Our decision to Unschool our kiddos (cont'd from Our decision to keep our kiddos home)

So we decided to keep our kiddos home and we tried the school at home method, it did not work well for us. We stopped and we continued our research on various homeschooling methods, there is quite the variety to choose from we found as we researched. I will admit, it can be a bit overwhelming because you would NEVER think there could be so many styles especially, if you grew up in the one size fits all government schools and many private schools. It is very eye opening and liberating too! So what are some of the styles I am sure you are wondering...Well, there is:
Christian School at home
Secular School at home
Classical
Charlotte Mason Method
Maria Montessori Method
Waldorf at home
Moore Foundation Method
Relaxed School at home (Christian or Secular)
Eclectic Homeschooling
Christian Unschooling
Secular Unschooling
Radical Unschooling
and some more I am sure, these are the ones I have come across while researching.

After reading tons of blogs, websites, books and talking with people that practice various styles we came to the conclusion we wanted to go with Unschooling since it seems like it is something we have been doing right along anyway. Meaning, the belief is that were are all born innately curious and naturally motivated learners who are born with & have natural (or in our case per-determined God given) talents and gifts that we are to develop. Learning works best when it is designed around or by the child and their talents and gifts. Many children know around ages 7-9 what they really enjoy. If you think back, you will recognize you did too. I knew I wanted to be a Momma, a dancer and make people beautiful from the time I was little. I have met those goals, some to the degree I have wished (like being a Momma) and others I am still working on to this day. I often think back to what if I didn't have to play the game of school and I could have just gone after what I wanted full force, just where would I be today and at what ages would I have attained them? I look back on my life experience and I see a lot of wasted childhood and time. My husband has looked back on his life experience and feels the same way. Maybe you do too? So, we want to give our kiddos every minute they deserve to pursue their God given talents and gifts.
OK, so back to the feeling that we have been Unschooling all along with our children. I didn't teach my infants to nurse, they were hungry and with a bit of guidance from me they figured out how to latch on and eat, same for your little one even if you used a bottle. We didn't teach our babies to roll over, they figured it out eventually through their wiggling and movements. We didn't teach them how to crawl, once again after figuring out how to roll over they naturally moved onto trying to crawl, yes we did encourage them in their curiosity and drive to learn. Same with walking, I didn't teach my toddlers, did you? And what about talking? They learned for imitating, repeating and our encouraging interactions with them. However, we didn't sit our little ones down and say "I am going to teach you how to talk now." Well, my hubby and I didn't and my guess is you didn't either. It was something that naturally occurred and was picked up by your innately curious, naturally motivated little learner.
So, why do we think this natural learning and curiosity of everything we need to know to get by in life stop? When we are naturally curious about one thing (and we all are), it always leads to another thing.
I personally find this to be true, I am very curious and I am forever learning something, I just cannot stop, not even if I wanted to. Hence the challenge of July 24th every year, the Learn Nothing Day. Go ahead try it this July 24th. :)

So, Unschooling just felt natural to us and so far it is working very well.
My son Marco is well on his way to becoming a Zoologist, he has completed to serious Upper Elementary zoology classes and he has participated in his 1st frog and toad survey with the Friends of the Rouge River Conservation group. He is going to be doing a Jr. Zoologist program, we are members of the local zoo and go once a week so he can study and observe and we have networked with local zoologist Peter Schriemer of Critter Quest on the Smithsonian Channel to spend some time with Marco and give him direction in his field. When we met Peter, we were just amazed. He also was Homeschooled and was allowed to explore his curiosity of animals and critters and develop his talent in exactly what my son has a natural curiosity and drive to do. Right down to the specialty in frogs and toads. My son would also like to have his own show too. So we became friends with Peter and we are so happy God crossed our paths with him!
Lili is playing with her curiosity of decorating EVERYTHING and photography. She is thinking she may like to be a decorating/designer of some sort (not sure yet) and a photographer. She has demonstrated she has a good eye so far. We will network with fellow photographers that we know and appreciate their talent. We will work on find someone that is successful in their field of decorating or design too. Networking is so important in Unschooling just like in life...Unschooling is life.

We also read some great books:
Learning All The Time (hence my blog name) by John Holt
Unschooling Society by John Holt
How Children Learn by John Holt
Teach Your Own by John Holt
How Children Fail by John Holt
Education Underground by John Taylor Gatto
Weapons of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto
Better Late Than Early by Dr. Raymond & Dorothy Moore
The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith
The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewellyn
The Homeschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith
Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich
If You Want to Be Rich & Happy, Don't Go To School by Robert Kiyosaki
We read many other books, but these were the ones I could think of off the top of my head and the made the most impact on my husband and me.

Here is a great interview with John Holt, I wish he was still around he was so instrumental in our decision.

Here is a great interview with John Taylor Gatto, he is still around and I am so thankful he is only a fax away from me when I have an inquiry. Thank-you JTG!

In my research I also came across this little note by Sandra Dodd about Unschooling and I just love it. I copied it into my BlackBerry so I always have it with me to share.
"If Unschooling can't work in the real world, nothing at all can. People will say, "How will they learn algebra in the real world?" Is there algebra in the real world? If not, why should it be learned? If so, why should it be separated artificially from its actual uses? "Why?" should always be the question that comes before "What?" and "How?" There is a book called 'Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum.' There is a "things under the sea" room and "things in the sky" room, but still each room is just a room in a museum, no windows, everything out of context. Then he opens a big door marked "everything else in the whole wide world" and goes out into the sunshine. There is Unschooling."

Now as far as my kiddos having friends and a vibrant social life, they do! They have friends from both co-ops for homeschooling we go to, from Imagination Tribe (an Unschooling friendly group I founded in our area), church, dance, family, and neighborhood friends. Not all of their friends are the same age, they have young friends from age 2 all the way up to adults. They are very rounded in their social skills with all sorts of people and can find commonality with almost anyone. We encourage their friendships to not necessarily be based on age, but rather interests. Pretty much the way we all make friends, mine are not all my age, I have friends of all ages. We found that making friends through commonalities was also another encouraged aspect in Unschooling.

We are also introducing our kiddos to new things and ideas to discover if they wish, we try not to limit them unless it is a risk to their safety, health or morality.

So far we have yet to find a con for Homeschooling and in our case Unschooling.

Who are some successful Unschoolers? Jesus Christ, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Edison, James Marcus Bach (Buccaneer Scholar),
Eli Gerzon, Perry Kroll, Idzie, Clay Collins, Peter Kowalke, Allen Ellis, Eric McDonald

You can also check out this yahoo group Ask Unschooling Offspring

I am going to end this post here and I will for my next post share some findings about Homeschoolers and their success and happiness.

So you have any questions so far? Let me know, I will do my best to address them. :)