How is unschooling different from homeschooling?

How is unschooling different from homeschooling?

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Many times you have read on our blog and throughout our website the word “Unschooling,” and it is possible that you approached us to do “Homeschooling.” You may have thought that they are synonymous. They are not, and each one has its particularity.

Homeschooling is usually the first approach to changing the traditional educational system to adapt to their lifestyle. This does not leave aside the subjects, grades, and evaluations. The content is dictated by the educational system, with a mixture of interests. All this is learned at the student’s pace and from home.

As we go through homeschooling, it is normal to lose a bit of the structure and the rhythm to become more and more lax. We start to worry if our children are being educated correctly. This period of family readjustment can be very uncomfortable for all family members, and the fear of the future and doubts about having made a good decision settle in family dynamics: Conflicts begin.

At this point, some families ask for outside help and hire tutors to help them maintain the pace with which they came, others return to the traditional educational system, and others opt for unschooling. All options are valid since only families know what is best for their children’s education.

Dos puertas de dos colores distintos

Homeschooling and Unschooling

Unschooling is about education without the curriculum established by the traditional educational system, without grades. At West River Academy (WRA), we feel comfortable with both systems and even dual enrollment if the family decides to continue with the traditional educational system and certify their other activities with us.

The fundamental pillar of unschooling is natural learning. This speaks of the promotion of the innate qualities of the individual, expanding the space for experimentation without rigorous study plans or excessive care. Giving rise to the spontaneity and curiosity inherent to the human being.

For many years we have been told that it is impossible to have a functional life if we do not have the same schedule every day; we share with a number of people and that someone else must bring us knowledge in a structured way. In reality, this type of education is one of the many that there are to offer. 

Choosing the traditional educational system is an option, but other alternatives can be accredited. At WRA, we pride ourselves on welcoming all those who do or do not fit into the established educational system. There are as many ways to be educated as there are families!

dos tipos de paredes, una de ladrillo y otra frisada

What is the difference and similarity?

The fundamental difference between homeschooling and unschooling is that in homeschooling, the school is transferred to the home, with all its elements. In contrast, unschooling is based on natural learning, and there are no subjects or evaluations but life. This is why our slogan is: “Turning life experiences into academic credit.”

In both systems, education is considered, one in a schooled way and the other in an unschooled way. It is common to confuse education with schooling when one contains the other, and they are not synonymous. Unschooling doesn’t mean being uneducated.

We hope we have clarified all the doubts regarding these two concepts with this brief explanation. Now that you know if you are homeschooling or unschooling or plan to try it, you know the difference.

¿En qué se diferencia el Unschooling del Homeschooling?

¿En qué se diferencia el Unschooling del Homeschooling?

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Muchas veces has leído en nuestro blog y en todo nuestro sitio web la palabra “Unschooling” o “Desescolarización”, y es factible que te acercaste a nosotros para hacer “Escuela en casa” o “Homeschooling”. Incluso cabe la posibilidad que hayas pensado que son sinónimos. No lo son y cada uno tiene su particularidad.

El homeschooling o la escuela en casa suele ser el primer acercamiento que tienen las familias a la hora de cambiar el sistema educativo tradicional a uno que se amolde un poco más a su estilo de vida. Este no deja de lado las materias, notas y evaluaciones. El contenido aprendido suele ser principalmente el que dicta el sistema educativo con una mezcla de intereses propios. Todo esto aprendido al ritmo del estudiante y desde su hogar.

Al transitar el homeschooling es normal que vaya perdiendo la estructura con la que se empezó y que cada vez se haga más laxo el ritmo y nos preocupemos si nuestros hijos están siendo educados correctamente. Este período de reacomodamiento familiar puede ser muy incómodo para todos los miembros de la familia y el miedo al futuro y las dudas de haber tomado una buena decisión se instalan en la dinámica familiar: Empiezan los conflictos.

En este punto, algunas familias piden ayuda externa y contratan tutores que les ayude a mantener el ritmo con el que venían, otros vuelven al sistema educativo tradicional y otros optan por el unschooling. Todas opciones válidas, ya que solo cada familia sabe qué es lo mejor para la educación de sus hijos.

Dos puertas de dos colores distintos

Homeschooling y Unschooling

El Unschooling o desescolarización habla de una educación sin el plan de estudios establecido por el sistema educativo tradicional, sin evaluaciones, ni calificaciones. En West River Academy (WRA) nos sentimos cómodos con ambos sistemas e incluso con la doble escolarización, si la familia decide continuar con el sistema educativo tradicional y además certificar sus otras actividades con nosotros.

El pilar fundamental del unschooling es la educación natural. Esta habla del fomentar las cualidades innatas del individuo, dándole espacio a la experimentación sin rigurosos planes de estudios o excesivos cuidados. Dar pie a la espontaneidad y a la curiosidad que es inherente del ser humano.

Por muchos años se nos ha dicho que no es posible tener una vida funcional si todos los días no tenemos el mismo horario, compartimos con un número de personas y que es imprescindible que alguien más nos traiga el conocimiento de manera estructurada. Cuando en realidad este tipo de educación es una de las tantas que hay para ofrecer. 

Elegir el sistema educativo tradicional es una opción, solo que también existen otras alternativas que pueden ser homologadas y acreditadas. En WRA, nos enorgullecemos de recibir a todos aquellos que encajan o no en el sistema educativo establecido. ¡Hay tantas maneras de ser educado como familias existen!

dos tipos de paredes, una de ladrillo y otra frisada

¿Cuál es la diferencia y similitud?

La diferencia fundamental entre homeschooling y unschooling es que en homeschooling se traslada la escuela al hogar, con todos sus elementos; mientras que el unschooling se basa en la educación natural y no existen las materias o evaluaciones, sino la vida. Es por esto que nuestro slogan es: “Convirtiendo experiencias de vida en crédito académico”.

En ambos sistemas se tiene en cuenta la educación, uno de manera escolarizada y otra de manera desescolarizada. Es muy común confundir educación con escolarización, cuando en realidad una contiene a la otra y no son sinónimos.

Esperamos que con esta breve explicación hayamos podido sacar todas las dudas con respecto a estos dos conceptos y ahora puedan saber si están haciendo homeschooling o unschooling o cuál desean abordar en un futuro ahora que saben la diferencia.

Top 5 Online Homeschooling Resources

Top 5 Online Homeschooling Resources

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We know there are many doors that open once you step into the world of homeschooling and the variety of options can seem overwhelming at first. Now that we are living in a time of “crisis schooling”, families are scrambling to quickly make a plan for the school year and are doing their best to absorb as much information from the internet as possible right now. As advocates for the natural learning approach to homeschooling, the first thing we encourage parents to do is to have an open dialogue with their children to find out how they would enjoy spending their time in a fun and productive way.

 

West River Academy is very unique because we encourage each family to create a routine and learning flow that feels good to them. We ask them, “if you didn’t have to think about standardized testing, what do you think is important for your children to learn? How can you incorporate life lessons into your conversations, and ignite their love for learning again?”.  These questions prompt a new way of thinking and re-introduce the child to a world where learning is fun and exciting again!

 

Once you have figured out where you land on the spectrum of learning styles, it will be easier to narrow down the resources that will fit your family best. We have compiled the top 5 of our most popular online homeschooling resources directly from the recommendations of our families enrolled in West River Academy.

 

Enjoy!

 

Galileo is the new, innovative, self-directed online school for students aged 8-18 who are world schoolers, homeschoolers, and/or unschoolers from all over the world. They provide opportunities to collaborate with other students on projects, with groups that do projects together on STEM subjects and electives like Coding and Robotics, Foreign Languages and International Cultures. Choose your own adventure by mixing and matching a variety of topics!
Cost: $240/month or $2000/year
Age Range: 8-18

 

They offer a huge variety of classes and options. From phonics to AP Physics to Minecraft to Piano. Outschool feeds your kid’s curiosity and elevates their learning with a variety of 50,000+ classes.
Cost: $10-$600/ class
Age Range: 4-18
 
They offer tuition-free online classes with high school and college credit for grades 6-12. Includes Financial Education by Dave Ramsey for teens, and college courses from Grand Canyon University. 300+ Credit-based courses.
Cost: Many classes are tuition-free
Age Range: 10-18
 
The main things homeschoolers want are high-quality resources and flexibility, and they offer both. Lesson plans consist of in-depth powerpoints with images and videos to enhance the material. Plus, they offer a wide range of optional supplemental activities so you can customize your child’s educational experience based on their individual learning style.
Cost: $60-$175/class
Age Range: 10-18
 
They offer personalized learning of all core subjects. There are modules that the student can do at their own pace, they offer scholarship contests and they are popular worldwide.
Cost: Free
Age Range: PreK-12th grade

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If you would like to talk more about finding a learning style for your family, feel free to schedule a phone consultation with Peggy Webb, the Founder and Director of West River Academy, here.

Homeschooling Global Summit 2020

Homeschooling Global Summit 2020

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An influx of questions has flooded the internet in recent months regarding homeschooling and we are thrilled to address an array of topics in this virtual event called the Homeschooling Global Summit!

There will be ten days of expert interviews, from the likes of Sir Ken Robinson, Pat Farenga, Peggy Webb, Lainie Liberti, Melissa Church and many more! With hundreds of millions of kids around the world learning at home for the first time ever due to Coronavirus, this knowledge is needed by parents more than ever.

We will be interviewing some of our currently enrolled families, as well as West River Academy graduates. Learn how self-directed learning can be an advantage to navigating this rapidly-changing world.

Event Calendar:

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As this is the second annual event, anyone who is interested in watching the 40+ hours of footage from the 2019 Homeschooling Global Summit is now able to do so for free!

Visit https://hgsummit.com/ to get your FREE premium pass.

We are so grateful to all of our families and graduates who are participating in this event with us this year. We hope you register for it and share it with your loved ones!
~ The West River Academy Team

WRA Graduate Shares an Update

WRA Graduate Shares an Update

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I graduated from West River Academy in 2013. Since then, I have completed a Bachelors and Masters degree in Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado at Boulder and will be pursuing a Doctorate in Computational and Applied Mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin in the fall. Additionally, I received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to support my graduate education. I believe that my nontraditional pre-college education as a homeschooler with West River Academy was significant in the formation of several skills that have served me well since graduation.

Much of the academic success I have encountered is due to self-motivated, curiosity-driven learning. I had the good fortune to be heavily involved in undergraduate research in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, primarily Oceanography, during my time at CU Boulder. The process of research, with its lack of a higher authority to reveal the correct answer, is very much akin to the free-form style of my education before college. Therefore, I recommend this educational style without any reservations. More than anything else, my pre-college education as a homeschooler helped me to develop a love of learning and an intrinsic locus of motivation.

~ William, Class of 2013

~Photo Contest 2019~

~Photo Contest 2019~

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Dear families of West River Academy,

We could not be more thrilled, honored, and downright AMAZED by the photos submitted for our Photo Contest! Families all over the world have submitted their photos, and we have received more than we could possibly display.

Please take a look at these images as a whole; representing the collective childhoods that are being savored by courageous and resilient parents world-wide.

Finding educational freedom is a journey that is unique to each person and there is no ONE correct way to do it. By allowing your children to learn naturally, you are helping them grow into confident, happy and thriving young adults!

 

A Graduate’s Journal

A Graduate’s Journal

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In our Graduation Program we not only want to hear about the curriculum you might be doing, but we want to know who you are, what influences your thought process and the person you are aspiring to be. Because in a society that has forgotten to value wisdom, curiosity and introspection, young adults who are nurtured in this way during the most developmental period of their life are an incredible asset to our world as whole.

Prospective graduate, Michael Heaton, delivers a reflective report of his personal growth and shares his thoughts as he navigates a trivial time in his life.

If I’m honest, I could call February my realization month. I read many books from prophets to philanthropists, philosophers to fables; everything. Many of them had different messages and sometimes they were conflicting. But the things I have learned have helped me to see where I truly am, where I will go if I continue doing what I am doing, and where I truly want to end up.

In the beginning of February I had a huge personal expense come up. The good news is that I finally paid it all off. But that whole month I felt totally broke. Which is not a bad thing to feel at my age because I don’t have a family or spouse depending on me. It just makes me realize how much growing I still have left before I am really ready for the real adult world. In a nut shell I’d say the beginning was humbling.

That works out perfectly for this type of education because it proves the old story of Socrates. Most people know about the young man who goes to Socrates and says something to the fact that he wants to learn from Socrates and be wise like him. Socrates then walks down to the beach and shoves his head in the water. The young man fights to come up to breathe. And finally when he almost drowns Socrates lets him up. Of course the young man is furious. Socrates responds calmly saying that once he wants truth and knowledge as bad as he wanted air, then he would teach him. That very desire that Socrates points out, is what I had in February. I got tired of settling for the life I had. My income seemed capped. My friendships, limited and self absorbed. My spiritual life, mundane and routine. My physical health, mediocre at best.

After I realized where I was at, I wrote some things that I wanted to change. I put up a white board where I can track my progress in different areas in my life to see what I needed to work on. Although I’m not perfect at updating it, it is in my room and I constantly look at it as I do my schooling. I’ve learned that if you want something to improve, you need to track it. The moment you do that, it becomes a priority. That has really helped me appreciate the gift of a day. There will never be a day like today ever again. And each day we are given, we trade for the things we think are important. Whether we are just killing time, or investing it, we can never get that day back. So we must use it wisely.

Previous to February, I often found myself bored, unfulfilled, and not where I wanted to be. If that continued, I’d follow the saying, “Some people die at 25, and aren’t buried until 75”. I don’t want that by any means. When I was bored and unfulfilled I also found that it effected my relationships. Not because people were all a sudden being jerks. But because I was focusing on myself so much more because I had nothing else to do. And lets be honest, none of us like a friend who is self centered.

Once I realized that my laziness was effecting who I was becoming, I decided to change. I started passing out flyers to expand my landscaping business in South Phoenix. I’m reading deeper into the words of God. I’ve tried to be less task oriented and play with those around me when they ask for my attention. When I think of old friends, I send them a text to let them know that I appreciate their role in my life. If I have down time, I invest it into my future. Just those simple things have revolutionized my life; not to mention my self confidence.

Now I know a lot of this could not be classified under math, science, or history. But I still believe that it is education. I believe that education is supposed to make life easier. Without knowing the things that I’ve just shared, life would be much harder. And if I could narrow down everything I’ve learn last month, I’d say this, success is never an achievement or trophy that we can attain and lock away for the rest of our lives. That is what you call a goal. Most people, including myself, think that success can eventually be achieved once we do this, or accomplish that, or face a certain obstacle. But the truth is success is only realized in the pursuit of your goals. The moment we stop stretching for what we want, and becoming a better person each day, we are no longer successful.

So thanks again for this program of credibility, and accountability. It’s helped me a lot already. Talk to you next month.

A Graduates’ Path to Self-discovery

A Graduates’ Path to Self-discovery

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The West River Academy Graduation Program students are a true testament to the philosophy that there is beauty in diversity. The young adults that we cross paths with have learned that it is okay to hit walls, question your identity, and feel imperfect. Because what you learn from that is how to bounce back, be authentic and embrace your uniqueness.

Marta Chan is an exceptional young woman in our Graduation Program Class of 2018. In one of her monthly report assignments, she reflects on a trip to Finland, growing up in Estonia and her journey to self-discovery.

“Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful, it’s ordinary and mundane and routine… And it’s breathtakingly beautiful!” L.R. Knost has managed to put into words the description of how this month was for me.

I learned once again, that sometimes things just don’t work out as you planned. I thought I had already learned this lesson, but this month proved me wrong. Nothing seemed to go the way I wanted. I was really upset and irritated. But then, I started noticing all these unexpected little, wonderful things that happened in my life. I realized how I sometimes rush to get everything done and forget the reason why I’m doing these things in the first place. Writing my thoughts and feelings down into my journal, really helped me find some serenity and peace of mind.

One thing that was constantly on my mind this month, was my dad’s Chinese origin and his ancestry. It’s challenging for me to do family history from his side, because I do not speak neither Cantonese nor Mandarin Chinese. I’m learning the latter, but it’s rather difficult. It’s not so much the language that’s hard to learn but the notion and culture of the Chinese people. As I have learned more about their culture and traditions, I have recognized pieces of it in myself. I know my parents gave and still give their best in raising me and my siblings and I am really grateful for them, because they have allowed and encouraged me to become the best me. But at times I feel like I am disconnected from the Chinese “part” of me. When I was younger, I always tried to convince others (and myself) that I am a “true- Estonian”. And I remember being so upset when someone would point out that I’m “half- Chinese”, because it made me feel as if I’m incomplete and hence insufficient. But with time I came to realize, that’s not true! Rather than trying to define myself, I learned to know myself. Who I am? Who and What I love? What are my fears, my talents, my passions? What do I do to accomplish my dreams? These are the things that matter. These are the things that make me complete. Not perfect, far from that. But whole.

I learned that if we come to accept ourselves the way we are, it helps us move forward and better ourselves. The beauty in being a human is that we have both the ability and power to improve ourselves. Our backgrounds and situations do not play important roles in this. Our attitude does. My dear grandpa told me once: “A bad attitude is like a flat tire. You can’t drive the car anywhere until you change it. And if you change it, you can go anywhere your heart desires”. I agree with him.

February Twenty-fourth officially marked the one-hundreth birthday of the Republic of Estonia. This gave me again a reason to dive into my family history and celebrate the people who built this country. Their sacrifices and diligence in hardships don’t cease to both amaze and impress me.

Screen Shot 2018 03 16 at 2.21.51 PM 48x36@2xOne of the highlights of this month was our family trip to Finland. We went there by a ferry. It was really cool to see the frozen Baltic Sea. All of the water was pretty much asymmetrical blocks of ice. Finland is really pretty! They have many lakes (about 168 000) and endless uninhabited boreal forests! But our first priority was to visit Helsinki Finland Temple. I believe it to be (along with the rest of the 159 operating temples our Church has) a sacred place and the house of God. It was wonderful to visit it and it really made me appreciate everything that has been created, even more than I did before. The time there also gave me a chance to rewind everything that has been going on in my life lately and steer myself back to where I want to be. In conclusion, this month I mostly analysed and studied myself. As ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said: “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Happy Holidays from Our Family to Yours!

Happy Holidays from Our Family to Yours!

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As the end of the year rings near, we want to express our gratitude for your trust in West River Academy which has allowed us to support families all over the world.

West River Academy is expanding more and more every day, and we are so happy to share our experiences as an unschooled family with you all! Now that WRA is a family business, each of the sisters brings different strengths, yet we have in common the same goal, which is to provide a safety net built on freedom and individuality for the upcoming generations.

We invite you to read Our Story, which describes each of our very unique unschooling journeys. We are pleased to be able to offer you the perspectives of Karen, Stacey and Rachel as unschooled children as well as Peggy’s perspective as an unschooling parent.

The main topic of discussion at our Thanksgiving table was how we can now, as a family, serve you. So, please know that the West River Team has your back and truly wants the best for you and yours!

Warmest holiday greetings from all of us,

Peggy, Stacey, Rachel & Karen

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