People often ask how my children learn, or what is unschooling. I see learning as whole life learning. Learning is not separate - there is no on or off, no time slot where learning happens and then the rest of the time is nothing. Children (and adults) are naturally curious, and if we follow our interests with open minded passion with no fear of failure, then there is no trepidation or loathing of learning either. In our home we all (adults and kids alike) are passionate learners about everything - math, science, reading, computers, nature, gardening, history, games, art, food, environment, technology. Every day is a new day to learn something, ask questions, explore, and research. If you are interested in learning more, here are a few great places to start. We are all learning, all the time, and my kids are very involved in our gardens, volunteer work, home, interests and projects. We all learn together as a family!
“To learn how to do, we need something real to focus on — not a task assigned by someone else, but something we want to create, something we want to understand. Not an empty exercise but a meaningful, self-chosen undertaking.”
― Lori McWilliam Pickert
"What makes people smart, curious, alert, observant, competent, confident, resourceful, persistent - in the broadest and best sense, intelligent- is not having access to more and more learning places, resources, and specialists, but being able in their lives to do a wide variety of interesting things that matter, things that challenge their ingenuity, skill, and judgement, and that make an obvious difference in their lives and the lives of people around them." ~John Holt~ Teach Your Own
“Life learning is about trusting kids to learn what they need to know and about helping them to learn and grow in their own ways. It is about respecting the everyday experiences that enable children to understand and interact with the world and their culture.” ~ Wendy Priesnitz
"There is no difference between living and learning… it is impossible and misleading and harmful to think of them as being separate.” — John Holt
― Lori McWilliam Pickert
"What makes people smart, curious, alert, observant, competent, confident, resourceful, persistent - in the broadest and best sense, intelligent- is not having access to more and more learning places, resources, and specialists, but being able in their lives to do a wide variety of interesting things that matter, things that challenge their ingenuity, skill, and judgement, and that make an obvious difference in their lives and the lives of people around them." ~John Holt~ Teach Your Own
“Life learning is about trusting kids to learn what they need to know and about helping them to learn and grow in their own ways. It is about respecting the everyday experiences that enable children to understand and interact with the world and their culture.” ~ Wendy Priesnitz
"There is no difference between living and learning… it is impossible and misleading and harmful to think of them as being separate.” — John Holt