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Unschoolers — May 2018 (shot on 35mm)
In 2018 I spent a week photographing a "unschooling" family in the small town of Wiarton, Ontario. Jennie and Luke have chosen to unschool their three children, Judah, Neve, and Wilder, letting them learn through play. The children are given the freedom to explore interests that appeal to them, instead of following a curriculum or a schedule. The kids enjoy making art, cooking, dancing, building forts, card games, identifying plants and animals, reading and visiting the library, and playing outside.
While there is a larger focus on religious homeschooling families, home educating their children is a choice that non-religious parents sometimes make due to a lack of faith in the school system.
There are two main types of home education: homeschooling, which is more structured and may involve textbooks and assignments; and unschooling, which is unstructured and not as comparable to formal schooling.
While all home education tends to encourage children to nurture their passions, unschooling is based on the evidence that children learn best through play. Unschooling parents believe that it’s beneficial to the child to let them lead when it comes to learning, and that there should be no schedule for learning or rules for how to learn.
Organically cultivating a love for learning has its academic benefits. An 2016 study by the National Home Education Research Institute indicated that home-educated individuals scored 15-30 percentage points higher on standardized academic achievement tests.
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The three kids relax on the front porch while Neve reads her children's book on neuroscience.
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Neve practices balancing on a small tree stump in the front yard of her home.
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Wilder chops garlic while his mother Jennie supervises.
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Judah, Neve and Wilder search for treasures in the lake near their home.
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Neve plays at the bottom of a playground slide.
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Neve and Wilder build a miniature tipi in their front yard.
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Neve swings on monkey bars by the lake near her home.
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Wilder plays an imagination game with a stick in the living room of his home.
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Wilder draws flora and fauna with his siblings and mother Jennie in the woods near their home.
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Wilder, Judah and Neve play on top of their parents' car in front of their home at sunset.
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Judah plays an imagination game in the front yard of his home on a rainy day.
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Jennie ties Neve's hair into a bun before her ballet class while Judah reads comic books.
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Neve runs into ballet class with her friends.
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Judah, Neve and Wilder walk down the street with their family as the sun sets.
