Unschooling Mom

Unschooling for us is as much about deschooling ourselves as parents as it is about any particular approach to education. Thus, unschooling in our home means not only honoring our sons’ natural curiosity and choosing to allow their innate desire to learn thrive unhindered; but just as importantly, to trust in this process and to let go of our own preconceived notions about what this might look like at any given moment.

So much of our journey is therefore simply about deprogramming ourselves. My writing is as much about my journey to learn to trust more deeply as it is about my sons’ varied paths in exploring the world. Given our historical and cultural approach to child-rearing, this is not always easy. I have doubts sometimes and worry about my choices (like most thinking parents do). I fail, often, and fall very short of that to which I strive.

Be that as it may, there are nevertheless ever more moments of clarity in which I can see the outpouring of an innate curiosity, a drive to discover, a passion so alive in my sons that I pause in wonder. In these moments all doubts cease, for I know there is a wisdom at work much more brilliant than anything I could ever have fathomed, let alone teach.

There are of course many more reasons for choosing to keep my children at home; but for me at least, they all flow from one central principle: namely, a deep and abiding commitment to allow my sons the time, the support and the freedom to delve deep into the mysteries of both themselves and their world.