“My mother said to me, “If you become a soldier you’ll be a general; if you become a monk you’ll end up as the pope.” Instead, I became a painter and
wound up as Picasso.” ~Pablo Picasso
“It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.
~From the television show The Golden Girls
“We have spend close every moment of it together (with some exceptions of course) and as you can imagine, our relationship has grown stronger. The single most important aspect to this, has been our ability to laugh together. The games, sayings and interactions between us have become an important part of the journey.” ~Lainie Liberti.
“There is no difference between living and learning… it is impossible and misleading and harmful to think of them as being separate.” ~ John Holt
Lainie & Miro are “unschooling”. In fact they have discovered there’s a movement and a name to describe exactly what they are doing. It’s called Radically Unschooling. The philosophy behind unschooling is that children will learn what they need to know when they are ready and want to learn it and this flows through every other aspect of life.
But there are exceptions, of course, but I’ve seen games spark Miro’s interest in mythology, quantum physics, history and culture. We’ve had an open platform to discuss humanity, violence, and choices because of video games. I’ve also seen Miro’s research skills improve as the internet and google are second nature to him. I didn’t like going to the library when I was his age to research because it was so overwhelming.. what a drastic change for this generation.
This is an excerpt from this article by Alison McKee:
Miro picking Einsteins’ brain
What is unschooling?
Unschooling is a term that the late John Holt coined in the late ‘70′s to describe learning that is based on a child’s interests and needs. Unschooling does not begin with a parent’s notion of what is important to learn and then turn the choices of how to learn the content over to a child. Rather, it begins with the child’s natural curiosity and expands from there. Unschooling is not “instruction free” learning. If a child wants to learn to read, an unschooling parent may offer instruction by providing help with decoding, reading to the child, and giving the child ample opportunity to encounter words. If the child is uninterested in these supports, the parent backs off until the child asks for help. The most important thing about the unschooling process is that the child is in charge of the learning, not the adult. Unschoolers often do no traditional school work, yet they do learn traditional subject matter. They learn it as a natural extension of exploring their own personal interests.
“I don’t think this lifestyle is for everyone, but one thing for sure is it works for us.”
Theodora blogs about their adventures at: Travelswithanineyearold.com and Zac also has two blogs at: The 9 Year Old Strikes Back and A Ten Year Old’s Travels
Theordora on Education on the Road: For anyone planning longterm travel with kids, anyone who would like to travel and is delaying having kids to do so, or any parents who would love to travel but feel they can’t because of the kids, probably the single biggest concern is what sort of education a child will get on the road. This is also a major source of anxiety for other family members, particularly grandparents. Honestly? Education, once you get the hang of it, is one of the easiest things about traveling as a family.
About Theodora & Zac of Travelswithanineyearold.com
“We are a single-parent family from London, England, and this is the story of our long-term round the world trip. Z and I have travelled since he was teeny-tiny. He took his first trip to Europe aged six months, and to Latin America at two. He rode an elephant at three, went to Africa aged five, and since he was small we’ve talked about taking time out to travel the world when he turned nine. Now, we’re finally doing it.” Read more about the dynamic duo here.
Links to a few of Theordora’s articles on Unschooling and Schooling on the Road & Round The World Travel (RTW):
Our World School: An End of Year Report
Great Unschooling Article: Frequently Asked Questions About Unschooling High School and College with Alison Mckee
Unschooling Social Studies – You Can Not Escape History when You Are Living in the World
Great Article about Traveling and Unschooling
Radical Unschoolers Online Netowork
**Amazing video interview with Sandra Dodd on the Unschoolers Network. WORTH THE WATCH!
Sandra Dodd’s Blog – A former Educator and Advocate of Unschooling – Great Resource!
Wonderful Quotes about Unschooling
Lainie Liberti is a recovering branding expert, who’s career once focused on creating campaigns for green – eco business, non-profits and conscious business. Dazzling clients with her high-energy designs for over 18 years, Lainie lent her artistic talents to businesses that matter. But that was then.
In 2008, after the economy took a turn, Lainie decided to be the change (instead of a victim) and began the process of “lifestyle redesign,” a joint decision between both her and her 11-year-old son, Miro. They sold or gave away all of of their possessions in 2009 and began a life of travel, service, and exploration. Lainie and her son Miro began their open-ended adventure backpacking through Central and South America. They are slow traveling around the globe allowing inspiration to be their compass. The pair is most interested in exploring different cultures, contributing by serving, and connecting with humanity as ‘global citizens.’
Today Lainie considers herself a digital nomad who is living a location independent life. She and her son write and podcast their experiences from the road at Raising Miro on the Road of Life.
