Can You Use a Boxed Curriculum and Still Unschool?

I define unschooling as a form of home education that fosters a child's learning in a fun, engaging, and well-rounded way, effectively stimulating a child's brain and curiosity. Everyone's family and children are different, so I think that there is no one size fits all option when it comes to homeschooling and especially unschooling. Some families and kids thrive in a very structured environment, and that is totally normal. And, although I will never promote a curriculum that makes children sit and do busy work all day, I believe that some boxed curriculums are really well made, so long as they fit your family, children, and lifestyle. I am a huge advocate of homeschooling to and for your child, meaning that I believe homeschooling should be fun, engaging, and educational for your child. Homeschooling should not be just school at home because the way the traditional school system is built actually does not help children learn. The few secular boxed curricula that I have found to truly engage a child's brain and help them learn are Lavenders Blue, Live Education, Waldorf Essentials, Build Your Library, and Blossom and Root. Keep in mind that none of these are traditional boxed curricula and are inspired by learning philosophies that engage and support children, mainly Waldorf and Charlotte Mason.

Lavenders Blue Homeschool Curriculum is a Waldorf-inspired curriculum designed for the younger grades. It is a very gentle approach that encourages a child's innate curiosity and creativity.

Live Education is another Waldorf-inspired curriculum that, in my opinion, is the truest to the philosophy. It utilizes art and storytelling to teach children all the way through eighth grade the different subject matters in traditional Main Lesson Blocks.

Waldorf Essentials is another fantastic Waldorf-inspired curriculum that is whole child-centered. It stimulates a child's creativity and inspires them to love learning.

Build Your Library is a Charlotte Mason curriculum that uses living books and projects to teach children. For the most part, they center the entire year around a time period in history and add science and ELA to enrich the curriculum. Something to note is that Build Your Library offers curricula for grades Kinder through twelfth grade.

Blossom and Root is a mainly Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum that uses living books as spines but also offers options for all different kinds of learners throughout the curriculum. So far, they offer English, Science, Nature Study, and US History curriculum for children in the early years all the way up to fifth grade.