The Truth About Nontraditional Homeschooling
Are you taking a nontraditional approach in your homeschool? How do you know if it’s working?
What Is Nontraditional Homeschooling?
The truth is, homeschooling in and of itself, is a nontraditional approach.
That being said, there are some of us that take this homeschool experiment a bit further down the path of “different” than others.
How do I define nontraditional homeschooling? The same way I define taking a nontraditional approach to learning. A nontraditional homeschool, in my mind, is any out of the box, child centric approach to learning. In my homeschool, this translates into:
- Strength Based Learning
- Hands-On and Experiential Learning
- Almost Entirely Interest-Led (but not completely unschooling)
Strength Based Learning
This is perhaps where we are the most “nontraditional”. Almost all of our learning involves areas that are natural strengths for my son. Even in areas that are a struggle (i.e. reading) we employ strength based techniques to help him improve, such as reading song lyrics and using text messages to practice spelling.
Learn more about our strength based approach here – A Strength Based Homeschool: Why It Matters
Hands-On And Experiential Learning
Although finding hands-on learning options for my son has gotten a bit more challenging as he has gotten older, hands-on experiences are simply how he learns best. Therefore, this is an essential component of our nontraditional homeschool.
The easiest way to incorporate this type of learning for us these days is with field trips and science experiments. When he was younger, it was using lots of sidewalk chalk and our trampoline for reading and math practice.
For more practical examples of hands-on learning:
- The Ultimate Guide To Hands-On Homeschooling Activities: Everything You Need To Get Started
- Easy Hands-On Learning: 5 Tips For The Mom Who Doesn’t Do Crafts
- The Power Of Hands-On Learning and Movement For Struggling Learners
Interest-Led Learning
Because I have been doing this now for more than a decade and have graduated one child already, I feel so much more confident making this statement – My son essentially learns what he is interested in learning almost all the time.
He doesn’t always like the learning itself, but now that he is older, he sees the benefit and is therefore interested in studying it. A great example of this is all the work he has put into Drivers Ed. He really wants to get his license, so he has been willing to suffer through long, formal online courses and practice exams in order to be prepared to take the test.
When he was younger, this looked like endless books and videos about snakes, gemstones, and space. As he has matured, the interests have changed, but the approach is virtually the same.
A Nontraditional Homeschool Lesson Plan
All year long, I have been sharing lesson plans and recaps to demonstrate exactly what our nontraditional approach really looks like in the day to day.
Here is our lesson plan recap from last week.
Weekly Lesson Plan vs. Reality #38
Monday
THE PLAN
- Physical Therapy – 2 hours
- YouTube Video or Google Search About A Preferred Topic
- Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Physical Therapy – 2 hours
- YouTube – The World’s Rarest Fish
- Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours
Tuesday
THE PLAN
- Audiobook and Discussion
- Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour
- Art class – 1 hour
- Voice class – 1 hour
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Audiobook and Discussion – Banned Books
- Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour
- Art class – 1 hour
- Voice class – 1 hour
Wednesday
THE PLAN
- Physical Therapy – 2 hours
- CTCMath
- Banned Books Study
- Chemistry Online
- Poetry Read Aloud
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Physical Therapy – 2 hours
- Banned Books Study
- YouTube – Geography Now, South America Explained
Thursday
THE PLAN
- Audiobook and Discussion
- Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour
- Guitar Class – 1 hour
- Rock Climbing Class – 2 hours
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Audiobook and Discussion
- Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour
- Guitar class – 1 hour
- Rock Climbing Class – 2 hours
Friday
THE PLAN
- MapWork – South America
- Rock Climbing
- Current Events Discussion
- Audiobook and discussion
- Creative Writing – Poetry
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Rock Climbing Practice (prepping for big USA qualifier on Saturday)
- Banned Books Audiobook and discussion
- Current Events Discussion
Saturday
I am adding Saturday to our recap for the week because it was a huge learning experience, even if it was not part of our lesson plan.
My son competed in a qualifying rock climbing tournament for the national rock climbing league for the first time. He did well and qualified to move on to the next round. More than that, he advocated for himself, managed his anxiety well, socialized with other climbers, and read countless score sheets and rule books.
Our Nontraditional Homeschool Lesson Plan For This Week
| Week 39 | Lesson Plan |
| Monday | 1. Physical Therapy – 2 hours 2. YouTube Video or Google Search About A Preferred Topic 3. Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours |
| Tuesday | 1. Audiobook and Discussion 2. Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour 3. Art class – 1 hour 4. Voice class – 1 hour |
| Wednesday | 1. Physical Therapy – 2 hours 2. CTCMath 3. Banned Books Study 4. Chemistry Experiment – Halloween Themed 5. Creative Writing – Poetry |
| Thursday | 1. Audiobook and Discussion in car 2. Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour 3. Guitar Class – 1 hour 4. Rock Climbing Class – 2 hours |
| Friday | 1. MapWork – South America 2. Rock Climbing 3. Current Events Discussion 4. Audiobook and discussion 5. US History – The Civil War |
Reference Note: My son attends classes on both Tuesday and Thursday at a specialized private school. This is for elective classes like art and music, as well as social skills.
New Interest-Led Homeschool Lesson Plans And Updates, Every Week
Additional Resources For Strength-Based And Interest-Led Homeschooling
Take a look at all of our past lesson plans and recaps!
Research has shown that a learner who spends the most time studying in areas of strength, tends to perform exponentially better in all academics including the areas of weakness.
These resources are a great place to start!
