/ / 101 Reasons to Homeschool Creatively without Curriculum

101 Reasons to Homeschool Creatively without Curriculum

 

Homeschool without curriculum? Yes, it can be done! Have you been struggling to find the right homeschool curriculum? Frustrated with the results, or lack thereof, and your child’s lack of enthusiasm for learning? Maybe it’s time you tried homeschooling without curriculum.

Homeschooling without Curriculum

My daughters are creative. They are constantly making crafts, writing, singing, drawing, acting, and creating. They soak up knowledge through the experiences of hands-on learning and living books. That’s why I tailor our learning methods to delight-directed lessons beyond the conventional textbook approach. They just aren’t content with dry textbooks because they know there has to be more to it — they want to know the why behind the who, how, and what.

This was a mindset shift for me in education. I’ve heard from other moms who are hesitant to step outside the confines of the textbooks, for fear of learning gaps or other insecurities. I know how they feel because I needed that kind of reassurance at one time, so I want to offer encouragement to anyone who might be considering homeschooling beyond those textbooks. You can safely ditch the prescribed curriculum and take a more eclectic approach.

Take a deep breath and get ready to homeschool creatively with 101 reasons to homeschool without curriculum!

101 reasons to homeschool without curriculum | homeschooling creatively | unschooling | delight-directed homeschooling

Why Homeschool without Curriculum

1. All ages can more easily be included in studies that aren’t curriculum dependent, such as the morning basket routine.

2. You have the time and freedom to do a deeper study on a subject or book of particular interest (great delight-directed or literature-rich activity).

3. It allows for artistic creativity, which is essential to critical thinking development and self-expression.

4. Ideas are more easily retained and expressed with living books rather than rote textbooks.

5. Without the restrictions of following a set curriculum, you can encourage your children to pursue their interests.

6. The freedom to teach your child in a way that they learn, not being limited to one teacher’s point of view or lesson plan.

7. Adopting new techniques and adapting based on your child’s needs, learning style, and the subject matter.

8. A completely customized and individualized educational experience.

9. The freedom to experiment and do what works best.

10. It creates a relaxed and natural learning environment.

11. It fosters a lifelong love of learning.

12. Children will learn that education can be self-directed, rather than prescribed.

13. It encourages resourcefulness.

14. Lessons can be more hands-on and engaging.

15. It offers flexibility.

16. It prevents the feeling that you’re “behind” in your studies.

17. It can help prevent boredom and burnout.

How to Homeschool without Curriculum

18. Explore, Discover, & Create with Notebooking

19. Following your Own Path through Delight-Directed Homeschooling

20. How to Encourage Your Child’s Talents through Delight-Directed Homeschooling

21. 10 Reasons to Love Lapbooking

22. 10 Reasons Why We’re Eclectic Homeschoolers

23. 7 Ways to Spark Creativity in your Kids — Even if You’re not Artistic

24. 7 Reasons Why Crafting with your Kids is Important

25. Our Favorite Hands-on Homeschooling Projects

26. How to Start Notebooking in your Homeschool (with free printables)

27. Refresh your Homeschool with Delight-Directed Learning

28. 10 Reasons to Love Unit Studies

29. What is a Unit Study and How Do you Make One?

30. Encouraging your Children to Pursue their Purpose

31. Why Delight-Directed Homeschooling Works for the Middle School Years

32. A Day in the Life of Delight-Directed Homeschooling

33. Learning with Field Trips

34. Nature Study for Beginners

35. Little Passports geography

36. Learning about Ireland unit study

37. Weather unit study

38. Creative Geography Games and Activities

39. Sensory Bins for Hands-on Learning

40. Hands-on Learning with Lapbooks

Free Notebooking Pages Sampler

Quotes to Encourage Learning Beyond Curriculum

42. “We can best help children learn, not by deciding what we think they should learn and thinking of ingenious ways to teach it to them, but by making the world, as far as we can, accessible to them, paying serious attention to what they do, answering their questions — if they have any — and helping them explore the things they are most interested in.”
― John Holt

43. “Self-education is the only possible education; the rest is mere veneer laid on the surface of a child’s nature.”
― Charlotte M. Mason

44. “Whatever an education is, it should make you a unique individual, not a conformist; it should furnish you with an original spirit with which to tackle the big challenges; it should allow you to find values which will be your roadmap through life; it should make you spiritually rich, a person who loves whatever you are doing, wherever you are, whomever you are with; it should teach you what is important, how to live and how to die.”
― John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

45. “What is most important and valuable about the home as a base for children’s growth into the world is not that it is a better school than the schools, but that it isn’t a school at all.”
― John Holt

46. “The primary goal of real education is not to deliver facts but to guide students to the truths that will allow them to take responsibility for their lives.”
― John Taylor Gatto, A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling

47. “Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners.”
― John Holt

48. “Any child who can spend an hour or two a day, or more if he wants, with adults that he likes, who are interested in the world and like to talk about it, will on most days learn far more from their talk than he would learn in a week of school.”
― John Holt

49. “It is worth while to point out the differing characters of a system and a method, because parents let themselves be run away with often enough by some plausible ‘system,’ the object of which is to produce development in one direction—of the muscles, of the memory, of the reasoning faculty—were a complete all-round education. This easy satisfaction arises from the sluggishness of human nature, to which any definite scheme is more agreeable than the constant watchfulness, the unforeseen action, called for when the whole of a child’s existence is to be used as the means of his education.”
― Charlotte M. Mason, The Original Home School Series

50. “And all the time we have books, books teeming with ideas fresh from the minds of thinkers upon every subject to which we can wish to introduce children.”
― Charlotte M. Mason

51. “Therefore, the selection of their first lesson-books is a matter of grave importance, because it rests with these to give children the idea that knowledge is supremely attractive and that reading is delightful. Once”
― Charlotte M. Mason, Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschooling Series

52. “One more thing is of vital importance; children must have books, living books; the best are not too good for them; anything less than the best is not good enough; and if it is needful to exercise economy, let go everything that belongs to soft and luxurious living before letting go the duty of supplying the books, and the frequent changes of books, which are necessary for the constant stimulation of the child’s intellectual life.”
― Charlotte M. Mason

53. “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.”

— Charlotte M. Mason

Free Quick Start Guide to Delight-Directed Learning

Inspiration from Homeschool Moms

54. “Games incorporate learning AND fun, and that’s exactly how learning should be… FUN!” Katrina Oldham, Rule This Roost

55. “We rarely use textbooks…….I think the last time we had one was 14 years ago when homeschooling was new and scary. I feel that a lot of the ones out there kill naturally curiosity!” Erin D, How to Teach any Subject without a Curriculum

56. “Because relying on textbooks segments life from learning – I mean, WHEN will you ever use a textbook again after you graduate, right? Plus, some of the most important lessons just don’t lend themselves to that medium…” Pat at Breakthrough Homeschooling

57. “What you need to learn next is not always on the next page. And what you want to learn might not be in a book at all.” Ashley Fox, The Homeschool Resource Room

58. “When you choose to use real books in your homeschool, you can teach multiple ages using the same resources. We loved writing assignments based on stories. They were so much fun!” Kay Chance, Cultivate My Heart

59. “My kids remember far more of what we studied while traveling than anything from a textbook.” Susan Landry, The Sparrow’s Home

60. “Some of the coolest discussions in our family come from movies and TV, not books!” Joan Concilio from Unschool Rules

61. “There is no perfect curriculum! There is no perfect answer that will work for you and your child and create total and perfect harmony in your home! It is an often painful process finding what works for each child and yourself. The most frustrating aspect is that after years of searching and experimenting, when you do find that golden nugget that just clicks… it is often not lasting. Your child is constantly changing and growing and maturing, your life is most likely flowing and shifting and circumstances change. What worked for you last year may be a total bomb this year! It really is the hardest part of homeschooling and can be one of the most discouraging things when you feel like you are failing and nothing is working. Just remember that if you are in this place… it isn’t you! It is not your teaching or failure that is causing this lack of connection with your child… you just need to find a different key. And you will! Give yourself time and grace to fall and get up and try again! Press on faithful mother, your child will thrive because of it!” Rebecca at The Homeschool Post

History Timeline / Book of Centuries Notebooking Pages
Lessons beyond the textbooks

62. How to Teach any Subject without a Curriculum by Erin D. at The Usual Mayhem

63. Smashwords: Homeschool while you Travel by Susan at The Sparrow’s Home

64. Developing Leadership Skills in Your Teen by Pat at Breakthrough Homeschooling

65. Think Outside the Book: 10 OTHER Ways to Get Your Child Reading by Ashley Fox at The Homeschool Resource Room

66. STEAM activity: Fall Leaf Art & Science Project at Savvy Schooling

67. The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Disney by Susan at The Sparrow’s Home

68. Writing Lessons with The Three Little Pigs by Kay at Cultivate my Heart

69. The Ultimate Guide to Learning from Movies and TV Shows by Joan at Unschool Rules

70. How I Homeschool Math Without a Curriculum by Danielle at Blessedly Busy

71. How to Teach Art Appreciation without a Curriculum by Emily at Table Life Blog

72. How to Teach Geography Without a Curriculum by Ticia at Adventures in Mommydom

73. How To Use Project-Based Learning in the Homeschool by Cindy at Our Journey Westward

74. Teaching Grammar without a Curriculum by LaToya

75. Teaching Math Classically without a Curriculum by Kyle

76. Teaching Teens Life Skills – No Curriculum Required by Susan

77. Teaching U.S. Geography with Literature and Games by Cindy at Our Journey Westward

78. Teaching Writing Using Picture Books as Mentor Texts by Cindy at Our Journey Westward

79. The Power of Words: Unschooling and “Language Arts” by Joan at Unschool Rules

80. Why I Homeschool Math Without a Curriculum ‎by Danielle

81. You Can’t Escape the Past: Unschooling and “History” by Joan at Unschool Rules

82. You Don’t Need That: Talking About Homeschool Curriculum by Karen

83. There’s Beauty in Everything: Unschooling and “Fine Arts” by Joan at Unschool Rules

84. Unschooling How we Learn Subject by Subject by Joan at Unschool Rules

85. Our Relaxed Homeschool: What We Do & How We Do It by Eva

86. It’s Not all About Numbers: Unschooling and “Math” by Joan at Unschool Rules

87. Make Your Own Homeschool Preschool Curriculum by Michelle

88. Exploring the World and How it Works: Unschooling and “Science” by Joan at Unschool Rules

 

Favorite Resources

89. The Unschooling Handbook: How to Use the Whole World as your Child’s Classroom by Mary Griffith

90. Dumbing us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto

91. Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play will Make our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life by Peter Gray

92. How Children Learn by John Holt

93. Teach your Own: the John Holt Book of Homeschooling

94. Learning all the Time by John Holt

95. Living Joyfully with Unschooling by Pam Laricchia

96. A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning by Karen Andreola

97. For the Children’s Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

98. Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson

99. When Children Love to Learn: A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason’s Philosophy for Today by Elaine Cooper

100. The Unhurried Homeschooler by Durenda Wilson

101. Home Education by Charlotte Mason

 

 

 

How to homeschool creatively without curriculum | unschooling | relaxed homeschooling

 

 

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