Supporting Passions and Unschooling to Adulthood
The Hunter family began their unschooling journey over 9 years ago. Tira Hunter says that "the benefits of unschooling put her daughter on a path to have a career in art and the freedom to pursue her passions on her own terms."
Zoi Hunter is now 19 years old and a full-time commissioned artist. Zoi and her mother, Tira joined me on this episode to talk about their path to unschooling. They also share what they were able to reclaim along the way.
Supporting Passions and Unschooling to Adulthood- What You'll Hear In This Episode
You'll probably notice as you listen to this episode that Tira is a friend of mine. We met online and became fast friends, sharing our fears, joys and continuous Deschooling with each other. As moms to Unschooled teens that are extremely focused on personal passions, we connected.
Knowing Tira and Zoi's journey, I was excited that they came on the show. Their story is so real and inspiring that I know parents will appreciate hearing it. And to hear them share this story together makes it even more impactful.
"I was a nervous wreck."
Tira keeps it real. She is extremely honest about the struggles and fears she has had on this journey. As she says, the person in their family that had the hardest time Deschooling was.. her.
In this episode you'll hear their story from Academic public school to unschooling. Actually, their path went from public school to "school at home" homeschooling to unschooling. Tira did what many of us do, repeat what we know, even if it is no longer serving us. What we know is usually school. It wasn't until they were absolutely miserable that Zoi's dad suggested a change. Tira scaled back, stepped back and tried this unschooling thing.
Zoi was ready for change. You'll hear how and why self directed learning was the best match for her, how it shifted their family dynamic and helped Tira to let go of her "schoolish" ideas.
But How Do Grown Unschoolers Actually Find A Job Or Get Into College?
Tira shares a wonderful story in this episode of when Unschooling finally "clicked" for her. She saw her apply what she was doing to life. Zoi had a task to complete and found an ingenious solution to a problem on her own because of the time she had to experiment, research and test. (The Dish Soap Story ;) )
From there, the time and space Zoi had allowed her to explore art. And Zoi's interest in Art and creating took off. Art became Zoi's passion, her full circle unschooling journey. Zoi and Tira share how art has been Zoi's path to business and the broader world. We talk about the steps and mentors she has found along the way and the opportunities that opened up for her through unschooling.
Zoi certainly did not follow a traditional path, but that did not hold her back. By stepping out of the traditional path Zoi was able to flourish.
If you are interested in unschooling or want to learn more about unschooling as your children get into their older years, this episode is for you. I also recommend the episode Supporting Passions and Unschooling In The Teen Years that features my son and his journey following his passions in unschooling and where it is taking him.
Resources
Zoi's Instagram~ https://www.instagram.com/artbyzoi/
Zoi's newest book- Everybody Has A Belly Button
Special Shout outs to Unschooling Mentors we mentioned (and who also have been guests on this show!)
Karla Marie Williams
Karema Akilah
Sue Patterson
John Holt
My son's interview on Galileo- Unschooling And The Freedom To Follow My Passion
How To Be An Awesome Homeschooler Summit- March 18th 2022
How To Be An Awesome Homeschooler Summit we are going deep into the 3 R's of Learning. No, not Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic but RECLAIM. RESIST. RESILIENCE. We are gathering for the day, LIVE on clubhouse to listen to stories and keynote, ask questions, learn, gather resources and find community. Go to the website to register to gain access to community as well as all of the goodies that come with this summit.
We have our amazing keynotes- Ainsley Arment of Wild + Free, Kelly Edwards of 90 Minute School Day, Robyn Robertson of Honey! I'm Homeschooling The Kids, Karema Akilah of The Genius School, Karen Ricks of Our Kitchen Classroom, Leah McDermott of Your Natural Learner.
Shout out to our summit sponsors whose contributions allows this summit to remain accessible to the community.
Praxis
Math Codes
CoLearn
Phonics in Motion
MapleRose
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