Unschooled

As a new mom, living internationally with my husband working remote my main concern with this lifestyle is how will my children get a good education and socialize without the normal school experience I grew up in. This book helped me see there are SO many people doing education ‘different’ I now have the confidence my children have the opportunity to thrive and make connections through unschooling networks. I am now excited not anxious for the future!

I brought this book as I was curious about unschooling , it's an amazing read and gives a great overall picture around what unschooling is and what it can look like for different families, worth every penny.

After six years of homeschooling my kids, I've finally come to the conclusion that we are probably better off unschooling! Here is just one example. My second oldest has struggled with learning how to read for years. He resisted with every fiber of his being. I would back off for a while and then try again. Same response. He just couldn't be pushed. The anxiety and tears he experienced was just too much for him. I finally decided that it wasn't worth the fight. I couldn't force him to learn something he wasn't ready for. I let go and tried to trust that he would read when he was ready. He is nine, almost ten, now and is just barely starting to read. He is showing interest in early readers and will actually willingly read to me as long as I'm not the one that suggests it. This is a huge milestone for him.After reading "Unschooling", I am convinced that unschooling can work. Kerry is extremely knowledgable and has provided ample research to support her claims. She provides an overview of how the compulsory education (schooling) system began in the United States and includes how it is failing children today. Over and over she iterates that education and schooling are NOT synonymous. I agree 1000%. She talks about how our "schooled" mindset leads us to think that children need to be taught in order to learn. But this is simply not true! She provides copious examples that illustrate just how much children can learn when given the freedom to follow their own specific interests. When left to their own devices, children will constantly be learning and exploring because it is important to them!There is so much I wish I could share from this book, but you just need to read it yourself. It is SO. GOOD. I wish I could give a copy of this book to all parents, not just homeschooling ones! I know that unschooling has formerly been a radical idea, but when you break it down and look at the research and success stories, I think it should be considered by more parents, families, and educators. We can't change anything unless we challenge the norm. If you are wanting to learn more about unschooling, or how child-led learning works, you need to read this book!

Very informative and practical book for those looking for alternatives to mainstream education.

I wanted to learn more about unschooling and this was perfect for that. I learned about how it's done, why it's done and there are a lot of great resources and examples of parents and groups doing some variation of it.