I support parents of children who choose not to send their children to school, I can help you plan an appropriate environment and program and overcome the difficulties that can arise when the role of parent is combined with that of educator and child with student. Living together in nuclear families can be quite stressful and the idea of having a dual role can be difficult, if carefully navigated, can be one of the joys of homeschooling/unschooling. I can advise you on the types of activities that are suitable for children of different ages and stages of development, including children with additional needs. I prioritize child-centered active learning and believe we can prepare the child for university education and professional work without having to interfere with their early experiences, freedom, and relationships. In fact, I think that if we start with these priorities, it will be more successful later in education and training. I believe it is possible for children and adults to be prepared “just in time” for academic and professional opportunities so that we can focus on the current needs of children. Home-raising parents and guardians have the primary responsibility to monitor the quality of their children`s education. By designing a strong program and regularly reflecting on progress, you can ensure that your child`s needs are met by the education you provide. When I started unschooling in 1997, John Holt was the guru of unschooling. It was an American teacher who discovered that children can learn if they follow their interests.
He said, “Children who benefit from a rich and stimulating learning environment would learn what they are willing to learn when they are ready to learn it.” Where I lived, things started to change in the homeschooling landscape because the radical unschoolers wanted to separate themselves from the people discussing the program, so they “banned discussions about the program” and formed separate groups. For her, unschooling emphasized the importance of following a “No Limits” parenting philosophy. Sue White wrote an excellent article called Unschooling is Not Unparenting that discusses some of Unschooling`s mistakes. Let me tell you my story about the evolution of unschooling and how the terms have changed over the years. There is actually no typical unschooling day, as what happens depends on the family and the child. In families that are not taught, any interest can form the basis of learning. We are very fortunate in New Zealand where homeschooling is legal. –Ref. Don`t want to send kids back to school? Why not try unschooling at home – theconversation.com/dont-want-to-send-the-kids-back-to-school-why-not-try-unschooling-at-home-136256 Expats in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Southeast Asia have plenty of options, whether they want to homeschool or not, so they can keep their kids at home with their parents longer, which I think, is the ideal model for bonding (if that`s what parents want to do, not as a forced “should” for parents who want to work). This is a legal option and parents get together, giving children plenty of time to meet their peers and develop their social and communication skills.
By honoring family relationships, it is possible to give your child the time and space they need, so many children are exhausted from the beginning, long commutes, time they spend doing homework or extracurricular activities that do not really serve them, if you teach at home, you can walk at a pace, This gives your child time to get ready in the morning. instead of putting them in conflict every day. This way, your child can become independent, self-regulating, and really be the center of activity instead of adjusting to the school schedule. During the coronavirus crisis, if your children alternated their schoolwork with other studies according to their needs and interests, they were out of school. Unlike school, the evaluation of unschooling is done daily by observing the experiences of the children. Parents can compile photos or albums about their children`s learning experiences and keep them as records. If you have an older child (6-16 years old) who is currently attending a registered school, you can remove (unenroll) your child from their school if you decide to start homeschooling after being approved for an exemption. The process takes 4-6 weeks for approval and your child is required by law to stay in school during this time.
You don`t have to be a teacher to apply, you just have to be a parent or guardian. Sometimes the name unschooling leads people to believe that children are not educated or taught anything at all. But unschooling allows children to explore and learn in their own way. It is a different form of education than schools, but it can work very well. How our day goes largely depends on the weather, seasons, our moods, and what`s planned for the day (e.g., play dates, meetings with the local dropout playgroup, sports activities, dates, shopping, or the need for a day at home). Every day is different and brings different possibilities. Our day starts between 6 and 8 am. My husband feeds the pets (a dog, three rats, three chickens and a giant Flemish rabbit) and gets to work early. Once the girls and I are awake, I usually make a hot drink while they play with toys, draw pictures, interact with their pets, or watch children`s programs on TV. We have breakfast and our morning progresses according to what we have planned – when we go out, we get ready, when we stay at home, we talk about what we would like to do. My three daughters are still in the imaginative play phase – this often affects their pets and can take several hours! During the day, we draw, paint, work on projects and have great discussions that start with a simple question.
Around noon, we have lunch together. Our afternoons bring the same variety as in the morning – maybe we hit the road or my daughters go back to the game they played before lunch. Sometimes my two youngest children play together while I work with my eldest on her reading – she brings me books and we read one-on-one. Maybe there`s something girls want to learn, or they can watch Suzy`s World or other documentaries. My husband comes home in the early evening for dinner with his family. After dinner, the girls love to play with their father and catch up with him. Slowly they feel tired, so we go to bed, I help the younger ones to bed and Dad takes the two older ones. The time at which girls fall asleep varies for everyone. As I write this, my eldest just asked me what I was doing – I replied that I was writing about what we do all day. She said, “So you write `learning`?” What a great summary of our typical day! Homeschooling in New Zealand (NZ) is a legal option backed by a small government stipend. In 2021, 8306 students were enrolled in homeschooling in New Zealand.
That`s just over 1% of New Zealand`s school population. Various methods of homeschooling are popular in New Zealand. Some like a traditional workbook approach, homeschooling and Charlotte Mason`s unschooling are also popular. Around 2005, due to bad press about unschooling and tragic events in our local homeschooling community, we saw a distinction between radical unschooling, unschooling and natural learning. This led to some confusion about what unschooling really was, and many parents who liked to mix curriculum and natural learning didn`t know how to teach at home because radical ideas of unschooling were being taught to homeschooled children without people fully understanding the method. Applications typically take 4 to 6 weeks to process. If your child is between the ages of 6 and 16, they must remain enrolled and attend a registered school while your application is being processed. This is required by law.
Research suggests that the success of unschoolers is due to an intrinsic motivation to learn fostered by their unschooling experiences. In fact, Singapore`s Minister of Education, Ong Ye Kung, actually recommended unschooling when he said students should use their academic free time to “study outside the curriculum, read a lot, be curious, find their passions.” .