With seemingly no good options in the midst of a pandemic, I’m gearing up for a challenging school year. Regardless of the path my kids’ schooling takes, I know unfamiliar procedures and sudden changes will affect their learning experience.

But this won’t be the first academic hurdle we’ve faced. My kids have had their fair share of discipline challenges, food-allergy accommodations, burned out teachers, pointless busy-work homework, and social issues that affected their ability to learn. No matter the circumstance, however, my kids have always LOVED to LEARN, which is more powerful than any negative force that tries to take learning away from them.

My kids didn’t develop a love of learning by accident, but the unschooling that fostered their love of learning was an accident of sorts. As a mom, it’s always been my goal to keep my kids’ love of learning alive. Since their first few weeks of life, I’ve read to them, taken them to museums, and re-discovered the world with them. We’ve experimented in the kitchen, tried new sports, learned new cleaning methods, and continue to explore each other’s interests together. As I’ve found joy in learning along-side my kids, it’s become contagious. Now my kids can’t get enough and it shows in the initiative they take to read, investigate, and explore all on their own.

What I didn’t realize all this time is that I was actually “unschooling” my kids. I’d never heard this term until recently, but unschooling is actually considered an official method of education where (instead of using a set curriculum) a child’s education is self-guided based on their interests. The result is that their natural love of learning is fostered, knowledge retention is strengthened, and kids are motivated to continue learning with an even deeper exploration of concepts, both in guided settings and on their own initiative. Some parents use unschooling completely in place of any other traditional or home-schooling method. Others use it to help transition from one form of education to another. I’ve always sent my kids to public schools, but unschooled before they were old enough to attend and have kept unschooling during after-school hours and longer breaks from school.

So how do you get started and how will unschooling help your kids during this pandemic? Unschooling starts by simply offering your kids a variety of educational opportunities and encouraging them to investigate whichever options interest them most. Here’s how:

1. Take the time to learn along-side your kids and set an example of positivity about learning.
2. Make it compelling. You know your kids and what they like. Tease them with opportunities that interest them, rather than try to force learning upon them with consequences or ultimatums.
3. Keep it relaxed and engaging. There shouldn’t be any pressure to complete tasks or reach milestones by certain dates.
4. When your kids start showing interest in a topic or learning method, expand their opportunities by helping them find additional resources or information.
5. Most importantly, have fun with it! If you’re not having fun, it’s likely your kids won’t either, and it’s hard to pay attention to or learn anything when it’s not fun!

If you need help finding resources, check out the latest project my kids and I have started together, The Chef Free Club. We create themed kitchen experiences using food that is INCLUSIVE and feels normal to everyone, whether you’re on a special diet or not. In addition to recipes, collectible kitchen tools, and cooking lessons, we also provide unschooling resources for kids & parents that further each kit’s theme. Kids don’t even notice they’re learning when they follow our links exploring history, science, art, reading, math, social studies, and so much more.

Right now, we’re offering some special deals to help families adjust to their new school normal (whatever that may look like for you)! Explore our single kits or use a promo code for an extra discount on a subscription: