Parents share why they're 'unschooling' their kids and how it's different from homeschooling

Many parents are in their back-to-school mode. But in some families, school never stopped this summer, and their kids don’t plan on stepping foot inside a classroom this year either.

Instead, those parents are “unschooling” their kids. It's kind of like homeschooling, but the kids take the reins in what they learn.

“Unschooling to me is completely different from what traditional schooling is,” said mother Molly Bonds, who's practiced unschooling with her two boys their whole lives.

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Bonds is a former grade school teacher, and she taught for a decade. Now she is a 24/7 educator for her 9-year-old and 11-year-old sons, who are being unschooled at their home near Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“Homeschooling, you’re usually educating your child at home," Bonds explained. "You’re usually following a curriculum, versus unschooling, you’re following your child’s desires, your child’s interests. So, you may grab a curriculum to help with that but overall, you’re really just presenting, like, a feast for your child. Your child’s picking and choosing what’s interesting to them."

Lynette Heinz is on the other side of the state near Grand Rapids, but she’s on the same page about unschooling her three kids. She said the eldest is on the verge of starting unschooling at the high school level.

“The unschooling is happening year-round, all day long,” Heinz said. “I see them learning so much in ways that works for their learning styles and their interests, so they’re really motivated."

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“Schools, the structure of them is set up really well for certain students, certain learning styles, and personalities," Heinz continued. "But there’s a lot who don’t really fit the box of school."

Unschooling isn’t a uniform method of educating, and it can look different to each household practicing. It’s also not tracked at the state level.

Michigan doesn’t keep track of how many kids are enrolled in any homeschool program. Per the Michigan Department of Education:

• There are no required tests for a homeschooled student.
• The issuance of report cards, transcripts, and diplomas are the responsibility of the homeschool family (based on internal standards).
• The annual reporting of a homeschool to the Michigan Department of Education is voluntary. (Reporting is required if a student is seeking special education services.)

Unschooling parents say the state not keeping close tabs does not mean their children aren’t learning.
“For all of them who are homeschooled or unschooled, there are nine required classes that parents have to make sure it’s the same classes you get if you go to school," Heinz said. "Math, science, language arts, and history and language arts get broken up a little bit, and then civics."

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“You have to teach the U.S. Constitution, the Michigan Constitution, Michigan history," Bonds added. "So they want to make sure you are actually graduating someone who’s going to be functional as a citizen.”

Parents can give their kid a high school diploma if they stay home through 18 years old.

Both Heinz and Bonds said if their kids do want to start public school, they can. In the meantime, they say they’re working lessons into everyday life.

“If we’re at a museum, that’s their classroom at that moment," Heinz said. "If we’re traveling and we’re in Florida on the beach in the middle of winter, that’s their classroom at that moment. If we’re at a park with friends, that’s the classroom."

“Inflicting a schedule on your children seems a little adult to me," Bonds added. "And so I would like my children to have open-ended free play time for the majority of their day.”

A playground or any place play can happen is a good place to facilitate learning, according to the U.S. State Department.

In a “Teacher’s Corner” article about teaching English language arts, the State Department said, “When teachers use activities that make learning engaging and fun, students are more willing to participate and take risks. Having fun while learning also helps students retain information better because the process is enjoyable and memorable.”

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An American Academy of Pediatrics article titled “The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds” backs up the value of play by saying, “Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth.”

“I knew from a very young age Ginley liked dinosaurs. So, my youngest was into dinosaurs, I had dinosaurs for him. We read dinosaur books. That’s unschooling," Bonds said. "That is playing with my child, realizing what he likes, what his interests are and because we have that super amazing parent-to-child connection, I knew the things."

Both parents say when asked about unschooling, they don’t really get a lot of negative pushback or comments. One myth they do want to put to rest is that their kids are not getting socialization; on the contrary, they have friends outside of their homes.

“That is why we’re here today. So, every single week on the same day of the week we meet up," Bonds said. "The kids are playing. The parents are interacting. And it’s much more socialization than you could ever get at school because at school you’re quiet, you’re sitting in your chair, you’re raising your hand. I taught public school, and we were keeping our kids very quiet."

“Everything that typical high school has around here, the homeschoolers have that same thing," Heinz added. "They have homecoming dances. They have other like, prom-type dances.”

The parents both belong to the Facebook group “Unschooling Michigan.” They invite any other parents interested in learning more about the concept and putting it into practice, to join.

This story was originally published by Brittany Toolis at Scripps News Detroit.