#11 Unschooling – The Primary Years
Categories: Unschooling, Léo’s Insights 2025-2026
Now that we understand that unschooling starts at birth, let’s take it one step at a time. Before we begin, we must acknowledge one necessary element of unschooling. It cannot occur outside of the home, which requires a stay-at-home parent, usually, but not always the mother. The moment outside childcare is utilized, the default belief is that others, including government, will have equal authority and positive impact in a child’s life as parents. This is NOT so.
Needless to say, birth is followed by careful nurturing, initially mostly engaged in by the mother. However, do not kid yourself. The child is learning right from the beginning and both parents need to be involved.
As children grow, they quickly demonstrate how voraciously they gather information about their environment. Nothing seems to escape their notice and they involve all their senses. Eventually they will learn to walk, use the potty, and get into all kinds of trouble. All of this is without government programs. Once they learn to communicate using language, things change. Stop and think about this stage for a moment. How complicated is language and how does learning it happen? Naturally. No program. No lessons. No test. No desk. No books (obviously). It just happens because the children are wired to learn.
Once the children start learning to talk, one of the first words is “why”? This is true learning in action! Again, naturally. No program. No lessons. No test. No desk. No books. Repeating, it just happens because children are wired to learn.
It does not take long before the child reaches “school age”. What does that mean? It means some outside agency is claiming to now be in a better position than the parent to direct the learning process God created. Huh? Think about what has been learned to this point. What input has any third party had in comparison to the parents? This reminds me of the time I nearly engaged in inflicting property damage. It was a mobile home with all the windows removed and a fence surrounding it. On the side, a big sign announced it as Tiny Tot Daycare – Where Learning Starts! I nearly started throwing stones at it. Learning most certainly does not start in such a sterile place. Ask any parent.
So, does unschooling change as the child matures and learns? Yes, it does. As children grow, offer more food, and as learning ability increases, offer more opportunities to learn. Just don’t send them to school, whether at home or elsewhere. Just unschool completely.
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