Example of what Life Learning looks like...

I think the most confusing thing for anyone starting on the unschooling journey is - what does it look like on a daily basis?

We have all been raised in such a routine society, with so many rules and things that "have" to be done a certain way,

that it is very strange to imagine days where anything can happen.

I know what that feels like, because I was there myself just a few short years ago.

I totally understand the terror of thinking - What will my child do if they are left to run wild and free?

That's why I want to keep putting out posts like these,

to inspire something more than just the same old Pinterest activities that you've circled back to, too many times.

What I hope to accomplish is a way of thinking that gets you to relax over time,

and hopefully changes your overall perception on what learning looks like.

This morning when Maddie woke up, the first thing she did was pick up her phone - now rewind to a few years ago and I would have immediately had that voice inside my head saying "all she wants to do is mess around on screens", but the enlightened and well seasoned life-learning me, knows better than that.

Now I know that just because it doesn't look like conventional learning,

or just because I've read a million different opinions about screen time over the years,

doesn't mean there is anything wrong with her picking up her phone first thing in the morning.

After all, that's exactly what I did this morning,

and I'm a healthy and well balanced person.

I just wanted to check the weather and see if I had any messages.

Turns out that's exactly what she was doing, and she had actually gotten a message from her friend from out of town,

who is coming for a visit next weekend.

So picking up her phone was what sparked her first idea for the day.

Imagine that.

They decided that they are going to film a YouTube video together when she is here - because Maddie has a channel that she started a while ago,

that she still posts to now and then,

when she feels like filming and editing.

The last video they filmed together was 'British kids trying South African vegan sweets',

so they decided to do an American candy one next.

She checked her purse to see how much money she had left over from her xmas stash, and now she's doing research online, checking which American candy is vegan, and whether it's cheaper to buy it as a hamper or as individual pieces.

Then she realised that getting a pen and paper to write down different prices from different websites would be the easiest way to work it out.

All of this is happening while I'm sitting here writing this, having my tea, and doing my journaling.

She is telling me all about it, as she likes to do, and I am listening enthusiastically, but all of the effort and input is coming from her.

When we first started this radical journey, I would have been mentally ticking off all the different things I thought she was covering, like writing, ICT, research and data, maths, filming, editing, team work etc.

Even typing it now has made me realise that I'm so far beyond that, because I struggled to get my mind to think of splitting subjects.

Life doesn't have subjects.

Everything you do as a person in the real world, even in the depths of society, and even as a mainstream educated person - is a collaboration of many 'subjects'.

It is impossible to go through life and not utilise a bit of everything.

So now my mind doesn't go there, and I've stopped trying to decide if what she's doing is learning or not, because ALL of it is.

Whether it makes sense to me or not.

It's still learning.

Even when she's watching TV, she is asking questions all the time, "what does this mean?", "what is that", and it's all related to life, and stuff she would otherwise not get answers to.

Doing research online,

collecting data and analysing it,

working out figures and budgeting -

it makes sense to me that she'll need these skills many times over in her life. Good decision making skills and experience dealing with this sort of thing...but parallelograms?

What you want for your child is a curious mind,

a mind that doesn't see learning as something separate from life,

something boring or limited.

You want your child to be interested and eager, always asking questions.

And all you have to do is relish in the fact that, because they are the ones asking, means they will most certainly retain that information.

Maybe you've even noticed that if you elaborate further on something they've asked you,

you'll notice them switch off after they have gotten the information to what they specifically asked for.

None of us truly take in information unless we are interested in it.

Once you truly understand this.

That this is how the mind works, you will quickly realise that any kind of forced learning or anything outside of their interests, will leave their mind as quickly as it was forced in there.

Stop the panic of feeling like there is a time limit for when they need to know things, and you will see that even if they aren't interested in something you think they should be right now,

they have their whole lives ahead of them, and they will get around to everything in their own time, all wrapped up in their own interests.

Anyway, Maddie got the answer she needed and went on Amazon, asked her dad if she can give him the cash if he lets her use his card to buy the stuff she needs, and proceeded to check prices, shipping, delivery dates before making her purchase.

Then she let her friend know that it's all a go for next weekend, and jumped back on her pc to write chapter 3 of the book she started on the weekend.

Then her piano teacher arrived and she had a super fun hour of playing piano and joking and laughing with her, before going straight back to her book after she left.

Then she picked up her guitar and messed around on that for a bit,

then she choreographed a gymnastics dance routine,

and made herself some lunch, before putting on some YouTube to watch baking channels, while she played games on her phone.

We have been chatting all the while, and she has been telling me things I didn't know and asking me questions about all sorts of things.

Just being around your kids and having conversations with them, where there is no rush, or distraction, can "teach" them so much more than a strict schedule and a bunch of worksheets ever could.

It's only lunchtime and Maddie has already done so many wonderful things for herself - she is relaxed, happy, and has no unnecessary stress.

More and more days like this strung together,

build her self-esteem, and show her what a good balance in life really looks like.

She gets to spend time around her family, building on those bonds, and be surrounded by a nurturing environment that reassures her,

and gives her a stable foundation to a successful life in every aspect of the word.

Her mental and emotional health are not being put under constant pressure, and she has the freedom to be herself and feel good about her mistakes and successes.

She has the time and the space to understand them and truly learn from them.

I feel like mental and emotional health are one of the most important things we should be focusing on, but end up just ignoring.

The whole world is sick, and everyone has anxiety and depression, yet we just keep taking stats,

and never actually doing anything about the findings.

Maddie is building her emotional intelligence, and maintaining a healthy mental state, all while living a life teeming with information and wisdom.

There is no doubt in my mind that she will accomplish many more awesome things before the day is done, and she will love every minute of it.

I hope that this has been helpful to anyone who is struggling with letting go and diving into life learning.

#Worldschooling #RadicalUnschooling #Activities #HomeEducation #Education #Lifelearning #DayintheLife #Unschooling #Wildeducation #health