by Missy Bell

Created on: September 23, 2010   Last Updated: December 11, 2010

Unschooling.  It's a buzz word.  We've heard about it on USA Today.  We've heard it associated with whole foods, the hippie movement, and anarchy - but for those of us who have chosen unschooling as a way to parent our children, we see the concept as a way of life. 

As we move our brood toward unschooling or immerse ourselves in the teachings of John Holt and Sandra Dodd, many of us find that there are more obstacles to overcome than we first thought.  It's not as easy as it looked on the pages of that RV family's blog.

Obstacle 1:  You, yourself, and you.

This is the toughest nut to crack for most of us.  As a former public school student and former public school teacher, thinking outside of the schooling box has been nigh unto impossible.  What about my child's "reading level"?  How will he or she "score" on the SAT and other competitive exams?  How will I "teach" math? 

The first way around this foreboding obstacle is to start over.  De-school.  Begin the process now. Stop thinking about teachers and reading levels and standardized tests and start thinking about your child as a natural learner.  Start thinking about all of the skills necessary for life as things that are tangible - think back on your toddler as he or she learned to walk.  Your baby as she learned to crawl.  Your son as he counted on his fingers and learned which color matched which word.  School was not necessary.  Questions, curiosity - these are the tools of learning.  It is our job to present our children with a fascinating world in which to live.  The learning is up to them.

Obstacle 2:  Your "classroom".

While the world is truly the classroom of the unschooling family, the home of the unschooling family has got to be an exciting part of that world.  We see unschool families portrayed as junk food eating, TV junkies who sit around all day starting at the boob tube and playing video games while munching on hot wings and potato chips and going to bed at 2AM.  There is unschooling, and there is neglect. 

Neglect is allowing your child to do whatever they want in an environment that looks just like that of a child who goes to school.  Unschooling is providing a rich educational environment in your own home.

This might mean you can't have those red leather couches or that breakable antique vase.  It means that you might need to save up for aquariums, terrariums,

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