How I Create Unschooling “Curriculum”

The Unschooling philosophy suggests that you let your child learn whatever they want, when ever they want, however they want. I absolutely agree with this way of thinking. By letting your child chose what, when, and how they learn, they will then engage much more in their own education. In the Waldorf philosophy, the teacher creates Main Lesson Blocks, which are similar to Unit Studies, where they introduce different topics from different subjects one at a time. This idea of studying one topic in a creative and artistic way also helps children learn because it incorporates both sides of the brain. Then there is the Unit Study approach where a parent creates a study of a broad topic, for example oceans, and incorporates all subjects into the study so that their children get a well rounded and engaging education on whatever the topic of study is. In the Charlotte Mason style education, living books are the main focus so that children are engaged by beautiful illustrations and inspiring and fun words.

I think of unschooling as a combination of all of the above philosophies, combining them into something that would work for me, while also weaving in a bit of spirituality along the way. I create Main Lesson style Unit Studies according to whatever I find lacking in resources or want to learn more about. I don't create a "lesson plan", but instead create possible, extremely flexible, lesson and activity ideas so that children have endless possibilities in their education. I believe that kids should be able to decide what they learn, the unit studies that I create for kids are merely stepping stones that they can chose to use as they learn and discover. Spirituality, Projects, Art, Literature, Theatre, Movies, Social Justice, and most importantly, Nature are at the heart of every unit study. Tests, Quizzes, Grades and Busy Work are never part of anything that I create. The Unit Study ends when the child decide they want to learn about something else, whether or not you have "completed" the unit study.