I like unschooling but I want community.

[Maze of Mirrors]

(My son is two.  I have time to decide what kind of education I want for him.  I've changed my mind many times since I started thinking about this, before I got pregnant, and I'll probably change my mind again.)  

So right now I'm leaning towards unschooling.  The only thing is, I think, I want an educational community and I'm not sure I can get that without a school.  I read "Lives of Passion, School of Hope" about Jefferson County Open School and what I read about the emotional growth the whole community got from the school, I want that, for my son and myself.  Maybe it's because I'm single and my parents and sister have very different views of parenting and education than I do.  But is there a way to let my son learn his way, without myself or a school getting in the way, and still have the emotional education and community support that a school like the Open School can provide?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

[NellieKatz]

Well, I will first say that I am not a pure-unschooler--I insist on certain basic things for his "toolbox" and then those things allow my son (8) to pursue his own interests.

However, child-led is very important to me because it keeps his love of learning intact, whereas an environment where others are always deciding what he studies and when, and for how long....I'm afraid that would kill his love of learning.

I don't  have time right now to look up the school you're referring to, but in our case we have several options where we live. There is a place that offers classes for kids. There's math, science, animation, robotics, history, acting and other great things. So we take a few classes there. We also took classes when he was at the preschool level, at our local audubon sanctuary. That's a great place to find and build community. And then, of course, there are homeschooling co-ops.

Remember, unschooling doesn't necessarily refer to the type of structure, so much as the fact that it's child-led. If your child's anything like mine, he will probably WANT something like the places we attend, because he will see his friends there. And the collaborative learning that goes on there (this is a mostly homeschooling-based community, though they do offer classes later in the day for kids coming from public school), is really valuable and fun. It's not the "sit and your seat and be quiet" type of environment, but very free and accepting of different learning styles. These are individual programs, not full-time school. We like this type of thing because we can pick and choose when and where he goes to class, and for how long.

We're blessed to have this type of thing in our community, as well as a very large and active HSing community. Whatever class we sign up for, we seem to run into more friends that my son already knows. And of course there's Sunday School. We belong to the unitarian church and he's lucky to be able to grow right alongside all these kids that he goes to Sunday School with. I did that deliberately, so he could make friendships to last over the long term.

Gotta run.......

[Maze of Mirrors]

Thank you NellieKatz.  That's exactly what I was wondering about.  

So if you are part of a homeschooling community, you don't necessarily have to follow a certain structure, correct?  I guess I'm unsure how a place that offers classes to kids can do that without submitting them to the standardized tests and state requirements.  (I'm in CA and its standard hell here.)

I imagine it could be wonderful for my son to pick and choose classes of all types and at any place but is that possible?

[OTMomma]

What kind of homeschooling options you have depends on your geographic location, and your own desire to create what you want. My daughter has done lots of interesting classes at the YMCA, no pressure or testing, but the children do have to follow the rules of the class, follow directions etc. Our bigger sense of community has come from our homeschool group and the other moms I have made a connection with and done regular activities with- weekly park play dates, holiday parties and group learning activities. We also did girl scouts this year and that was great too.

[Disco Infiltrator]

have you looked into finding other unschoolers?  DS is four and just now beginning to need more community, so we're seeking it out and hanging out with other unschooling families.  We have a strong HS community in Seattle, but I find that I don't connect in as much with the HS crowd.  You can create the community you need and you'll do that when you need it.  

[Maze of Mirrors]

You know, there is a new unschooling group in our area.  But everything here, SoCal, is a long drive away, and I dream of moving to a different community.  To be honest, reading your replies, I know I have everything I need here, but I've been avoiding it, trying not to create roots that hold me here.  Hmm, now that I know I can find what I want for my son here, I guess its about me...as usual - I've got issues ;)