How and what do typical unschoolers learn? How do they socialize and can they get into college?

1. LIFE LEARNING
What Unstructured Education
Looks Like and It’s Benefits

2. WHAT IS LIFE LEARNING?
Life Learning happens when education is allowed rather than forced.
Our lessons come from daily life rather than textbooks and lectures.
It is more focused on developing real life skills and relevant
knowledge than it is on memorizing facts in a rigidly structured
environment. It fosters independent thinking rather than encouraging
children to blindly accept the social indoctrinations forced upon us in
large groups. It also involves the freedom to pursue knowledge of
the individual child’s choosing, which in turn nurtures an amazing
passion for learning not observed in most traditionally educated
children.
“Don’t be afraid to open your mind;
your brain isn’t going to fall out.”

3. John Holt was an
American
educator who
recognized the
failure of the
public school
system and went
on to become a
proponent for
natural learning.
He coined the
term “unschooling”
and wrote several
books on the
subject.

4. NATURAL LEARNING IS…
 A philosophy, that children will learn what they need to know,
when they are ready to learn it
 (According to available statistics) it is practiced mostly by high
earning professionals, many of whom are educators themselves
 Mainly kinesthetic
 Often misunderstood due to the progressive & abstract nature of
what is learned, how learning occurs and how it is gauged
 real life is not separated into neat little categories
 learning happens constantly & often independently
 testing a student’s knowledge goes against the philosophy of life learning
 A very mindful way of living & truly connecting with your children

5. NATURAL LEARNING IS NOT…
 A lack of education, rather a completely different approach to
learning. Formal instruction is very purposefully left out
 For the unmotivated. It involves long days, often with cranky
children… there are no breaks, sick days or vacations for
unschooling parents
 Measurable by standardized tests, rather by the delight observed
in a child’s eyes when they are allowed to pursue their passion
and by the superior outcomes that unschooled children typically
achieve compared to their institutionally educated peers
 A replication at home of the school environment, to do so is
missing the point completely

6. LET’S COMPARE
SCHOOL NATURAL LEARNING
 Exposes child to select
subjects
 Learning is forced to happen
on a rigid schedule
 Teaches “right answer”
convergent thinking
 Students are taught what to
think
 Age specific learning
 Exposes child to whole world
 Learning doesn’t end with a
bell or season
 Teaches exploratory &
divergent thinking
 Students are taught how to
think
 Students can advance at any
time

7. SCHOOL NATURAL LEARNING
 Learning is divided into
subjects
 Knowledge is given to
students by a teacher
 Info is less likely to be
retained when students are
forced to learn subjects they
are not interested in
 Goals are set by teachers
 There is a specific
curriculum/textbooks etc.
 Learning crosses many
subjects
 Everyone learns together
(There is no teacher’s manual)
 Info is far more likely to be
retained when students can
relate and apply it to real life
situations
 Goals are set by students
 Variety of subjects with
endless resources (elders,
siblings, outdoors, museums,
events, travel, life experiences…
LEARNING JUST HAPPENS)

8. SCHOOL / LIFE…

9. WHY DID WE CHOOSE LIFE
LEARNING?
I saw the public school system failing my children. Evan, although an A
student, was becoming a mindless drone destined for a life of
indentured servitude and Tristan was miserable; highly intelligent
however he loathed anything to do with learning and stubbornly refused
to do any kind of book work. He had an amazing teacher in his last year
at LPS who was unusually flexible and I noticed a significant difference
in Tristan’s attitude toward learning. This inspired me to research
alternatives to traditional schooling. I happened upon the life learning
philosophy and it really resonated with me. After making the leap to
unschooling, I observed two completely different children who are now
discovering new things with enthusiasm.
When I saw the self-motivation and passion both kids were developing
for exploring the world around them I was sold.

10. WHAT DOES OUR EDUCATION PLAN
LOOK LIKE?
 Determine Family Goals (Assessed & modified periodically throughout the
year) Eg:
 Spend 6 mos in Yelapa, MX to participate in Spanish immersion program
 Determine Individual Goals (Constantly being modified) Eg:
 Learn to code
 Create a website
 Master cursive writing
 Paint a famous pc of art
 Plan & Execute

11. INDIVIDUAL GOALS
EVAN TRISTAN
 Continue Art classes
 Progress in gymnastics
 Enhance English
communication skills
 Brush up on rusty French
 Explore Biology
 Develop an ecommerce
business plan
 Possibly re-enter the French
Catholic system in 9th grade
 Travel
 Continue to develop and grow
math, marketing and SEO
skills by working on existing
ecommerce business
 Continue to explore science
with a stronger focus on
astrophysics & marine biology
 Learn a 2nd language
 Explore coding/app
development
 Travel

12. HOW DO WE LEARN WITHOUT
SCHOOL?
We’re asked time and again
how in the world we are able
to learn anything without
teachers, schedules and
textbooks.
We have to ask, where do
you find time to learn
anything with them?

13. WHAT DOES THE EXECUTION OF OUR
EDUCATION PLAN LOOK LIKE?
 Outings to the library, zoo, local events, historical areas, science
center, art gallery, theater, musical performances etc.
 Participation in activities like gymnastics, dance classes, piano
lessons and art classes
 Formal online credit courses as well as open source courses of all
levels including: biology (Minecraft School), coding (Hackety
Hack), PBS Virtual Classroom, Khan Academy, Udemy (websites:
1XL Math, CoolMath)
 Interacting w/adults & elders in community (We’ve learned the art
of winemaking, drywalling, mechanics, driving ATV’s and about
budgeting, finance, interest rates, taxes, voting etc.)

14. EXECUTION, CONT’D…
 Travel (While living abroad we interacted w/stingrays, eels,
tropical fish, birds, coatimundi, crocs & lizards in their natural
habitat, explored the rainforest and coastal areas of Central
America, explored Mayan ruins/archeological dig sites, gained
daily exposure to Spanish & Kriol language through many hours
spent with locals. This experience taught us about early
Mesoamerican culture & beliefs, current customs & holidays,
economics, ecosystems, preservation, policies, laws, marine
biology, geology etc. of Belize, Mexico & Guatemala)
 Volunteering (learned about First Aid/CPR, hurricane & tsunami
safety, disaster relief as well as animal control policies & practices
in different countries)

15. UPCOMING PLANNED ACTIVITIES
 2 weeks in the Dominican Republic (Nov)
 1 week in southern Florida to explore marine life in different coastal
areas (Nov)
 Windsor Symphony (Dec 18)
 Belle Isle Conservatory (Dec 11)
 Online Biology course (Jan 11- Feb 20)
 Coding course (Dec)
 Volunteering in the W.I.N.G.S. Wildlife Rescue clinic (late Nov start
date)
 Imagination Station in Toledo, OH

16. WHAT ABOUT THE “S” WORD?
FORCED ASSOCIATION IS NOT
SOCIALIZATION!
Homeschooled children are
socialized in a much healthier way
than those forced to deal with
bullying, peer pressure, herding,
anonymity & mindless conformity
in the school environment.
We are able to mix with people of
all ages, backgrounds, education
levels & socio-economic profiles,
not just our peers!

17. HOW DO WE SOCIALIZE?
 Both children attend teen dances occasionally
 Tristan meets up with some boys from the local Skate park from time
to time
 Evan has playdates with her schooled friends and their friends,
cousins etc. are often a part of that
 They both have sleepovers with their friends most weekends and
school holidays
 They attend and host parties (eg: birthdays, Halloween etc.)
 Their friends usually accompany us on outings (trampoline park, zoo,
historical sites, events etc.)
 As a family, we gain a larger sense of community through our
volunteer initiatives

18. ALL WORK & NO PLAY?
NEVER! We also learn tons from unstructured
activities like:
Minecraft: reading, math, geometry, geology,
creative thinking skills, cooperation
Word Games/Puzzles: spelling,
vocabulary, brain boosting
Board Games (Life, Battleship, Planet
Earth): math, strategy, critical thinking,
financial planning, taxes, investing,
geography, biology etc.
Baking/cooking: fractions, life skills
Bowling: math, angles, momentum/inertia,
addition, multiplication etc.
Contests/games: math, probability
*even texting, emailing, group chats, social
media all develop written language skills

19. FORMAL INSTRUCTION
Do we ever use formal instruction or lessons? Of course we do…
when it’s appropriate. When it fits naturally and flows with the topics
we are discussing.

20. HOW DO WE SEPARATE LEARNING,
SOCIALIZATION AND LEISURE?
IT’S QUITE SIMPLE… WE
DON’T!
“Living is learning and
when kids are living fully
and energetically and
happily they are learning a
lot, even if we don’t always
know what it is.” ~ John
Holt

21. PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
How Does Natural Learning Get You Into College?
According to stats, more unschoolers pursue post-secondary
education than traditionally schooled students. They have no
problems meeting entry requirements and as a matter of fact, “are at
an academic advantage due to their high motivation, high capacity
for self-initiative, self-direction and self-control.” ~ from a study
published in Psychology Today

22. FACT:
Of the 3 million available jobs today, less than 20% require a
4 year degree.
This means we are lending money we don’t have to kids who can’t pay
it back so they can educate themselves for jobs that no longer exist.

23. HOW AM I QUALIFIED TO TEACH?
I don’t teach, as a rule… I provide a rich, stimulating learning
environment and act mainly as facilitator in the learning process. I
certainly don’t have all the answers but we research together. This is
how kids learn to be resourceful.
As we settle into the information age, children need to be taught how
to learn relevant information, how to figure things out independently,
not to regurgitate facts that don’t interest them. It’s no secret that
these facts will only be retained long enough to pass a test and then
mindlessly forgotten.
I was educated myself in the public school system and I couldn’t tell
a rhombus from a trapezoid today if my life depended on it.

24. WHAT DO I KNOW?
I can however, tell you that education reform is desperately needed to reflect our
changing world.
As a parent-facilitator, I am a member of the Ontario Federation of Teaching
Parents and was a volunteer for them from 2012-2014. A large part of my
role was responding to inquiries related to homeschooling/unschooling
policies, legalities etc. and providing support to families who were facing
obstacles placed by local school boards, branches of gov’t etc.
It is my personal mission to educate and spread awareness of alternative education
on a global level. This is a huge undertaking and although some days it can be
exhausting, the reward will be well worth the challenges when we reach a place in
society where all forms of education are looked upon with equal value.

25. IS THIS SATISFACTORY?
POLICY/PROGRAM MEMORANDUM NO. 131 SUBSECTION
21(2), CLAUSE (A) of the Ontario Education Act states: “When parents
give the board written notification of their intent to provide home schooling for their
child, the board should consider the child to be excused from attendance at school.
The board should accept the written notification of the parents each year as evidence
that the parents are providing satisfactory instruction at home.”
This begs the question, “Is our form of education
satisfactory?”
Ontario's Education Act as it pertains to Unschooling

26. YOU DECIDE…
We might not be able to tell you what X * Y= but we can tell you how to
find out. We can tell you of 19th century expressionists, what a stingray
feels like, the definition of Ichthyology, the temperature of liq. N2 and all
about 31 (Ga) on the periodic table. We can tell you which path the
early Mayan people took to transport goods for trade and what
censorship, Libertarianism & GMO’s are, why chameleons really
change color and whether to use who or whom. We can tell you today’s
prime lending rate, what a Canadian Dollar is worth in other countries
and what kind of haircuts Chief Tecumseh was handing out in the War
of 1812.

27. TRISTAN’S LATEST PROJECT…

28. MISS EVAN’S PASSION…

29. LINKS, RESOURCES ETC.
Some Of Our Published Projects
and A Glimpse Into Our Lives
Articles, Research Results &
Other Unschooling Families
 http://wildkidz.blogspot.ca
 http://tristansjunglelove.blogspot.ca/
 http://dragonboardz.com
This is a blog that I author; it includes details
of our day to day activities, challenges and
thoughts on life learning.
 http://acrocatemyhomework.blogspot.ca/
 http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/10/myths-
unschooling-children/
 http://jual.nipissingu.ca/2013/01/12/year-2013-
volume-7-issue-14/
 http://ontariohomeschool.org/unschooling/
 http://ontariohomeschool.org/hrleeds/
 http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/09/02/how-
do-unschoolers-turn-out/
 http://www.lifelearningmagazine.com/0502/zen_a
nd_the_art_of_unschooling_math.htm

30. CREDITS
Content by:
Evan Krawcar
Tristan Krawcar
Mandy Lee
Media Provided by: Tristan Krawcar
Composition by: Mandy Lee
Editing:
Tristan Krawcar
Mandy Lee