I sometimes wonder if unschooling is the best approach for us. Like, if I could go back and start this all again, would it be the same path? Obviously not exactly the same, but would I have jumped in so completely knowing the things I know now?
When I play this hindsight game, it becomes pretty clear that consent-based education as an extension of partnership parenting or even gentle parenting is the approach that feels the best to me. I used to joke that before I had kids, I didn’t know how to hang out with kids. And then I had kids and I realized that the best way to hang out with them is to just be yourself. Now it feels like kids are the only ones I can really be myself around.
So no, I wouldn’t abandon unschooling entirely if I was going to start over but there are definitely some principles and practices that I would change. I don’t recommend diving head first into unlimited screen time or zero food restrictions or no bedtimes, simply because you have no idea how your kids are going to sit with those kinds of responsibilities.
told me the other day that their approach has been steps forward and back to find their groove: a daily adjustment to meet the needs of everyone involved, and that feels like a much better approach than what we did out of the gate.