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By Annie Regan
As an unschooling family, our learning method hasn’t really changed over the years. They learn from the environment around them, making connections to things they already know, following their interests and using things they discover to branch out into new topics and activities to pursue, and not distinguishing life from learning. They have always learnt from playing games, reading books, watching TV and YouTube, talking to people, doing external activities, trying new skills, making things, researching how things work, cooking, playing outside, exploring new and familiar places.
My role through all of this has been to facilitate their learning, provide opportunities to delve into their interests, answer questions, offer new experiences – and the way I’ve done that has changed as their skills have grown and their needs have altered.
In the early years of our home ed journey, I was very hands on with everything the kids were doing. Our days were all based around play – we just continued with what we’d been doing when they were pre-school age.
We played board games and word games and imaginary games, and with lego and blocks and toy animals. We did puzzles and craft, played on the trampoline and swings, went for walks, watched TV and read books. I was actively involved with their activities throughout the day, playing with them, answering questions, setting things up the way they wanted them.
I would often put things out in the morning that they might be interested in – a few puzzles or toys, a couple of books – sometimes they would pick them up and play with them and other times they chose different activities.
I usually followed their lead in what we played, although I would also suggest activities based on something we’d just read or watched, which they were free to say yes or no to. Once or twice I attempted a structured craft activity which ended up with all of us being stressed and not enjoying it, so we stuck to unstructured art and craft with the kids creating some really cool things. We played word and number games at home and in the car, rhyming and ‘starts with’ and ‘sounds like’ etc., and counting and adding and recognising numbers on signs.
I read a LOT of books aloud – picture books and non-fiction books. I fitted in cooking and housework around their play, usually they were with me while I did my stuff, and I could still interact with their games while I worked.
As they got a little older, the activities stayed pretty much the same, although we added in a bit more TV and then iPads and video games. I was still involved in playing most of their games with them and I continued to put out fun things to play with: a toy they hadn’t seen for a while, something I’d picked up at the op shop, a new puzzle etc.
I browsed the op shops regularly and brought home things that I thought they would like or that looked interesting based on what I knew of their interests and the types of things they liked to explore. This was also a great way to introduce them to ideas they hadn’t come across before, bringing out a new type of craft activity or a book about a topic they hadn’t thought much about. Some things sparked new interests and others weren’t so inspiring.
The toy library was also a great way to try different toys and see what worked well – some of the things we borrowed then led to us buying our own copy. I bought new resources too that I thought looked cool.
We had a heap of maths manipulatives which we played with like they were just another toy, not in any structured way, but the kids learnt lots of mathematical concepts by trying things out as they played.
We spent many, many hours a week at the library, bringing home bagfuls of books each time. Story books and books about space and animals and the earth, and I continued to spend a lot of time reading out loud. The books would be strewn around the house for anyone to dip into when they felt like it. I also started reading chapter books in the evening. We continued to play word games – rhyming games, words that start with the same letter, matching words on cards – again, nothing structured but lots of exposure to words and spelling and how language works.
There were many discussions sparked by things we read or watched, which often led to reading or watching more books and shows, or looking things up to get more information. The kids often asked me to ‘search it up’ on google to help them find out more about a topic.
As they started playing more video games and some board games independently, they needed help reading the text in their games. I read it for them until they were able to read it themselves. If they were playing a particularly text-based game, they’d sit near me so that I could read for them while I was cooking or cleaning or playing with one of the other kids. I looked up how to beat new levels and read the hints for them.
If they wanted to write a story they would dictate it for me and I’d type it out for them. I read chapter books each night for many years, then we moved on to audio books in the car, both of which were great ways for them to listen to stories that they weren’t yet able to read for themselves. I helped them write letters and cards to people. I didn’t spend quite as much of my time playing with them but I was always nearby to help and to get involved when they needed me. We still did puzzles and played board games and played outside every day.
When they wanted to learn to do something new, I would show them what I knew, or find a friend or relative who knew how to do it, and get them the resources they needed to get started and to continue if they enjoyed it. Gradually over the next several years they became more able to do many of those things themselves. They all read independently and it’s been a few years since I read a book out loud to them. They each listen to their chosen audio books now, although I often help them find new books to listen to (or physical books to read).
When they are playing video games they look up the walkthroughs themselves, or for each other.
They are able to google their own information and find YouTube videos about their interests or how to do things. I’m still involved though – sometimes they are not sure how to word a question or where to go to find more information, or how to interpret the answers they have found, so they ask me to help.
When they learn new information, they like to discuss it with me – either to share their new knowledge or to figure out how it fits into their world view. We have a lot of discussions about how things work or why things are the way they are, and also talk about how to figure out if the information source is reliable or not.
They like to talk things through as they develop their own philosophies and they like to know my views, while not feeling that they have to believe the same things that I do.
Many of the skills they want to learn now are beyond my expertise, so my role is more along the lines of helping them find a way to learn – looking at YouTube tutorials together or figuring out if a course would be suitable (and providing the funds if necessary – as well as getting them the resources they need, as I’ve always done).
I spend less time browsing op shops and the library for interesting items, although if I see something I know they would like I still buy and bring it home.
I’m more likely to find interesting information online and send them a link, and they do the same for me which is quite fun.
We continue to play board or card games together several times a week. The games are fun and still provide learning opportunities, and it’s a really good chance to talk and laugh and reconnect, as much of their time is spent with friends or doing their own thing now.
We also walk together fairly regularly which creates a similar opening for connection.
Even though I don’t have as much hands-on involvement with their learning anymore, sometimes opportunities pop up unexpectedly.
Recently one of my teens said he’d like to know more about square numbers. We talked about them for a while then I got out the MAB blocks to demonstrate something I’d said, and we played for ages making squares, then other patterns with the blocks. It was fun, and a great reminder that there are still ways I can help them with their learning, and a reminder for him that there’s always a variety of ways to learn more about the things he is wondering about.
From Otherways 169 (August 2021)