Here’s a question I get pretty regularly.
What does unschooling look like in larger families?
As we learn more about unschooling, we’re encouraged to spend more time with our kids, to say yes more, to connect with them more, to explore ways to meet everyone’s needs. Add in multiple children, and soon we start to wonder how we’re going to build all these strong, connected, and trusting relationships. It can seem daunting.
Let’s explore!
Podcast Episodes
I put together a compilation episode for the podcast to specifically explore this question: Unschooling in Large Families.
I think it could also be really helpful to listen to their full interviews, knowing that they have four or more kids, just to hear how they talk about all the unschooling things!
Here are links to their episodes:
EU040: Paradigm Shifts with Cindy Gaddis (seven children)
EU083: Unschooling Around the World with Tami Stroud (six children)
EU113: Deschooling with Megan Valnes (five children)
EU185: Deschooling with Talia Bartoe (four children)
EU245: Unschooling Stories with Cate & Jenna Phillips (six children)
And there are more podcast guests who are unschooling with four or more kids! We didn’t specifically speak about that aspect of their lives in our conversations, but again, knowing that context makes it really interesting to listen to their interviews. What does unschooling look like for them?
EU018: Ten Questions with Jennifer McGrail (four children)
EU092: Crazy Family Adventure with Bryanna Royal (four children, in an RV)
EU101: Deschooling with Heather Lake (five children)
EU105: Unschooling Dads with Nick Hess (five children)
EU150: Stories of an Unschooling Family with Sue Elvis (seven children)
EU298: Unschooling Stories with Megan Valnes (Megan returned to the podcast, now with six children)
EU320: Amy’s Unschooling Journey with Amy Hughes (eight children)
You might also find these helpful as you explore …
My blog post, The Unschooling Family: Considering Everyone’s Needs
My conference talk, A Family of Individuals (there’s a link to the audio version there as well)