interview with Peter Gray
ua-cam.com/video/Qjb0TgoPOvA/v-deo.html
I’m starting to unschool my preschooler to get some practice in before doing it for K-12. I would like to still make sure he is on track. Is there a good resource to know what a child should be able to do/know at certain ages?
I highly recommend this book for preschoolers! amzn.to/3KhCQmt