When to start unschooling
Unschooling Preschoolers - When should I start unschooling?
hi friends and welcome back to our
channel in today's video we're going to
be discussing
unschooling in the early years let's get
into it this is a topic I am so
passionate about for me unschooling the
best time to start it is from birth yes
you heard me right from the earliest
ages that you possibly can you should be
taking your cues from your child with
their capabilities with the things they
want to learn and support them as they
go it's always such a strange concept to
me that people feel that they need help
by sending their child to school in
order to teach them things when they've
already helped their children achieve
the biggest milestones of learning to
walk learning to talk learning to eat
learning to manage their emotions all
those amazing things you have already
taught them and you're very capable and
so is your child the beauty about and
schooling from such an early age is
there is no negativity attached to
learning there only experience is having
their mum or dad there helping support
them to learn the world around them
they've had no negative experiences from
school they haven't been force-fed
information that they may or may not
need to know it is purely they are open
book a sponge ready just to absorb the
world around them now by avoiding adding
in curriculum or forced learning at this
young and tender age you will be gaining
their trust they will know that all you
are there for is love and support
there's no hidden agenda to learning
that suddenly becomes this battleground
that so many of us have been familiar
with they are there they trust you they
trust themselves because that is all
they have ever known and that is a
beautiful place to start with your
unschooling journey okay I'm gonna give
you guys some information now which
might help you understand the importance
of not enforcing education or curriculum
at a really young age it when I love
this it really helped me understand how
important it is to allow your children
to explore the world around them first
and foremost and after that I will give
you some examples of lovely activity
ideas that are perfect for this age
group a case of children between the age
of 4 and 5
soli learn in the right side of their
brain and the left side of the brain is
only fully into action for the age of
seven now what this means is that the
way they learn and understand is very
very different to how us as adults see
and explore the world around us now the
right side of your brain is responsible
for empathy and imagination and
creativity whereas the left side of your
brain is numeracy and literacy and
problem-solving and working things out
so you can see if you are living in the
right side of your brain how much harder
that would be to understand maths
equations or writing sentences it is why
so many young children get very
frustrated when they have these
expectations put upon them and all they
really want to do is just to live and
breathe and feel the world around them
young children are content with just
being just being present because the
right side of the brain lends itself to
only caring about the here and now the
left side of the brain likes to work out
what's going to come or the process of
getting there but young children just
aren't at that point yet there is a
beautiful quote from Albert Einstein
that says logic will take you from A to
B but imagination will take you
everywhere now I want to invite you to
flip your thinking on its head and
instead of with your preschoolers
thinking I need to get them ready for
school I need to keep them up to the
same pace as everybody else their age I
need them to understand why it is we've
got to do this how about thinking I need
to understand why it is they have to do
what it is they're doing when you go for
a walk you're walking to the shops you
want to get there you want to get back
you want to get it done yet they want to
stop every five minutes and smell that
flower or look at that ladybird or see
how the pavement feels on their hands
and it can be so frustrating because you
just want to get to where you want to be
but all they know about they don't know
about the shops they don't they don't
care about that they just want to know
how it feels to do what it is they're
doing right now and it's so important to
allow them without them to lie in the
grass and
just be still for five minutes or cloud
watch or to eat their dinner with their
hands because they just want to know how
it feels all those things are really
important learning skills and we're
always in such a rush to get somewhere
or to teach them this or get them ready
when up into the age of seven really all
they need to do is just be present and
absorb everything around them because
that is how they've learned up into this
point and that is all they need to learn
right now as well of course we like to
give our children as many experiences as
possible and that will include the
alphabet and the numbers and holding a
pen correctly and yes there will be
children at different ages that might be
ready for that or might be asking for
that but all I'm asking for you to do is
to just wait until they are ready see
the queues offer them things by all
means but never ever force anything upon
them because right now they need to have
your trust they need to be passionate to
learn you want to set this up now so
that they have a whole life of wanting
to learn of wanting to be creative and
passionate and be trusted and trust
themselves that they are capable now is
where that begins of course you need to
expose your children to so many
different things science and history and
art and maths and English of course you
do but please please please this young
preschool age center all around play
make it fun fun fun because they will
learn so much just from living and just
from having fun and experiencing all
those tiny little things that we take
for granted because we no longer live in
the right side of our brains okay let's
get on to some amazing examples of how
unschooling can look to celebrate the
fact that these children are developing
in the right-side of their brains so
many fun activities we still do them now
because they are so important and so
much fun and full of so much learning
it's so hard to believe that if your
child isn't sat down with a pen in their
hand
proving what they've learned that no
learning has taken place just from one
simple play tray they could be learning
so much from communication to roleplay
hypothesizing
calculations you name it the list just
goes on and on fine motor skills gross
motor skills and it's just play that's
all it is to everybody else looking from
the outside it just it's like they're
having fun but there the list goes on
and on for all of the things they can
learn they can courage good handwriting
and good storytelling there is just so
much that can be learned just from
having play you do not need to make it
look like school in order for them to
learn or get them ready for school
so in terms of activities I've just
mentioned sensory play this is at the
heart of where I would begin any
preschool learning it is so much fun
guys it's fun for us as adults who you
ever just sat there on a beach and just
run your hands over the sand and just
played with it and then you sort of come
to and realize that you've just been in
this world and it is your senses taking
over it helps you relax it helps you to
make sense of the world around you just
by taking that time out when we're doing
things like washing up we say it's
therapeutic it's because your mind sort
of disappears for a while while you're
doing these repetitive tasks that
perhaps feel nice or that sound nice
you're listening to music and that is
what it is for children they are giving
that chance for their brain to regroup
to make sense of everything that's going
around them in the same way when we go
to sleep and everything it just sort of
connects the dots sensory play just
allows you just to sort of come into
your bubble and take the sounds out of
the world and just focus on something
and that gives them the chance to relax
and just make sense of it all for us
sensory play is at the heart of a lot of
the things that we do there is so much
fun that could be had from it you can
Center it around your children's
passions for example you could set up
diggers and have Road made up made out
of cereal and oats and the diggers dig
it up or you could have an ice world
where you have all your animals frozen
into ice blocks that they have to you
know help help them melt they can learn
different things like what makes things
melt quicker like salt or water and how
it feels to them and how it the
achievement of working out which
utensils help them get them out of the
ice blocks a simple water play with
household items helps them measure with
cups or see what the volume is of
certain items compared to others and
sometimes it's quite strange for you
see that one cup that you would think
would hold more doesn't in fact and this
can go on for hours and hours it gives
you a long long time for them to play
for you to just absorb and taking what
it is they're doing and quite often
sensory play you're giving them
something to play with that they don't
have in their toy box so it's something
new and exciting which will always
encourage that sort of excitement for
wanting to try something new
sand is another great one mud kitchens
you could get them to cut up flowers or
explore vegetables the the list is
endless different types of fabrics
ribbons go onto Pinterest and just look
up sensory play we've done all sorts
from colored rice to and cooked
spaghetti we've even given them a
sensory baths where we put pasta and
peas in the pot in the bath and died the
baths blue with Colin ders you know the
sounds the measuring the senses there's
so much don't forget smell you can do
sensory tables that have like chocolate
smell or cinnamon
plate is another great example of
sensory play and I think that that
encompasses at least one sense bit touch
or smell or sound or even taste you can
do you know sensory tables that are for
eating as well it just helps them gain
confidence in ingredients and not being
afraid to have certain feels on their
hands and I think someone children to be
quite sensitive so when pops was really
young we made jelly for her just to walk
in just so that she could feel it on her
feet all these new and lovely
experiences means that they are more
open to other things for example with
eating a whole range of food or going
into a swimming pool it helps them adapt
and adjust to those senses and learn
about them and know that there's nothing
frightening because it's really really
fun as I mentioned before walking and
nature is a great way to encourage
children to learn about the world around
them make sure that it is a lovely slow
pace at their pace I know it can't be
that every time I'm not being
unrealistic yes we have a life to lead
to but sometimes just specifically go
out and allow them just to explore the
world around them
we when pops and fin were both young
quite often we do feel like we were
rushing them when we were shopping and
it just was no very fun
experience for everybody so at least
once a week we would allow ourselves to
go to the shops even if we didn't need
to buy anything in particular and allow
them just to take whatever it is they
wanted off the shelf have a look at it
encourage them to put it back make sure
that things were kept nice and tidy but
they were just allowed to explore
everything in the supermarket we weren't
there to shop we weren't there to pay
for things they could touch the bananas
and have a look at them and pop them
back they could have a look at people
walking past with the Chorley's and
stand and stare you know they could
really explore the shops that way when
we did need to go to the shops a little
bit faster they didn't feel like they're
being hard done by on all these amazing
things around them they just weren't
allowed to touch or explore nature is a
beautiful way of learning there's so
many things you could do scavenger hunts
going for walks bringing nature in your
into your home to dissect and learn
about it grabbing your own food making
up your own recipes the list goes on and
on read read and read some more this is
my one of my biggest tips for any young
child make reading a fun and more
important than whether they can read or
not make it fun and a lovely experience
for them if you are interested in how to
teach your children to read the
unschooling way then I will pop my blog
post down below that I wrote on how I
taught our - to read but at the heart of
it all is fun fun fun make up a den read
in the den make books a treat if they've
done something wonderful you want to
treat them then head to the charity shop
and give them a book give them give them
your quality time reading to them so
they associate reading with bonding and
love and it will set you up with
children that just adore reading which
makes life learning and unschooling and
home education so much simpler because
you have a child that is prepared to
pick up a book and teach themselves
anything another fantastic way of
spending some fun time with your little
ones is to do puzzles or to play games
we are huge fans of the orchard toy
games they are beautifully illustrated
very inviting and they cover so many
important learning skills without having
the need to force-feed the information
is just all there via a fun family
activity roleplay is super important at
this age encourage them to dress up or
to become a person or get involved with
their game
they're little characters they like to
play with their Teddy's their dollies
whatever it may be involve yourself with
them teach them how these people would
be in the world teach them how to
express teach them how to be that
superhero or that space scientist all
that princess get involved make it fun
this really is the message I'm trying to
hit home with this video guys if nothing
else if you take away nothing else from
this video all that matters at this age
your preschool age is that learning
should be fun and it should be at their
own pace the world to them is magical
right now everything they see in touch
is an adventure just waiting to happen
don't squash that with checklists and
curriculum and the need for them to be
ready for something they are ready right
now and all they need is for you to be
their superhero sidekick support them
encourage them slow things down to their
pace trust them that they will learn
everything that they need to know right
now because they really will so when
you're trying to decide what it is
you're going to be teaching your little
ones I suggest your first port of call
is looking for ideas on Pinterest make
it all full of creativity fun learning
science sensory play start at some
Pinterest boards get all your ideas in
there invite your little ones to say
what things they would like to do and
just have some fun with it I hope you
enjoyed today's video guys if you did
make sure to give it a thumbs up it is a
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will see you guys in the next one
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