Finding Joy: A Christian's Journey to an Unschooled Life

When I read this book, we had just started unschooling a few months previously, and I was the only unschooler I knew. Every other book I read was not from a Christian perspective, and I felt so alone on the path. As I was reading, I felt as if I had found a friend.

She begins the book by giving a biblical perspective on unschooling, and discussing common concerns including ‘will my child be motivated to learn what they need’, ‘what about structure’ and ‘how will my child learn reading, math and writing’? She shares some of her own family’s story and their journey to unschooling. She also gives age-based suggestions for unschooling, as well as a list of resources.

What I appreciated most about this book was the Christian perspective. It is brief and covers many topics. She cites many books that I have read, and others that I now have on my “to read” list. If you are a Christian considering unschooling, I highly recommend this book. Other books I have read include similar topics, and some in more detail, but not from the perspective of a Christ follower.

Page 16- “I have come to believe that the heart of unschooling is freedom within parental limits. This means freedom to choose what to learn about, but as a Christian, there are certain topics that we would not immerse ourselves in, such as witchcraft or homosexuality. This means freedom to choose what to do, but as a parent, I have set limits such as one hour of screen time, with few exceptions, and that my children must do chores. Unschooling means allowing your children to choose what they would like to learn about and when and how they would like to do so. It means helping them to achieve their goals by working with them to organize their time. And because they do not know all the possibilities, it is our job to expose them to all the richness and beauty of the world and let them sample its delights. I recognize and collaborate with God and what he is doing in each child’s life, rather than acting as though their futures are all up to me. Unschooling can be a very deliberate endeavor, not necessarily haphazard.

Some people like to criticize unschooling by saying that it is unbiblical. Is the public school and its methods more biblical?Is reproducing the public school methods in the home more biblical than what I have described above? Those who fully embrace the possibilities that unschooling can offer are poised to “suck the marrow out of life,” to live a richer and more meaningful life. It cast off grade levels, grades, test, scope and sequence, records, scores and all the other trappings of school that we have been brainwashed into believing are necessary. God did not create schools, he created families.”

Polanco, J. (2011). Finding joy: A Christian’s journey to an unschooled life. Julie Polanco.