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Unschooling, Homeschooling, Classroom: Choose the Method that Meets the Needs of the Child

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One of my previous articles gave you some insight into unshcooling. Andrea has already addressed many questions about unschooling in Homeschool. However I thought that it might be interesting to throw in an article from a public educator’s point of view. As you know unschooling involves letting children learn on their own in a natural environment instead of in a structured learning setting such as a classroom. It is more relaxed with less “bookwork”. So does this work? It can. I think that unschooling and typical homeschooling and schooling in general all basically follow the same rule. That rule is … Continue reading →

Lessons from Unschooling Families: The Greens

If you haven’t been following the series, I’ve written several articles on unschooling, our experiences with it and how it can work. But just like not all of the 2 million home schooling families in the United States have phenomenally educated children so do some unschoolers give unschooling a bad name. You’ll notice that the majority of my experiences with unschooling have been very positive but I have met one family in my years as a support group leader that I think might make anyone question the validity of an unschooling method. They begin their day whenever they want. The … Continue reading →

Lessons From Unschooling Families: The Smiths

I had asked last week in the forums for suggestions on blog topics. Mary Ann Romans wanted to know about unschooling and essentially how kids will learn everything they need to know if there is no plan in place. Yesterday I talked about unschooling as a philosophy, our own experience leaning towards unschooling with our son (although we are definitely not unschoolers) and I gave an example of one family I knew, and how they incorporated unschooling into their learning environment. Today, I am going to talk about the Smiths, another unschooling family I know with a slightly more radical … Continue reading →

Lessons from Unschooling Families: The Jones

In my last two blogs I have covered the basics of what an unschooling philosophy is and I’ve also talked about our own experiences with our own son. But we are not really unschoolers by any stretch of the imagination. In this blog, I will look at some of the elements of successful and unsuccessful unschooling. Children Deciding What to Learn When The Jones are unschoolers that I know who live in Connecticut. At the beginning of every month they ask their kids what they want to learn about. They have four children and as a group they sit down … Continue reading →

2006 in Review: Homeschooling Blog at a Glance

As a new homeschooling blogger at Families.com, I wanted to know everything that has been discussed to date. In response to my own curiosity, and in an effort to make perusing our articles easier for you, our readers, I have compiled all of the blogs for the year 2006. Deciding to Homeschool Why homeschool Am I qualified for this? Reasons that Homeschooling Works! My Most Important Advice for Homeschoolers. The Cost of Homeschooling Instead of standing up for their own kids, why not stand up for all kids? Disclaimer: I am hardly an expert in education. Did You Know? ‘Empirical … Continue reading →

Exploring Homeschool Methods

Finding a homeschool method that fits your family will focus your homeschool and improve the educational experience. I spent a few years exploring methods before deciding on the one that suited my family the best. Since that moment, my children and I have benefited in numerous ways. I encourage you to research the methods for yourself. A lack of vision and focus, as with any endeavor will result in failure and frustration. However, choosing a method should not be frustrating; it should be a natural fit into your family’s lifestyle. The method is simply framework for how your homeschool is … Continue reading →

Invalid Reasons to Homeschool – A Public Educator’s Opinion

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My last article listed some of the reasons that I feel it is valid and justifiable to homeschool your children. Now I would like to turn to the other side and give my ideas of when it is not a good idea to homeschool your children. In some cases parents choose bad reasons to homeschool. They often jump into the idea of homeschooling without research and thought. It sounds like a good idea and they begin without enough background knowledge to carry it out properly. These parents usually begin by enrolling their children in public education for a year or … Continue reading →

Valid Reasons to Homeschool – A Public Educator’s Opinion

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In a previous article I described to you the definition or the idea behind unschooling. Unschooling is about as opposite from public education as it gets. Therefore, in this article I would like to share my point of view as a public educator on the topic of homeschooling and unschooling. I will begin by saying that I am not against homeschooling. That is when homeschooling is carried out the proper way. If a parent is dedicated and wishes to homeschool for appropriate reasons then I am proud that they can have the opportunity to spend the extra time with their … Continue reading →

Setting Up a Space for Homeschooling

I have a friend that swears that everyone needs to have a homeschooling classroom. She has one and her kids do all of their school work in their basement in the homeschooling classroom. We do not have a home schooling classroom so obviously I don’t think it’s a necessity. Or at least it’s not as important to me as everyone having a place to sleep! Last week I wrote an article about the Smiths. . .friends of mine who set up their house so they’d have a couple of rooms for school. Someone asked for photos and I’m sad to … Continue reading →