Unschooling Lite

5 ways to keep kids thinking outside the classroom

If the end of summer feels like the end of really cool field trips, fun art projects, relaxed nature walks, and tasty kitchen experiments… If your child—and maybe you, too—have been reluctant to return to textbooks and tests, bell schedules and school-as-usual, yet you’re not prepared to commit to homeschooling, then consider “unschooling lite,” a mixed approach that (for some families) combines the best of both worlds.

Clark Aldrich, global education expert and author of Unschooling Rules, understands that most parents aren’t prepared to unschool their kids, but, he says, there are still plenty of ways to add some self-directed learning to any student's experience. Here are five simple things Aldrich suggests parents do to maintain kids’ enthusiasm for free-range learning.

1. Create portfolios of children's deepest interests and accomplishments over the years to augment any transcripts.

2. Increase your children's time spent with adult experts who are passionate about what they do. Be out of sight, but do this without "dropping off" your children and transferring responsibility, at least initially.

3. Take your children on short family trips, even if it upsets the schools.

4. Include meaningful work into every week. Don't let the abundance of papers due and tests to study for get in the way of encouraging your children to help other people and connect with community.

5. Encourage play in areas of interest. Allow children to pursue passions, even when it gets in the way of doing homework. Be prepared to fudge a sick day for both parent and child to indulge areas of deep passion. (If that feels uncomfortable, introduce your child to the concept of the “personal day,” and get reacquainted with that concept yourself.)