Whether you're at home, playing a game, on the road, or grocery shopping, math, science, and other core subjects are everywhere. By incorporating independent meaningful learning practices into your young person's learning journey, it offers unique approaches to gaining these essential building blocks of knowledge.

What about math and reading?

Core Subjects

The elders in our lives hold a wealth of knowledge and experience. From sharing life skills to providing emotional support, grandparents and older caretakers can help create enriching learning environments for young people. 

How can grandparents support our young learners?

Multi-Generational Learning

When our young people have the freedom to explore what interests them, they are more likely to feel fulfilled gaining new skills and knowledge. Meaningful learning experiences begin with curiosity—and a leap of faith that our young ones have what it takes to lead their own growth as individuals.

What steps can I take to get started with independent meaningful learning?

Getting Started

Parents have unique needs when it comes to raising our young ones. By adopting intentional practices, such as consent and clear communication, parents are able to develop healthy and loving relationships with their children and themselves.

How can independent meaningful learning support my parenting?

Parenting

Independent meaningful learning goes beyond just choosing what and how we learn. It provides families the tools for navigating life with a sense of purpose, coping with stress, developing greater confidence, and taking care of our collective well-being.

How do I take care of the mental well-being of everyone in my family?

Mental Health

Learning environments that value individuality and agency are essential for young learners with unique learning abilities and social needs. Self-directed education allows neurodivergent learners to grow at their own pace.

What are best practices for supporting neurodivergent young learners?

Unique Learning

Grades do not determine how much a young person has learned. Redefining what success looks like for each of our families allows us to recognize the unique strengths and learning journey of our young ones.

How will independent meaningful learning support my child’s academic achievement?

Academic Achievement

Some of the best opportunities to connect with others and gain the essential life skills needed to navigate the ebb and flow of daily life happen well beyond the walls of conventional schooling.

How will my child develop the building blocks to live a meaningful life?

Life Skills

We’d love to say long gone are the days of old parenting styles that utilize shame, control, and punishment to push our young people to do what we want them to do and be who we want them to be. But the reality is that that is the type of parenting a lot of us were raised with, what’s considered the norm in our society, and often all we know. While it can be difficult to imagine a different kind of parenting style that centers empathy, understanding, and trust—and even more challenging to actually practice —you’re already well on your way to this new dynamic by exploring independent meaningful learning.

Old Parenting vs New Parenting Styles

Whether you’re currently homeschooling or attending public school, we invite you to dip your toes in the water of self-directed learning.

Four Ways To Dip Your Toes into Independent Meaningful Learning

Spend your next family movie night watching one of these films (or tv shows!) that explore themes that come up often in independent meaningful learning.

Recommended Viewing To Learn Unschooling Principles

Whether your family is seasoned practitioners or just starting out, these recommended reads will enrich your journey in independent meaningful learning. These books offer personal insights, practical advice, valuable perspectives, and research to help you navigate this self-directed educational path with confidence.

A Different Approach to the Core Four

Independent meaningful learning looks unique to every family. For young learner Analê, it looked like an 8-year-long journey of homeschooling, unschooling, and now, taking community college courses—at her own pace. 

Exploring Transitions to Unschooling

Practical and innovative ways for parents to support their child's development and growth in various environments.

Tips from deschooling parent Crystal Farmer

Helping young people find their agency

Grandparents, or other caretakers and elders in our lives, can play an important role in creating supportive learning environments for children. 

Meaningful learning with the support of grandparents

In self-directed education, learning core subjects from math to science might look a bit different from what we’re used to in conventional school settings

Learning core subjects outside of conventional schooling

Homeschooling can serve as an important step on the path towards independent meaningful learning, embodying a shift in the way we think about learning environments for our young people.

Homeschooling Starter Kit

Raising emotionally intelligent, resilient, and compassionate individuals starts with caring for our children’s mental well-being. 

Nurturing the Brilliance Within: Caring for our Children’s Mental Health

Inviting our children to make decisions alongside us and on their own allows them to voice their opinions, take ownership in their actions, and develop a sense of responsibility. 

Better Together: Making Decisions with Our Young People

Deschooling is a process that encourages parents to step back from traditional schooling paradigms, with the aim of fostering a more holistic, child-centered, and self-directed approach to learning and personal development. Hear from coaches Sari and Becka on how deschooling fosters deeper connections with our young ones. 

Building Connections with Coaches Sari and Becka

Can I Afford To Unschool? A Chat with Financial Expert and Coach Tonita Austin

Here are some of the most common doubts, questions, and concerns we hear often about independent meaningful learning, self-directed education, and unschooling.

Questions Parents Ask About Independent Meaningful Learning

Discover the flavors of unschooling, make learning fun and personal for your young people, and find your family's unique path to joy and connection.

The Ultimate Playbook For Child-Centered Learning

Independent Meaningful Learning (IML) offers tools to empower neurodiverse young people through personalized learning, reduced stress, self-determination, and community support.

5 Tips to Help Neurodiverse Learners Thrive

Deschooling is a life-long journey of unlearning and re-learning how the impact our schooling and childhood experiences shape how we engage in learning and relationships. Whether you’re a parent or young person; there is an extra-level of heaviness that comes with those of us who have already spent many years or generations in traditional schooling. However, when you’re ready, it can also be a liberating and empowering experience that opens up an onion-peeling world of new possibilities for personal growth.

Teaching Ourselves to See Learning in Creative New Ways

Mindfulness and independent meaningful learning share a lot in common. Both focus on being present, active listening, having awareness of our emotions, and taking responsibility for our own growth and development.

Parenting with Intention and Mindfulness

Take a flexible and fluid approach to your child’s learning to encourage agency and ownership of their learning experience. 

Disrupting the pass/fail, good/bad mindset

Practical tips for parents to build strong and lasting relationships with their young people by prioritizing open communication, empathy, and quality time together.

Building Connection Through Communication

Practical tips to foster a child's autonomy and sense of self, including cataloging their interests, practicing metacognition, and setting appropriate expectations.

The Power of Boredom

Pacing matters – some people are ready to immerse themselves completely while others like to take their time. Observe yourself and your young person to unpack and understand the pacing that works best for your family. 

Are You A “Jumper” Or A “Dipper”?

Let curiosity fuel your exploration. When we’re curious, we explore new and different things and ask probing questions to better understand and unpack everything we’re learning. 

Be Curious and See Where the Learning Takes You

Inquiry is important to a young learner because it fosters agency and confidence to navigate our complex world.

Preparing Young Learners for the Future

Facilitating a child's learning is not always sunshine and rainbows. In this candid dialogue, Maleka and Dan explore the unique hurdles they experienced and solutions families can try at home. From conscious parenting and developing self-confidence to providing constructive feedback, gain insight from two people navigating independent meaningful learning as parents of young learners.

A father puts his arm around his son at the kitchen table as they chat. 

Resources