Unschooling... A term that may seem contradictory to the Christian in some of us. How about we call it God-led learning instead? This is the term my daughter and I prefer anyway and since it's just the two of us, we roll with it. The only reason I bring this up is that as an unschooling Mom I am constantly praying that God will lead me in the direction He wants me to take with my daughter. Clearly He has shown me that worksheets and other textbooks are not what He desires as we've been down that road to our demise.
With this being said, this is going to be our first true year of unschooling. We've dabbled in it before but now I see it makes total sense for my family. Since I work from home and my daughter prefers being out and about, here's what things look like for us:
- Lots of activities that my daughter has chosen plus a few field trips that I have chosen. This allows us both to enjoy what we are doing and be immersed in new things at the same time.
- Plenty of time at the library where my daughter can find interesting books and activities while I can find time to do a little work.
- Games, reading, TV and computer games are what my daughter spends her time with at home while I work and take care of the home. She's finally enjoying cooking and tending the animals more :-)
- Church life is something that is an unquestionable part of our life. I find it important for her to be involved in choir, youth group and Sunday school. She has grown up with these things and now enjoys it.
I think of myself as a shepherd in that it is my job to guard her heart as she enjoys being a child. She has plenty of room to graze and, most of the time, we have a very peaceful home and I have a child who I love being around. That's what unschooling is all about for me.
