UNSCHOOLING : HOW TO GET STARTED! 

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We unschool, my oldest daughter got into cosplay when she was 12. She made some really cool costumes on her own and then at 14 landed a job with a professional mascot company. She continues to sew and improve her skills and now also makes costumes for a local theater company, which inspired her to take voice lessons and audition for shows also. Her first show is Anne of Green Gables next month! My next daughter started her own cooking business at age 8 with healthy pre-portioned meals she would sell to local businessmen. From there she got into music and learned 6 instruments by ear. At age 13 she now teaches music and art lessons to homeschool kids, plays in the band at church, and is starting a new business making handmade leather journals! My son is 12 and he hates “academics”. He has been working 2 days a week with a local handyman learning all sorts of skills, and earning money to pay for the mechanic classes he’s going to start soon. Unschooling is the best!!!

This channel is killing it lately. I’m so interested in every video! The editing is 👌. Could you do a video on how you keep the kids from the bad parts of the internet? With multiple kids I feel like I am always policing everyone.

My daughter homeschooled my 13 year old grandson his entire life. She has degree in early elementary education but never wanted to send her children to public school. She has been lucky enough to be able to stay home. She is at the point now where she lets him have more say in what he learns and is interested in. I love your idea of thriving for homeschooling.

My 10 year old daughter is a free range kid. She pretty much taught herself how to read. It seems crazy to live in a world where people want eggs from "free range" chickens, but coop their kids up in the house and send 'em off to public school to be tortured.

I never regret unschooling, all 4 sons are successful men/dads/husbands, one of the great things I have watched as they grow older is that they still have that craving to learn.. I am not sure they are even conscious of it, but they all call and tell me what they are interested in...My 40 year old who is a business exec in Mooresville is into fly tying this year, son # 2 ( our IT guy) is into I racing, son # 3 taking his family to theater when possible, child #4, balanced eating for balance in weight lifting.... and this has encouraged Chris and me. I am writing up a list of 65 things I wan to do next year when I turn 65.... Chris is into photography this year... and I see my grandchildren following the same path... HOW FUN!...the war stories I have on unschooling in a Bob Jones University World is a whole nuther story! Hugs~ Lea

Four categories to think through their growth and learning goals. 1 physical 2 intellectual 3 spiritual 4 social

I started homeschooling my kiddo during the first year of Covid and i was feeling so overwhelmed and inadequate. I stumbled across your first unschooling video and it all made sense! It’s still taken time get out of old expectations for all of us, but now my 11 year old is thriving!!! He attends a local Agile Learning Center which is kind of an unschooling school with “offerings” they can choose to participate in or they can pursue their own interests. Learning happens everywhere, everyday! I like your idea of breaking it down in categories. Thanks so much for the inspiration!

Such an excellent video. As a retired elementary teacher, homeschool evaluator, grandparent and friend of many homeschooled adults, I can say that so much of what you have said needs to be heard by all parents. This method is not for everyone because not everyone can do it. You two are amazing in so many ways. Thanks.

Megan and Mike thank you for this video. As an educator it felt right on the mark. As a life long learner, parent/ grandparent and teacher, I was thoroughly pleased with what you said. I love your family. I love your style of parenting. I love your kids. I love your emphasis on positive learning and discovering joy in learning. And having an enriched life while you learn and live. I had a huge library as an educator and parent. I had to downsize to the bare minimum (3 Billy Bookshelves from IKEA) in retirement and parceled out my books to children and grandchildren. I miss my books as much as I miss my kids and grandkids!

We have homeschooled for our 12 year old’s entire life. A couple of years back, we started shifting to unschooling as we saw what we were doing wasn’t working. Watching your family do so well for so long has really helped me let go of a lot of my fears. I often share your videos and podcast with others who are trying to take the leap. I resonate so deeply with all you say about life led and child led learning. As the school year started for our area (we year round), I am struggling with all the same mental issues once again - he’s behind, he should do this, etc. Your video is so well timed for me. I definitely needed to hear this message today. Thank you.

Between this and the video on raising your kids to like each other, I just want to say how much your wisdom and humanity comes through….so needed right now. Thank you.

I have shared your old video so many times! I was unschooled so when my friends ask about it I always send them that video because it such a great explanation of the whole lifestyle! It was the most wonderful childhood, I am so glad my parents raised me that way! My 6 kids have all enjoyed and asked to do more formal "school" because they enjoy it, but I can hold everything pretty loosely because of how I was raised.

I have been following y'all for awhile. We had thought about homeschooling before. We switched to the online public. Which was a disappointment. (One month in) We were spending all day up until dinner and some days past dinner on homework. We were both dreading daily. Lives seemed pointless since I ended up doing all of the work instead of the teacher. So, last night ..... I turned in our INTENT TO HOMESCHOOL! We are officially starting the transition into unschooling! Just wanted to pop on here and say thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience on RU-vid, it has helped a lot! We are super excited to begin our journey.

In our later years of homeschooling, we did more of an "unschooling/child led" style. We liked it that way. Hubby didn't like those terms, he threw away my "unschool" book. But, we had books EVERYWHERE. We were always at the library, the book stores, the school supply stores, hobby lobby, gymnastics, scouts, you name it. One year we used their scout books as their basis for learning something, because they wanted to learn those projects. One season we used American Girl. One of my girls when she was young, was absolutely obsessed with dragons, and then Komodo Dragons (when she discovered a "dragon" was real). It was the only thing she would even think about, and no one could get her out of that. Anything else we tried to "teach" had to somehow surround that. She basically became a child komodo drsgon expert. For our math we used a hands-on curriculum called Math-U-See, and it worked very, very well. Another daughter decided she loved math so much that she could do long division at the age of 7. Went on to do calculus in high school. Etc.

I’m so impressed with parents that homeschooled before recently when resources have multiplied. You are inspiring!

Thanks for being so inspiring and being willing to share! We started homeschooling when my oldest was in 4th grade. We’ve done a very eclectic approach up until recently. After watching your other video on unschooling a couple of weeks ago, I decided to do a more child led approach this year. My kids left at home seem so much happier and relieved. I wish I would have switched years ago. That said, my oldest was able to get into a good college and has received scholarships every year to pay for her schooling. She just started her fourth year and is thriving. My next oldest chose to go into plumbing and is doing an apprenticeship at the moment. And my other son just graduated and is trying to figure out what he wants do. Two more to go.

You made a video about this a few years ago. I watched it when I started homeschooling. That's when I first started watching you guys. Glad to see an updated video on the topic. :)

Wow! Such valuable information! Thank you for taking the time to explain the details! This is so helpful for this new homeschooling mom!

You two always put things in perspective. Thank you for your videos.

This video was so helpful! I’m pulling my child out of public school after he finishes this year and have been really intrigued by the concept of unschooling. This answered so many questions, calmed some anxiety, and gives a great perspective on what homeschooling is and how it can look in practice. I think my son will finally start to thrive in his learning by taking this approach. Thank you so much for sharing!! ❤️

Glad I found this video. I am in year 2 of homeschooling and lots of what I am doing isn’t working. Your view and explanation of unschooling has sparked a sense of relief and excitement for me. We homeschool our daughter who is turning 11 in a week. She is an only child and it has been a struggle to work through curriculum with her. She is just not interested. But I am seeing things that she is interested but because it doesn’t fit the mold of what she “should” be learning, I haven’t let her focus on it as much. You have given me so much to think about. Thankyou!

Great stuff! The “become a model” part resonates so much with me and my 4 year-old. My playing the piano has gotten him so interested that we couldn’t get him to stop practicing playing it if we wanted to.

Thank you! I've been wishing for a follow-up on how you unschool. We got our first official homeschooling certificate and have started being a little more intentional with our oldest. The only requirement we have right now is that we are going to make one recipe per week together. I Love it. It's amazing what we can learn when we are Interested, and when we just learn as a way of life.

Loooove homeschooling and how so many people are catching on/joining in!

I watched your first video the year I started homeschooling. It was so beneficial to be. Thank you

I love your homeschooling videos!! This is our 15th year of homeschooling. Tailoring education to the individual strengths and interests is part of the beauty and freedom of homeschooling. I have 6 unique children -- no cookie cutter educations here! I see my job in homeschooling in 3 parts: 1. Nurture a love for learning and a voracious curiosity. 2. Develop a strong foundation of basic reading, writing, and math skills. 3. Inspire them to build on their foundation by using their basic skills to feed their love of learning and curiosity.

The energy you 2 being is beautiful. This is an awesome video

This is absolutely inspiring and motivational for me. Thank you so much! Keep 'em coming!

I love your point on modeling learning. Thanks for this. I found it super helpful!

This is such a lovely video. So encouraging and gentle.

It’s so true that we learn best when we have interest I something. I definitely remember thinking I was failing as a student in school trying to be a math genius like the kid sitting next to me. I STRUGGLED in math! But once I grew older and was able to choose my own path, I excelled and found my Niche. I don’t even use most of what I learned in school except basic knowledge ofcourse, but common sense and how to think for yourself you don’t learn that in school.

I've been waiting for this video, thank you so much!!!

Oh man…the modeling advice hit me right between the eyes. Thank you for this video.

IXL was invaluable during our family's homeschooling years - highly recommend!

I am in love with this video and the information you guys shared. I'm going to save it so I can watch it again when I need to get myself back on track (or off track 😉) my kids are little (7 & 5) so it's kind of hard to ask them what they're interested in learning and get a straight answer, but I've written down some ideas while watching based on what they frequently ask about and do with their free time. It also makes me want to be more of a 'yes' mom. Honestly sometimes when they ask to do stuff I say no just because I don't feel like it at the moment, but I want to move away from that if it is stumping their growth. Thanks again for sharing guys!

Thank u guys so much. This video was very helpful. Answered all my questions. Great job. 🙂❤️

Just now came across this video, but I have loved your channel since discovering your first homeschool video a couple of years ago. I especially loved all the pie videos... lol 😆 I'm a homeschool/ unschool mom of 4 kids. My husband and I adopted all of them within the last 7 years. Our oldest daughter, Magnolia Grace, is 18 and just graduated. She has decided to become a photographer like me, and join the family business. She just enjoyed shadowing me everytime I had a session or was editing the images over the years. It helped us bond and stirred up a passion in her for capturing beautiful images. Our second daughter, Hazel Rose, is about to be 16. She loves drawing, but especially designing sketches of dresses. I too am an artist, so I've been able to help her with that. She has tossed around the idea of designing dresses for real, or doing hair as a career. I also like to sew, and definitely would love to give her some sewing lessons. Our 3rd daughter, Viola Harmony, just turned 15, and loves to sing, draw realistic animals, and learn all about animal facts. As a singer myself, and again, an artist, I have bonded with her through those interests. She wants to travel around the world and learn about animals in their natural habitat, and share her knowledge with others. Last but not least, our 9 year old son Oliver Silas, loves singing, drawing, solving puzzles, and working with his hands. He absolutely loves building things. We definitely try to make sure he has lots of things to help him cultivate that passion. When we got him at the age of 4, he was non verbal and labeled autistic. Neither are true today. It's truly amazing what unschooling can do for a child. Seeing parents follow their dreams with hard work while still having so much family time, doing things together, loving one another, and reading lots of books can teach a child so much. We definitely love all of our goodwill trips for new books and home decor. The kids, except the oldest, don't have phones or anything, so they just read all the time, and most items on their Christmas and birthday wishlists are books 😂 Anyways, love watching you guys so much!!!❤❤❤❤

So great! Thanks for being such great examples of alternative education!!

Love those 4 categories 😊 my family is LDS and my husband and I also decided to unschool. We have 3 daughters, 7, 4, and 3! Excited for the journey. So far so great 💛

This is so awesome. Thank you for your guidance and inspiration!

Interesting schooling concept. I am 58 and never painted art. I had pictures of gardens and I really wanted to paint one . So during lock down I tried to follow a Bob Ross! I did my 4 garden paintings on wood 33 x 44 wood. I love painting and I have sold 2! I totally agree if you love something you will learn it! Oh and I would love to see you do a Bob Ross. I love Season 9 Episode 13 Mointain hideaway. I painted it on a 50 x60 canvas. Keep at it!

Friend of the library sales are also a great place to get books inexpensively.

This sounds like encouraging hobbies, which is great. States have varying degrees of homeschooling laws which means they have to meet the state requirements, so time would have to be prioritized for school work before the extra curricular activities.

Love this so much! I just can’t thank you enough.

Love this so much! Thanks for your advice. 😍

Thanks for inspiring me to keep learning!

So well spoken and I agree 100% I really wish I grew up with this as many nights I was crying at the kitchen table trying to complete homework and ending up hating certain subjects like Math and Geography. I love what I'm doing now but wish it didn't take me this long. I also agree that if you are doing what you love, you will put all of your effort into it and end up doing really well since you are enjoying what you are learning! A lot less tears too ahah

Thanks for another enriching vlog. I saw your first one on unschooling and have watched since as the kids all developed interesting path ways. I would have been interested in hearing how you have worked with Eve through her journey. I remember one vlog where Mike explained that Eve required one on one structure and support. There are many folks who also have children who maybe need extra support. Perhaps hearing about Eves journey would help them. Congratulations

Thank you love ❤️ the homeschool content

Thrift stores and used book stores are my favorite places to shop for our homeschool.

Thank you both so much. Very helpful. 💗

What is also a great ressource is different people of family, friends, neighboorhood telling/ showing their trade, hobby, profession. My kids were obsessed with a certain profession since being a toddler. But through volunteering as teenagers they found out it was very repetitive and didn't allow them to travel out of their hometown. They decided to keep it as a hobby and explored other trades.

I’m a long time homeschool mom.. I wish I had done more of an unschool approach with my older ones who are very creative / artistic etc. my struggle is my youngest 8 still at home are adopted ; from foster care) most struggle with significant learning difficulties and emotional issues etc. due to early life trauma and drug exposure… it’s hard to engage my more severely affected kids.. they really don’t seem to have an internal drive to do anything.. but I will use some of our ideas and see how it goes .

Thank you for your sanity!

Yes! Yes! Yes! Always hungry for more of this.

Congratulations to all Children in your family, learning what makes them whole. Behind you on steps or on dining room table seems like an beautiful and appropriate place to click a photo of Pearl’s Earings or Esther, and her hair designs, perhaps on her siblings in a nice ‘ bistro or tea like setting, at dining room table, ( rather than bed or bedroom). Thank You for all suggestions and thank for supporting them to be beautiful people, inside and out.

You guys are great!

Thank you so much for this video/information!!!

Thank you for this episode! As a young person in a traditional school system I am trying to improve educating myself and what I most struggled with was an aversion to the subjects I am learning, but now I feel inspired to look at the material from a different angle and follow the irking passion instead of seeing it as inevitable doom. Your point of view on education is very refreshing.

How did you go about "Unschooling" for the younger years? Early math, reading, writing, etc?

Y'all are awesome!

I'm in GA. Three questions: 1) How do I deal with the standardized testing requirements? 2) How do I provide my son with a homeschool diploma? 3) How do unschooled kids get into college? I love your video; it has given me hope. I am feeling a little desperate at this point. I don't want to fail my son, but it seems like the system has made it impossible to do what I know to be best for him.

How does having a child with special needs play into the unschooling learning style? Do you allow her to choose for herself (like the other kids do) what she wants to do or learn, or do you have to plan out activities or lessons for her to do? If so, what do you focus on teaching her, functional academics? Life skills?

Excellent video!

LOVE IXL! I have it!

thank you for sharing. your videos and others that i have seen have helped me and my husband choose to homeschool our soo to be 5 year old. me and my husband have both been public schooled so homeschool is something new to use. we live in Australia and for us to homeschool we have to register for it and apart of that you have to show how you are going to achieve the Australian curriculum in you home. so with child led schooling (unschooling) how can you show/prove that you are meeting the national curriculum? do you get assessed by the department of education where you show what your children have learnt and have proof of learning? we get assess each year and show what we have achieved and what our plan is for next year. thank you for sharing your family and your amazing thrifting finds. i love thrifting because i hate paying full price if i can get it cheaper. there are always some amazing finds. Thank you from your Australian follower.

I started my first-born in a K3 private preschool. That wasnt working for her so we decided to homeschool with A.C.E. But as the years progressed, and the more children we had, the less we used curriculum style learning. Each of my children had different learning styles, and the more i learned that, the more child-led we became. Those were lovely years.

I'm so thankful that my parents put me in public school and gave me a proper education.

I’m glad I remembered unschooling. I started out this year trying to rigorously teach language arts and I was hating myself for failing. I’m glad I remembered that I never wanted that for them so why was I being a boring task master.

I'm a 58 year old woman. I attended a small neighborhood elementary school. I felt pretty good there. When I got to 7th grade I became filled with depression separated from my small group of elementary friends. I then go to high-school and barely went to class. I was a different child. I liked smaller atmospheres. Opportunities weren't available to me, but I feel I was educated in my own way. I wished homeschool was talked about more back then. Fast forward when my husband and I thought of having children we were going to homeschool them. Unfortunately we were unable to have children or adopt children. I feel that my education came more from my willingness to be an adventurer. I like how you are with your children. I hope all the best for the Knorpp family.

“We are raising kids” (boys I know but I have both so 🤷🏽‍♀️) Wow I didn’t know how much I needed that story and reminder. I often get upset with the messy mess hall house but that hit right in the pocket. Gratitude for that wisdom 🙏🏽🙏🏽 P.S. we love IXL!!!! 💗🥂🙌🏽📝

Do you have to register your children with your state as homeschool students? Do they still need to meet academic standards according to your state? If they do, how do they "test" for it. If any, what would you consider foundational academic knowledge that aligns with state/curriculum of your choice standards? This was probably just an example you used for the video, but when a child asks, "I want to learn my times tables" is there really a choice for some things? I understand that not every kid has to learn their times tables at a certain age/grade level, but I'm sure there are times when you/we as parents would have to intervene when there are gaps in their knowledge because foundational steps are missed. Just my thoughts.

Good evening Megan and Mike. I enjoy your videos and follow along quite frequently. You may have covered this previously in the other video and I apologize if you have, however I have a few specific questions.Does your state requirements for each year, and must you present your plans prior to each school year? As well as end of year, portfolio type of formal review? With the children nearing graduating age/level, does your state have specific requirements for a high school diploma.

I have no experience with unschooling/homeschooling, and my kids are 16 and 20. There were definitely years where the unschooling concept would have beneficial for them. Since your kids do more self-learning, are there requirements or tests (like science or math grade requirements) from the state to 'pass' grades that you also have to work on? I'm always curious how other families tackle education and I like the idea of letting kids have a say in learning what is of interest to them.

Your husband is in awe of you 😊

I'm 25 and I wish I did this my whole life instead of going to school.

IXL is fantastic!

Love the fact with IXL but my kids like to work in workbooks. What would be a great option for that? Homeschooling mom for 7 years now.

I'm suprised skill share doesnt offer a sponsorship..it would be a good resource for the whole family. I was homeschool/unschooled. I had always been a passionate learner except when it was boxed in and institutionalized. I remember my dad telling my mom I'd never be a successful individual. I somehow made my way into nursing and excelled at it and all the associated pre reqs it required. I am 45 so this all began around 13 or 14- anything is possible and parents should foster that belief regardless of the educational circumstances. My kids did traditional education to start and finished at home. My oldest is working on her BSN and my son at 17 wants to be an entrepreneur but hasnt zoned in on his niche. He learns all sorts of trades that will help round him out in the meantime. Both are super silly and capable of deep and interesting conversation- most importantly they are kind, compassionate and thoughtful.

Do you teach the basics like reading, writing and math.

The only question I have about this just to satisfy my curiosity, how did your children learn to read...particularly the natural born children, and also your adopted children from China. Did they come to you speaking English or knowing how to read? I hope I am not being too nosey. I love how your children are intently watching you cook, or bake Learning math skills by osmosis. They are so talkative, offering suggestions and theories about what is going on around them. It is heart warming to know these are the next generation of leaders in our businesses, communities and country. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with those who want to educate their own children. I don't blame them for wanting to do this, I am appalled at some of the topics being taught these days. Y'all have a Blessed day.

I'm in SC & know you're in NC. Would love to know if y'all have to do the testing NC requires that I've heard from friends. Trying to see how to revamp and how to appease the documents we have to turn in. How do you document their schooling for the gov?

I was not ready for Zoolander 😭😂❤️

How do you ensure that college admission requirements are met? Or is going to college just off the table?

As a retired educator, I am so interested in child-led learning. Your kids do some amazing projects! I am just wondering how you work with your younger children in learning to read/write/etc? When Jude was 5,6,7 did you do more traditional teaching/learning? Also, does Eve still attend speech therapy outside the home?

I am curious how do you unschool Eve? I remember when she was evaluated and you were so sad with their testing results. Yet I see Eve doing so much and Would love to see a podcast on your opinions and thoughts on schooling a child with Down Syndrome! I think would help so many others !

I unschool my 4 grandkids..We have things like..a 10-yr-old blacksmith because of it. We do math and language arts in mostly formal form.

Is anyone in Ohio? How do I fill out forms to get started? Thanks for all of the fantastic information!

How did you talk to your kids about starting unschooling? What was the conversation? My kids went to public school for 2 years before we started homeschooling so they have that idea of structure in their head and anything else outside of that is a “free day” to them. When we have more of a child led day and grandpas comes over for dinner they come right out with “we didn’t do school today” lol and of course that adds to my inner pressure. I’m not sure how to shift their mindset. Any advice?

Lol! I have 10 kids and have donated a lot of money to the local library as well.

How does "unschooling" affect applying for college? For example, colleges look at grades/GPA and (educational) extra curriculum activities from applicants. What do you have "on paper" to show colleges as an unschooler? Genuinely considering a new approach for my kids. Thanks.

I’m so interested in the unschooling concept. I have a question, though, inside that “unschooling” how do you make sure your children learn to read, write, know math? I would love to know how this works! Love your channel! Thx Thank you

Have you ever considered Leadership Education? Basically it's unschooling until older grades.

I hope to meet up with unschoolers in South Africa 🌍, because I am doing this and i can't wait for free range kids

I'm curious about the 'basics'. Reading, math, grammar, sciences? Researching this for a grandaughter who is bored with school.(She's bright!)

Okay, my 13 year old son just told me he interested in learning Japanese. Can you share some resources your son used?

Hello,I just found you and I'm intrigued with this video. I have twin daughters who I've "homeschooled" from the beginning. They are in grade 3. With unschooling, are you worried that if they're not practicing certain subjects they might fail at college of they ever should have a desire to want a PhD or something like this? Do you have testing through your state you have to keep up with? I haven't had to do proctored testing yet but soon i think. I'm under am umbrella so I don't have to be linked to a public school and this one I chose has testing 4 times throughout homeschooling. With unschooling wouldn't you be worried they would fail testing?

i really liked your video. my daughter is 6 and this year we unschooled even though I didn't need to report her until next year (her birthday is in sept), I didn't intentionally know the details of homeschooling lol I guess there arent. now my biggest issue is...reading, how did you guys handle that? its interesting because she uses duolingo, I have sat with her but she doesn't seem interested with reading when its me lol, and she will just pick up products or boxes and copy the letters and bring it back to show me proudly.

I want to unschool so bad, but I’m struggling with shifting my mindset from having to check those boxes. How do you make sure that they learn math, grammar, writing, spelling, etc? Or do you even make sure of any of that? For instance one of my kids absolutely hates writing , so if I let him lead the way he will most likely never pick up that pen and pencil, is that something I should be concerned about? I’m so lost 🤦🏼‍♀️