OAK PARK - There is no such thing as a "typical" unschooler.

"Unschooling means we don’t use a curriculum," said Winifred Haun of Oak Park, an adherent of the method of homeschooling practitioners call "unschooling."

 

"We follow the interest of our children and let them learn that way, when they get excited or interested in something," she said.

Unschooling families rarely use schedules, lesson plans or have formal instruction. Some unschooled children learn to read very early; some very late. Children follow their own interests as long and as deeply as they like, while the parent simply guides and provides resources, rather than "teaching."

Sometimes, Haun said, people think "unschooling" means letting the children do whatever they want and making no effort to guide them or their learning. That’s not so, at least in her family.

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