Five things that parents of school children can do to add a bit of unschooling to their curricula

Not every family is going to homeschool or unschool. But there are plenty of ideas to add some authenticity and self-directed learning to any student's experience.

1. Create portfolios of children's deepest interests and accomplishments over the years to augment any transcripts. (#unrules46)
2. Increase your children's time spent with adult experts who are passionate about what they do. (#unrules44) Be out of site, but do this without "dropping off" your children and transferring responsibility at least initially.
3. Take your children on short family trips, even if it upsets the schools. (#unrules36)
4. Include meaningful work into every week. Don't let the abundance of papers due and tests get in the way of helping your children actually help other people. (#unrules13)
5. Encourage play in areas of interest (#unrules26). Allow children to pursue passions, even when it gets in the way of doing homework. Be prepared to fudge a sick day for both parent and child to indulge areas of deep passion (#unrules37).