I absolutely unschool with structure! The banks of a river provide the structure for the river to flow. It just doesn’t need to be a rigid one, more of a rhythm than a scheduled routine.
We have naturally found we have gravitated towards a rhythm as well. It's more of a weekly rhythm with several days being similar. We always start our days slowly, my kids rarely wake up before 8.30 and love a bit of relaxed play to ease themselves into the day. They also find their deep creativity at bedtime after stories and suddenly become interested in learning to write or grab pens & paper & start drawing amazing pictures. The challenge comes when everyone else in the house is way too tired to fully support their interests at that time and can't imagine how they've found the energy to become so creative. I also think it's partly because it's the only time the house is quiet and still enough for that energy to flow through them - the rest of the day they're so active even if we invite them to get creative in the day. Its like a switch goes off when it gets dark - haha!
Same here. This is why I slowly made out quite time earlier. I do this by dimming the lights and quieting the house. After pjs and story--- they have all that extra time to play & be creative. 😊
New to unschooling, pulled my 2 children from mainstream school having seen the loss of themselves, I would love a free flow unschool environment but my son who has ASD needs some routine, so I’m juggling being free flow around certain things that have to happen x much love and healing to you x
Hi Lucy, it's so interesting to get glimpses of real life situations from unschooling families! My kids are 3 & 1, we just pulled the older out of daycare and I struggle with going with the flow and 'hangriness' (anger bc of hunger 🙃)... So, yeah, still experimenting with what works best for our family. Thank you for sharing and showing your funny personality 😘
Hey lucy! Loved this video and finding out about your daily rhythm. I’ve often thought about how you do tv in the mornings so you can have some self care time, but I have always felt funny about tv first thing in the morning! BUT we are going to give it a go! After connecting with the kids through play, we will have breakfast together and then the tv is ON! So I can breath, journal, shower (!!?) without constantly getting annoyed with disruptions from the kids. Then we will do the meat - beach/park/meet friends etc. But the morning tv time is just for self care, then afternoon tv is when I will do my work. So that’s what we are going to trial 🙂. Our kids also love getting creative after dinner with writing, drawing, painting etc. A natural way to wind down maybe? I’ve always loved a little rhythm but equally find it important to go with the flow ❤️
Awww you poor thing!! Your knee. I love how you shared that moment with us. Just so real. And real is so important. Sometimes I can even judge myself as a human for not having a perfect healthy body. And I just so appreciated that little glimpse into you. ❤ I’m sorry you have a hurt knee though.
Hi Lucy. I was waiting for one of your videos. I wanted to leave you a comment of gratitude. Your old youtube channel and all your input is the reason I chose to do unschooling with my daughter several years ago. I had already decided on home schooling but your input really made a difference. So thank you! never got a chance to tell you
100%. That is the beauty of unschooling. You can make it whatever you want it to be for each of your kid's needs. Some want structure, some don't. You can tailor it however.
Your fly squatting and notes made.me LAUGH!!! But sorry for your injury. That's always a challenging one for me. When something unexpected happens, like an injury, it often requires a change in rythym and that's one that I can really push back against! So still learning here to truly go with the flow and react faster when things need to change or tweak a little. 3 years in and still learning to let go and fully trust that our daughter can manage her time and day in ways that feed her. Also still learning what I want to do, what my rythym is, and finding things that feed me too. Although this is still challenging for me, I wouldn't change it. The learning I'm doing feels long overdue. And the learning I see our daughter doing is powerful and so relevant to meeting her needs. It feels radical and important. Loved your vid, thank you!
Ahh thank you. That was a prompt I didn't realise we needed, but totally did. We need to mix up our loose routine, and I need to get on top of my 'fear' (?) of electronics in the morning and be more open to the why's and how's and what's. Love your stuff xo
Definitely used to agonize over implementing new family structures... Learning to let go into new possibilities. Our whole family gets most creative an energized after dinner too!
This was so helpful. Thank you. We struggle with our 5 year old wanting to connect/be active/chatty first thing at the butt crack of dawn. Spouse and I want silent coffee time. I was giving kiddo the iPad and feeling guilty. But I’m soooo much happier when I start my day in peace…. So I think I’ll let him have the iPad again. Even if it’s only for a season. I can’t wait until he learns to read. I’m hoping he’s a bookworm Lol
My friend unschooled. Her son is an outstanding Silks Performer now. And he is at the top of his game. I bet he will be in films. One friends son has his own Gardening Business thanks to Home Education. I believe children can thrive in a free and loving environment. They learn better. School was so stressful for my child. She begged me to Home Educate twice. First time I got her moved class because of a bullying teacher that knew she struggled, but he enjoyed humiliating her in front of the class with Maths. Long story. She had a lovely teacher for a while but was not allowed to do Art like the other children. Taking into account this was her favourite subject, and how she cried before school. It upset me a lot. I hate these Bullying Elite Academic brick walls that prevent us from moving forward and enjoying life. When she got another strict teacher that told her she could not read a big book like her peers, and forced her to read the boring school books, my daughter said, "Yes I can read a big book, I will show that teacher!" Now thanks to Home Education she is a Bookworm. She could hardly read, write or spell in school. I used Kindness, Art and Music to make reading fun, not stressful. Dork Diaries Author Rachel Renee Russell helped my daughter to love reading big books. Her stories are funny and hit on real life bullies. My daughter could relate to the stories because she was bullied by some teachers and children. I love the way Dork has been turned into a cool and positive thing thanks to these books. It basically says bullies back off. Dyslexic Thinking is now part of the online Dictionary.com and LinkedIn Business as a SKILL. The NHS Healthcare website states that Dyslexics are Problem Solvers, but the Academics in control of education are not team players. They will not allow us to help make reading fun, and not stressful. My daughter is an amazing Artist thanks to Home Education. She is self-motivated. Her College Art teacher said her Art is the best she has seen in a long time. Her English Tutor said her Descriptive Writing is very advanced and she can tell she reads. The College Application form should not have Maths questions in it for creative people. Most artists hate Maths. Many prisoners cannot read, 50 percent are Dyslexic. So I wish these Academics in Education would back off and let us celebrate our achievements where they have failed. We hate Maths. And it's ok because we are good at other things. You only need basic maths to get through life. But reading, now that is something that is far more important. Good luck everyone. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ P.S. We did try with Maths. My daughter had a Maths tutor. But Dyslexics have poor memories. It was far more important to master her reading and English than Maths.
I was taught ITA English Twaddle in school (England). A backward Alien language that made no sense at all. A lab rat experiment. Long story. But I made it to Managing Directors Secretary with not one qualification to my name. We need more apprenticeships. I will get a Government apology one day for my daughter and others they have failed and bullied with their unfair education system.
I have downloaded 3 books on unschooling: The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart Free to Learn by Peter Gray Unschooling to University by Judy Arnall The great thing about electronic books is searchability to see what is there and what is not. Of course I searched for science fiction. Only Free to Learn made any mention of it. One of the students admitted that he was obsessed with it as a kid. He became a mathematics professor at a major university according to the book. What I searched for and did not find in any of the books were Project Gutenberg and Librivox. These are free sources of material that all kinds of home schoolers should be aware of. Librivox creates audiobooks from public domain material while Project Gutenberg provides them as text in various formats. Since the oldest of these unschooling books is from 2013 and I have used Project Gutenberg since 2008 or 9 this almost amounts to criminal negligence. LOL There are 5 versions of Black Beauty in Librivox. The quality of the readings in their library varies. Most that I have tried are acceptable to good though a couple were too bad for me to tolerate. Your kids might like the dramatized version of Black Beauty which uses multiple readers for different characters. There is usually only one reader per audiobook.
Lucy! Our routine sounds right on similar!! We started unschooling with slight routine because of our oldest thriving more on routine. But traveling the last year, we let flow and there was less routine, until recently the kids mentioning missing that. So we made some adjustments for now, until it changes again! It seems like youngers create their own rhythm and need all flexibility and simplicity. As the kids are getting older, the 8, 10, 12, and 14 year olds, it's really changing up, Im struggling to keep up with all the individual needs especially the teens. Any other teen unschooling family's out there? Biggest issue right now is not having community with other teens. Same age connection was never such a focus until now, seems to be a deep desire. Much love, and truly appreciate the videos Lucy!
I've had 5 who've been through high school... I found that around 14-15 on up they took school into their own hands and I made sure they had whatever subjects they're interested in on hand. If they found they could work part time jobs besides then they did that. I have 6 more to go.... So lots could change . I find that as soon as I try to do something too unstructured or too much routine it doesn't work. But rather hold everything loosely and that's the flow for us. Structure lightly and spontaneous lightly. Always fighting for balance for everyone happiness.
Love hearing from you heidi 🥰 do you ever go to any “not back to school camps” over there? That might be an awesome place for your older ones to connect with other teens?
I really want to start unschooling next year with my son. I am a single mum, is there any advice for us in beginning the unschooling journey? Thank you!
We have a natural rhythm with our unschooling. The interesting thing is we were travelling and living abroad for the last two years and yet we still have a rhythm to our day no matter where we were. Our kids usually play in the early morning while I do a work out. We then all gather up together about 10ish for a brunch type snack. After that we usually do something together such a baking or games. We have a rest after lunch (kids watch telly) and then play some more games in the afternoon. They sometimes help with meal prep in the late afternoon followed by dinner. After dinner we often play hide and seek followed by a craft activity which I sit with them and do. The day always ends with a story that I read to them. This is of course is flexible as some days we go out somewhere.
I work full time from home and I'm wondering if it's possible or just going to be too much. My 7 year old has PDA and 4 year old has just started school. Both are fine about going to school (for now) but I feel very uneasy about it... but want to pull them out at some point.
Lucy ❤😍 our unschooling day has looked very very similar to yours for about a year now! I hadn't even thought of it as being a routine or rhythm! Can I ask for your advice on evenings please? The boys (6 and 4) suddenly become very engaged and super creative... but they are also tired. They normally fall asleep by 7:30- 8:00 (not a set bedtime) but the times that I have actively helped them in setting up all their sudden evening interests we have been awake for hours later learning! I feel like I am perhaps missing an opportunity for their learning by continuing to go to bed at our normal time. But equally I know how tired they are (and I am) and am really keen to make sure we are all well rested so there are minimal meltdowns the following day lol ....
I would love to do this.. my son is p7..my daughter has gone through school she is 5th year and is so disinterested in learning anything but I just don't want her to be sitting about with no direction.... I really want to try this with my son as I do not see the need for high school.. I'm just so scared as I don't know anyone else doing this x
I absolutely unschool with structure! The banks of a river provide the structure for the river to flow. It just doesn’t need to be a rigid one, more of a rhythm than a scheduled routine.
We have naturally found we have gravitated towards a rhythm as well. It's more of a weekly rhythm with several days being similar. We always start our days slowly, my kids rarely wake up before 8.30 and love a bit of relaxed play to ease themselves into the day. They also find their deep creativity at bedtime after stories and suddenly become interested in learning to write or grab pens & paper & start drawing amazing pictures. The challenge comes when everyone else in the house is way too tired to fully support their interests at that time and can't imagine how they've found the energy to become so creative. I also think it's partly because it's the only time the house is quiet and still enough for that energy to flow through them - the rest of the day they're so active even if we invite them to get creative in the day. Its like a switch goes off when it gets dark - haha!
So nice to hear thank you!
Same here. This is why I slowly made out quite time earlier. I do this by dimming the lights and quieting the house. After pjs and story--- they have all that extra time to play & be creative. 😊
Oh my goodness 100% My kids at just 6, 2 and 1 become so creative and focused on whatever they start doing after dinner!
New to unschooling, pulled my 2 children from mainstream school having seen the loss of themselves, I would love a free flow unschool environment but my son who has ASD needs some routine, so I’m juggling being free flow around certain things that have to happen x much love and healing to you x
Ah that’s so awesome that you followed your gut on this one 🥰
Us too. 7 year old is asd. I'm concerned he will choose computer games all day?
Hi Lucy, it's so interesting to get glimpses of real life situations from unschooling families! My kids are 3 & 1, we just pulled the older out of daycare and I struggle with going with the flow and 'hangriness' (anger bc of hunger 🙃)... So, yeah, still experimenting with what works best for our family. Thank you for sharing and showing your funny personality 😘
Thanks so much! That circadian rhythm of after dinner makes sense why my kids play so beautifully and create such wonderful stories at night.
This video was great! So helpful! Thank you.
Hey lucy! Loved this video and finding out about your daily rhythm. I’ve often thought about how you do tv in the mornings so you can have some self care time, but I have always felt funny about tv first thing in the morning! BUT we are going to give it a go! After connecting with the kids through play, we will have breakfast together and then the tv is ON! So I can breath, journal, shower (!!?) without constantly getting annoyed with disruptions from the kids. Then we will do the meat - beach/park/meet friends etc. But the morning tv time is just for self care, then afternoon tv is when I will do my work. So that’s what we are going to trial 🙂.
Our kids also love getting creative after dinner with writing, drawing, painting etc. A natural way to wind down maybe? I’ve always loved a little rhythm but equally find it important to go with the flow ❤️
So nice! You can always switch it up huh? x
Awww you poor thing!! Your knee. I love how you shared that moment with us. Just so real. And real is so important. Sometimes I can even judge myself as a human for not having a perfect healthy body. And I just so appreciated that little glimpse into you. ❤ I’m sorry you have a hurt knee though.
Hi Lucy. I was waiting for one of your videos. I wanted to leave you a comment of gratitude. Your old youtube channel and all your input is the reason I chose to do unschooling with my daughter several years ago. I had already decided on home schooling but your input really made a difference. So thank you! never got a chance to tell you
Ah, beautiful! Thank you so much for letting me know! THat is super cool!
100%. That is the beauty of unschooling. You can make it whatever you want it to be for each of your kid's needs. Some want structure, some don't. You can tailor it however.
Yes, it's part of the magic huh :D
Your fly squatting and notes made.me LAUGH!!! But sorry for your injury. That's always a challenging one for me. When something unexpected happens, like an injury, it often requires a change in rythym and that's one that I can really push back against! So still learning here to truly go with the flow and react faster when things need to change or tweak a little. 3 years in and still learning to let go and fully trust that our daughter can manage her time and day in ways that feed her. Also still learning what I want to do, what my rythym is, and finding things that feed me too. Although this is still challenging for me, I wouldn't change it. The learning I'm doing feels long overdue. And the learning I see our daughter doing is powerful and so relevant to meeting her needs. It feels radical and important. Loved your vid, thank you!
So much learning! Isn’t it so amazing, I love your description of this ❤️
Ahh thank you. That was a prompt I didn't realise we needed, but totally did. We need to mix up our loose routine, and I need to get on top of my 'fear' (?) of electronics in the morning and be more open to the why's and how's and what's. Love your stuff xo
Same here!
You have made my day, been unschooling for a year now and this is definitely our flow too haha.. Kids are enjoying then routine
Thanks for watching 🥰
so true!!! circadian rhythm! amazing! exactly how my kids are.
cool huh!
Definitely used to agonize over implementing new family structures... Learning to let go into new possibilities. Our whole family gets most creative an energized after dinner too!
This was so helpful. Thank you. We struggle with our 5 year old wanting to connect/be active/chatty first thing at the butt crack of dawn. Spouse and I want silent coffee time. I was giving kiddo the iPad and feeling guilty. But I’m soooo much happier when I start my day in peace…. So I think I’ll let him have the iPad again. Even if it’s only for a season. I can’t wait until he learns to read. I’m hoping he’s a bookworm Lol
Love that you all decide what to do as a family 💖🙏✨
My friend unschooled. Her son is an outstanding Silks Performer now. And he is at the top of his game. I bet he will be in films. One friends son has his own Gardening Business thanks to Home Education. I believe children can thrive in a free and loving environment. They learn better.
School was so stressful for my child. She begged me to Home Educate twice. First time I got her moved class because of a bullying teacher that knew she struggled, but he enjoyed humiliating her in front of the class with Maths. Long story. She had a lovely teacher for a while but was not allowed to do Art like the other children. Taking into account this was her favourite subject, and how she cried before school. It upset me a lot. I hate these Bullying Elite Academic brick walls that prevent us from moving forward and enjoying life.
When she got another strict teacher that told her she could not read a big book like her peers, and forced her to read the boring school books, my daughter said, "Yes I can read a big book, I will show that teacher!" Now thanks to Home Education she is a Bookworm. She could hardly read, write or spell in school. I used Kindness, Art and Music to make reading fun, not stressful. Dork Diaries Author Rachel Renee Russell helped my daughter to love reading big books. Her stories are funny and hit on real life bullies. My daughter could relate to the stories because she was bullied by some teachers and children.
I love the way Dork has been turned into a cool and positive thing thanks to these books. It basically says bullies back off.
Dyslexic Thinking is now part of the online Dictionary.com and LinkedIn Business as a SKILL.
The NHS Healthcare website states that Dyslexics are Problem Solvers, but the Academics in control of education are not team players. They will not allow us to help make reading fun, and not stressful.
My daughter is an amazing Artist thanks to Home Education. She is self-motivated. Her College Art teacher said her Art is the best she has seen in a long time. Her English Tutor said her Descriptive Writing is very advanced and she can tell she reads. The College Application form should not have Maths questions in it for creative people. Most artists hate Maths.
Many prisoners cannot read, 50 percent are Dyslexic. So I wish these Academics in Education would back off and let us celebrate our achievements where they have failed.
We hate Maths. And it's ok because we are good at other things. You only need basic maths to get through life. But reading, now that is something that is far more important.
Good luck everyone. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
P.S. We did try with Maths. My daughter had a Maths tutor. But Dyslexics have poor memories. It was far more important to master her reading and English than Maths.
I was taught ITA English Twaddle in school (England). A backward Alien language that made no sense at all. A lab rat experiment. Long story. But I made it to Managing Directors Secretary with not one qualification to my name.
We need more apprenticeships.
I will get a Government apology one day for my daughter and others they have failed and bullied with their unfair education system.
ye,i also have this morning compromise with kids,when they watch cartoons and i use this time for going for food.Hugs frim Russia
I wonder if the word "routine" could be replaced with "rhythm" 🤷🏾♀️
I really love this method of homeschooling or unschooling. But my concern is income. How do you make a living financially?
I have downloaded 3 books on unschooling:
The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart
Free to Learn by Peter Gray
Unschooling to University by Judy Arnall
The great thing about electronic books is searchability to see what is there and what is not. Of course I searched for science fiction. Only Free to Learn made any mention of it. One of the students admitted that he was obsessed with it as a kid. He became a mathematics professor at a major university according to the book.
What I searched for and did not find in any of the books were Project Gutenberg and Librivox. These are free sources of material that all kinds of home schoolers should be aware of. Librivox creates audiobooks from public domain material while Project Gutenberg provides them as text in various formats. Since the oldest of these unschooling books is from 2013 and I have used Project Gutenberg since 2008 or 9 this almost amounts to criminal negligence. LOL
There are 5 versions of Black Beauty in Librivox. The quality of the readings in their library varies. Most that I have tried are acceptable to good though a couple were too bad for me to tolerate. Your kids might like the dramatized version of Black Beauty which uses multiple readers for different characters. There is usually only one reader per audiobook.
Lucy! Our routine sounds right on similar!! We started unschooling with slight routine because of our oldest thriving more on routine. But traveling the last year, we let flow and there was less routine, until recently the kids mentioning missing that. So we made some adjustments for now, until it changes again! It seems like youngers create their own rhythm and need all flexibility and simplicity. As the kids are getting older, the 8, 10, 12, and 14 year olds, it's really changing up, Im struggling to keep up with all the individual needs especially the teens. Any other teen unschooling family's out there? Biggest issue right now is not having community with other teens. Same age connection was never such a focus until now, seems to be a deep desire. Much love, and truly appreciate the videos Lucy!
I've had 5 who've been through high school... I found that around 14-15 on up they took school into their own hands and I made sure they had whatever subjects they're interested in on hand. If they found they could work part time jobs besides then they did that. I have 6 more to go.... So lots could change . I find that as soon as I try to do something too unstructured or too much routine it doesn't work. But rather hold everything loosely and that's the flow for us. Structure lightly and spontaneous lightly. Always fighting for balance for everyone happiness.
@@enosyodermattieyoder4298 Thank you so much for sharing! I really appreciate your words, hold everything loosely, thats where we are at! Much love!
Love hearing from you heidi 🥰 do you ever go to any “not back to school camps” over there? That might be an awesome place for your older ones to connect with other teens?
@@LucyatLifeWithoutSchool I was looking into one but it’s been closed the last 2 years, we would love to be apart of one!
I just love your face. You're a breath of fresh air
This is so helpful!! Thank you!!!
Thank you
So you guys have a routine of playing roblox.. Amazing life skill learning there 😅 my niece go to school and also manage to play roblox... Woah!
We start the day the same, and we are not unschoolers.
I allow the mind to fully awaken, lol
I really want to start unschooling next year with my son. I am a single mum, is there any advice for us in beginning the unschooling journey? Thank you!
We have a natural rhythm with our unschooling. The interesting thing is we were travelling and living abroad for the last two years and yet we still have a rhythm to our day no matter where we were. Our kids usually play in the early morning while I do a work out. We then all gather up together about 10ish for a brunch type snack. After that we usually do something together such a baking or games. We have a rest after lunch (kids watch telly) and then play some more games in the afternoon. They sometimes help with meal prep in the late afternoon followed by dinner. After dinner we often play hide and seek followed by a craft activity which I sit with them and do. The day always ends with a story that I read to them. This is of course is flexible as some days we go out somewhere.
beautiful! What a joyous life :D
I work full time from home and I'm wondering if it's possible or just going to be too much. My 7 year old has PDA and 4 year old has just started school. Both are fine about going to school (for now) but I feel very uneasy about it... but want to pull them out at some point.
Do you have a copy of your planner as an outline to be edited?
Lucy ❤😍 our unschooling day has looked very very similar to yours for about a year now! I hadn't even thought of it as being a routine or rhythm!
Can I ask for your advice on evenings please?
The boys (6 and 4) suddenly become very engaged and super creative... but they are also tired. They normally fall asleep by 7:30- 8:00 (not a set bedtime) but the times that I have actively helped them in setting up all their sudden evening interests we have been awake for hours later learning!
I feel like I am perhaps missing an opportunity for their learning by continuing to go to bed at our normal time. But equally I know how tired they are (and I am) and am really keen to make sure we are all well rested so there are minimal meltdowns the following day lol ....
I would love to do this.. my son is p7..my daughter has gone through school she is 5th year and is so disinterested in learning anything but I just don't want her to be sitting about with no direction.... I really want to try this with my son as I do not see the need for high school.. I'm just so scared as I don't know anyone else doing this x
We are unschooling now.
Narcissism gone wild