UNSCHOOLING = FREEDOM
For those of you who are new to home education and may be interested in unschooling, here are some encouraging words:
THE CHOICE TO UNSCHOOL WAS MY GATEWAY TO FREEDOM.
I’m not taking about freedom from all government regulation or freedom from doing the work involved in raising children.
I’m talking about freedom from stress, anxieties, conflict and the roller coaster of emotional reactions that I used to experience.
I’m talking about the freedom to live in the joyful flow of life with people I love and care about as we all grow and learn together.
How did the choice to home educate and unschool lead to all of that??
Because it required me to question what I had been taught as a child.
To choose unschooling for my two sons I had to question what I had been taught about the way education should happen; that it should happen in school, that it should follow the set curriculum and that children should be guided and taught by a teacher.
QUESTIONING BY BELIEFS
Once I’d started to question by old, learned beliefs about education the gateway was open to question so many other things:
💥 Did I really know what was best for my children to learn on a day to day basis?
💥 Were they really going to be harmed by playing with Nerf guns and exploring “first person shooter” video games?
💥 Did I really have to control everything they ate in order for them to be healthy?
💥 Was it really a problem if they didn’t want to be taught to read and write in a conventional way or at the age dictated by school?
As you can see, I got rather carried away with this new habit of questioning what I believed and what I had been taught. 😁
I even started questioning my negative judgements about myself. I considered the possibility that the inner critic in my head that told me I wasn’t a good enough parent and that I should do more for my children’s education might not be telling me the truth!!
I discovered that I could question every thought that brought stress, fear and negative judgement into my life and that this opened up a freedom that I never thought possible.
RELAXING INTO FREEDOM AND CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
I gradually shifted from anxious control-freak-helicopter-parent to relaxed unschooling-supportive-and-open-minded parent.
In the process I learned how to speak from my heart and be honest and open about my feelings and how to play with my children in a way that was both fun and educational for all of us. We learned how to solve problems together and find solutions that everybody could willingly accept.
The more I was willing to question my fears the more new ideas and possibilities opened up and I found the way to navigate thorough the legal framework for home education while staying true to my deepest values.
I promised my two sons that I would never force them to do anything they really didn’t want to do and I’ve kept my word. They’re 20 and 16 now and they’ve grown out of home education and are happily following their own inner motivation and guidance.
I’ve come through the gateway of home education and into a life filled with deep peace and joy and a desire to point the way so that others can follow.
Is this a path that appeals to you?
Are you thinking that unschooling combined with conscious/peaceful parenting may suit your family?
Do you have a whole lot of questions, doubts and stressful thoughts popping into your head?? My advice? Get those thoughts out of your head and into the light!
Share them in a comment and get some help with getting free of them. Or reach out to me for support if you would like to chat with someone who is further down the path.
