Why Deschooling Is Really for Parents: Letting Go of Schoolish Thinking

Many parents expect deschooling to work like a big reset button — pull kids out of school, give it a little time, and everything will fall into place.

But when kids seem to be “vegging out,” parents often panic: Is this really how it’s supposed to work?

In this episode, I unpack what’s actually happening in those moments — and why that panic makes sense.

Leaving school doesn’t automatically erase the habits we learned growing up. Even when unschooling feels right, school-shaped ideas about productivity, pace, comparison, and structure can quietly shape how we interpret learning at home.

We’ll talk about:

• Why deschooling isn’t instant — and why that’s normal
• What kids are actually doing when it looks like “nothing”
• Why deschooling is active parent work, not passive waiting
• How connection, partnership, and shared life replace school-based frameworks
• Why successful deschooling doesn’t lead kids back to school thinking — it helps school fade into the background entirely

Deschooling isn’t about rejecting learning.
 It’s about letting go of patterns that belonged to a system built for sameness — not real families.

Read Transcript at the Blog
https://www.unschoolingmom2mom.com/why-deschooling-is-really-for-parents

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DESCHOOLING TOOLKIT - for kids and parents!

The practical support resource for parents who find themselves in that in-between space — where unschooling makes sense, but school-shaped thinking keeps creeping back in.

The Deschooling Toolkit is a collection of parent supports designed to walk alongside you as you step away from system-focused ideas and sort through what actually supports your family’s learning now. It includes:

• 365 Days of Deschooling — gentle, real-life prompts for kids and families
• A Parent Deschooling Guide — to help you recognize school-conditioned habits and rethink them intentionally
• Deschooling Affirmation Cards — steady reminders for moments when doubt or outside pressure shows up

There’s no schedule to follow and nothing to “complete.” You can return to it whenever old patterns surface.