What does a day look like unschooling?

This seems to be a common question that comes up. And I want to preface this whole thing by saying we’re new at it. So new at it that Benny is still in preschool 3 days a week. In a couple of months it will drop to 2, then all going well next year we’ll be fully into unschooling.

Firstly what is unschooling? My understanding of it is understanding that kids want to learn, and when they’re allowed to lead the charge, follow things they enjoy and in a timing that is appropriate for their development and interests, cool stuff can happen!! I’m reading a bunch of books about it (and will share a booklist at sometime if you’re interested), but the essence of it is doing what you would do as if school doesn’t exist. Its not un-parenting, its not un-learning. Its learning in the process of life. The thing that made it really click for me was when I understood that what I do now, how I learn now is unschooling. I have no one telling me what I need to learn and what I need to know and testing me on it. I find something I’m interested in and dive in. I watch stuff, I talk to people, I listen to stuff, I try stuff and I might even do a course or two, but it is because I have chosen it, not because someone else told me I have to. My favourite topics at the moment are gardening and homeschooling/unschooling. I also constantly keep coming back to health, food, wellness, mental health and all those topics that have been my jam for over a decade now!

So what do our days look like? Or our week?

As I mentioned at the moment Benny has three days in preschool each week (well technically two in preschool and one in in-home care). The reports we get from there is that there is a lot of lego and duplo building, some rough play, climbing the climbing frame and hanging upside down, jumping on the trampoline, running around, a little bit of artwork and generally just getting to be a kid.

The days he is home varies depending on the day and the week, but some of the regular activities include lego (and a lot of it!), board-games (a growing passion i’m so excited about!), play-doh, painting and drawing, and generally playing with toys. We try to at least once a week get out in nature, maybe the beach or a park, sometimes in conjunction with a homeschooling meetup, other times just us. Gymnastics, trampolining and swimming are favourites that sometimes get thrown in there. The library is a regular occurance. Since he’s been little we’ve either had an annual pass for Willowbank, Orana Park, or occasionally both. One year I worked out we’d been to Orana park 17 times in the year which worked out less than $5 per visit. There is definitely some screentime in there. Mostly to help me stay sane in the afternoons when my energy is at its lowest or I’m trying to do some work. Dave has started playing a computer game with Benny and its actually cool recognising all the learning he is doing during it. At the moment on our Mummy-Benny days I often ask him in the morning what he wants to do that day. Probably most weeks he’ll have at least one day when he wants a home day. A day to chill and take things as it comes, and I totally get that! I suspect when we go full-time we’ll have a bit more of a weekly routine in place, but also with the flexibility we currently enjoy. I haven’t quite got him into gardening or cooking with me but I hold out hope, and he can’t stop me from telling him about it while I do do it ;) .

So when does the learning happen? ALL THE TIME! Playing with his lego he’s learning about construction and structural integrity, using his fine motor skills, resilience and problem solving, he’s using his creativity and the things he comes up with blow my mind. Outside he’s learning about the world around him, his body, how it all fits together. We talk about geology and geography and botany and animals and birds and seasons and weather and all sorts. He’s always reading stuff out to me or asking me what things say. I get books from the library on all sorts, some just for the fun of reading, others with some history or science or some other element to them, and he loves them all. He’s started asking me maths problems and we work out the solutions together. The other day while I was cooking dinner we had a great Benny led discussion around gravity. Even while playing his video games and board games he’s learning problem solving, cause and effect, and developing his resilience and how to win or lose well. Also depending on the game it could be rich with literacy skills, maths skills, geography, history, memory skills and a multitude of other things. And it definitely teaches me patience!!

Even as a teacher I know we have to break things down since you can’t do a Matrix style download and learn all of the things in a minute or two, but the way schools silo subjects can often do a disservice to the complexity of life around us. I understand in that situation it is the best solution, but with the luxury of 1:1, you don’t have to. You find something interesting and follow that and see what paths it crosses that might also be interesting and possibly follow them to, until you’re done with that. Or maybe keep picking it up again whenever it appeals or something new triggers it again.

As I already mentioned. I know we’re early into the game of life, but I’m looking forward to see how how it unfolds and what changes we need to make to prioritise our various needs. If you’re more experienced in this game I’d love to know any tips and tricks you have to share!!