As you gain greater comfort with the unschooling lifestyle, you start to find that breaking everything down into distinct subjects – and trying to find or create learning in every moment – is extremely limiting. Reading is writing is history is art is geography. Learning is in large part the process of making connections, following the threads and seeing where they lead, what they intersect with, and how they affect each other. When we try to set firm boundaries between various subjects, all we do is impede those connections, restraining and interrupting the natural curiosity and desire to build an ever more complete picture of the world and our place in it.
Idzie Desmarais
Unschooling Subjects?
Texas Homeschool Law requires that homeschoolers in Texas learn five basic subjects of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship. So how do Unschoolers learn these things if someone isn’t teaching them?
We don’t generally encourage Unschooling families to try to categorize their children’s activities/interests into “subjects”. It can interrupt spontaneity/play and often keeps parents from fully embracing Unschooling principles.
However, for new Unschoolers who are still trying to grasp the concept and sometimes in situations where the “primary parent” is trying to help a partner who isn’t witness to daily activities (or a non-custodial parent, etc. and/or that other person perhaps isn’t fully adopting of Unschooling) be able to “see” learning/skills – this categorizing might be necessary/helpful.
(For New Unschoolers, we recommend Deschooling. You can find more resources for Reluctant Partners/Spouses here.)
What about other subjects?
You’ll find more collections below. We also invite you to join us on the Texas Unschoolers Group on Facebook where we come together as a community, have live chats, answer questions, and offer support.
Unschooling: How I Teach… Or, Really, How We Learn, Subject By Subject by Joan Concilio/Unschool Rules
Subject Areas and Unschooling quotes, resources, and links curated by Sandra Dodd
Learning Subjects Through Unschooling by Unschooling Mom2Mom
Unschooling Curriculum by Unschoolers.org