This is not public school

Florida Unschoolers is not public school. It’s a private school for unschoolers and other homeschoolers.

Which means:

- You do not have to follow the public school calendar or hours.

- You do not have to use a standard curriculum.

- You do not have to test. Or have an annual evaluation. Or any assessments.

- You do not have to break your learning or thinking up into school subjects.

- You do not have to compare your child to public school children or worry about grade levels or “keeping up”.

+ You may structure your days as you like. Enjoy your children and all the time you have to spend with them now. Travel. Stay home. Pursue a hobby. Read. Build. Use as many computers or TVs as you like. Or none at all. Buy a curriculum or not. (I urge you not to, at least right away.) Use the world as your learning environment. Get outside as much as you like. Spend your days at the library. Stay up late, get up early, fish or paint, bake or game. It all counts and may or may not look like school.

+ You may change your mind. If something is not working for your child, you are not required to finish it -- a book or a project or a set of lessons.

+ Speak up. You are your child’s advocate. Don’t take no for an answer. Find a way to get what your child needs.

+ Put up with as much “helpful” input from friends and relatives, the doctor, the former teacher, the grocery clerk, the nosy neighbor, etc., as you like. Then walk away. You are not asking their permission. They are not in charge. You are.

+ Plan ahead. Do your research and find out what is required for the next activity, the next stage. Nobody else is planning your day or your year for you. Nobody else is keeping track of what you need for the future.

It is going to take time to really embrace all of this. Most of us went to public school where our days were structured for us. News about school is about public school. Store hours and vacations and work and neighborhood activities are planned around the public school calendar. But you made a different choice for a reason. You chose not to put up with the rules or the standardization or the limits public school placed on your family time or the incessant testing or the way public school made your child feel. Now you can do things your way! Really. :)  

Just remind yourself if you start worrying about what you “should” be doing:

This is not public school.