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Homeschool Hot Takes: Unschooling, Curriculum Overload, and What It Actually Takes to Educate Your Kids at Home
Is unschooling going too far — or is it exactly right? Is your child buried under too much curriculum? And is it really too late to pull your kids out of school? These are the questions homeschool moms are losing sleep over, and in this live Q&A from the Summer Homeschool Help Desk series, homeschool expert Christy-Faith answers them all — without the fluff and without the filter.
With over 20 years of experience in education, Christy-Faith has built one of the most trusted voices in the homeschool movement. In this episode, she tackles real questions from real homeschool moms — covering everything from spelling struggles and curriculum overload to the real risks of pure unschooling and how working moms can make it work. You do not have to figure this out alone, and this episode is proof of that.
When Your Child Is Struggling — Spelling, Confidence, and Knowing When to Get Help
One of the first questions in this Q&A hits close to home for many moms: what do you do when your older child can’t spell and it’s affecting their confidence? Christy-Faith doesn’t give a generic curriculum swap answer. Instead, she goes straight to the root — if a child has had proper phonics instruction and is still struggling significantly with spelling at an older age, it’s time to ask harder questions. Is there an undiagnosed learning disability at play? Has anyone looked at whether this is a processing issue rather than a curriculum issue? Her recommendation: stop blaming the workbook and consider getting a real evaluation. LearningRx — backed by 35 years of research — is one resource she points to for kids who need targeted cognitive skills support.
Curriculum Overload: You Don’t Have to Do Every Single Thing
A mom asked about using BJU Press for kindergarten and finding it a little overwhelming with younger children at home. Christy-Faith’s answer is one she gives often: you don’t have to do all of it. She shared that she actually complimented BJU Press representatives for overwriting their curriculum — because a fully built-out curriculum gives you something to choose from, rather than leaving you scrambling on Pinterest for science experiments. The freedom to pick and choose is a skill she calls deschooling: learning to scan a page and identify what’s truly worth doing today, then letting the rest go. A rich conversation does more for learning than every worksheet ever could.
Is It Too Late to Start Homeschooling? (No. Here’s Why.)
Multiple moms in this Q&A asked some version of the same question: is it too late? To start in first grade? In sixth grade? In high school? Christy-Faith’s answer every time is an emphatic no. She believes the older years are actually among the most important years to homeschool — this is when kids begin developing a worldview, asking deep questions, and forming their identity. Pulling them out later isn’t a setback. It’s often the most important decision a family makes. The key for families starting later is sourcing well: choosing curriculum that doesn’t require a parent sitting alongside for every single moment.
Working Moms, Single Moms, and Homeschooling With a Full Life
Can you homeschool while finishing a master’s degree? While working? As a single mom? Christy-Faith says yes — but she’s honest that it looks different. You won’t be the baking-banana-bread, twenty-read-alouds-a-day type of homeschooler, and that’s okay. The single most important variable for a working or busy homeschool parent is curriculum sourcing: finding programs that teach and grade independently so you can be present without being pinned down. When she started homeschooling her son, she had two-year-old twins and a seven-month-old baby. It’s possible. You just have to build it around your actual life.
Christy-Faith’s Hot Take on Unschooling
This is the section of the episode Christy-Faith calls a hill she will die on. She loves interest-led learning. She incorporates it in her own home. She believes deeply in intrinsic motivation, autonomy, and play as drivers of real learning. But pure unschooling — the lifestyle philosophy of letting children lead entirely with no structure, no non-negotiables, no guided assessment — is where she draws a clear line. Her concern is not theoretical. She sees moms arrive at Thrive in a panic after years of unschooling: kids who are now teenagers with undiagnosed dyslexia that was hidden behind a belief that they just weren’t interested in reading. Kids who are behind in foundational skills with very little runway left to catch up. Christy-Faith’s position: interest-led learning is a gift. But parents carry a responsibility to ensure their children are genuinely educated — and that means some non-negotiables, even when it’s uncomfortable.
She acknowledges the research she loves — John Holt, Peter Gray — and holds it with respect. But she also sees the gaps. And she believes that calling yourself an unschooler while your child quietly falls behind is not a pedagogy. It’s, in her words, educational neglect. She says it carefully. She knows it’s edgy. But she says it because she’s seen the fallout firsthand, and she’d rather have the hard conversation than stay quiet.
⭐ New to Homeschooling? Start with Episode 101 — the New Homeschooler Series is the best place to begin.
Resources Mentioned
- How to Homeschool Guide — free 23-page ebook for anyone considering or just starting homeschool
- 5-Minute Homeschool Style Finder — free quiz to discover your homeschool style across 9 educational approaches
- Free Curriculum Recommendations — Christy-Faith’s curated list by subject, no paid placements
- Thrive Homeschool Community — Christy-Faith’s membership community for homeschool moms
- The Christy-Faith List — free directory of homeschool-friendly businesses and providers
📚 Looking for more free resources? Find all of Christy-Faith’s freebies — including Curriculum Recommendations, Homeschool Style Finder, and Sample Schedules — at christy-faith.com/#freebies
Related Episodes
If this episode resonated with you, you’ll also want to listen to:
- Why Boredom Is the Best Thing You Can Give Your Kids This Summer — the research-backed case for unstructured time and why interest-led learning starts with slowing down. Listen here
- Are You Sheltering Your Kids or Giving Them What They Need? — Christy-Faith unpacks the difference between protecting your kids and equipping them, with more live Q&A from the Summer Homeschool Help Desk. Listen here
- How to Build a Professional Homeschool Transcript — practical guidance on homeschooling through high school, transcripts, and setting your teen up for what comes next. Listen here
Frequently Asked Questions
Is unschooling a valid homeschool method?
According to Christy-Faith, interest-led and child-directed learning has real value — there is solid research connecting autonomy and play to intrinsic motivation. However, she draws a clear line at pure unschooling as a lifestyle. Her concern is that without any non-negotiables or guided assessment, learning disabilities can go undetected for years, and children can fall significantly behind in foundational skills with very little time to recover. Christy-Faith’s position is that parents carry a responsibility to ensure their children are genuinely educated, not just following their interests.
Is it too late to start homeschooling in middle school or high school?
No — and Christy-Faith says it emphatically. She believes the older years are actually among the most important years to homeschool, because this is when kids are forming their worldview and asking the deepest questions. Families who start later simply need to be intentional about sourcing curriculum that works independently, so the parent isn’t required to sit alongside for every subject every day.
What’s the difference between unschooling and deschooling?
Deschooling, as Christy-Faith uses it, is the process of releasing the institutional-school mindset — learning to let go of the idea that every lesson must be proven through worksheets and grades, and instead trusting that conversation, experience, and selective engagement constitute a real education. Unschooling is a lifestyle philosophy that takes child-led learning further, often removing structured curriculum entirely. Christy-Faith practices and advocates for deschooling. She has significant concerns about full unschooling.
Can I homeschool if I work or I’m in school myself?
Yes, Christy-Faith says — but it requires honest sourcing. Working homeschool parents need curriculum that teaches and grades independently, so kids can work without a parent present at every moment. It won’t look like a Pinterest-perfect homeschool day, and that’s completely fine. The Thrive Homeschool Community includes many working moms and single moms who have built homeschools around their real lives.
My child is struggling with spelling — what should I do?
Christy-Faith recommends going beyond curriculum switching. If an older child has had proper phonics instruction and is still significantly behind in spelling, she advises asking harder questions: could there be an undiagnosed learning disability or processing issue? A cognitive skills evaluation — such as those offered through LearningRx — can identify whether something deeper is going on and open the door to real, targeted intervention rather than another curriculum swap.
About Christy-Faith
Christy-Faith is a homeschool expert, author, speaker, and the host of The Christy-Faith Show — the podcast for homeschool moms who take their craft seriously. With over 20 years of experience in education, a master’s degree, and a background founding and directing one of the country’s top private learning centers, Christy-Faith has advised everyone from everyday families to A-list celebrities and billionaires on their children’s education. She is the author of Homeschool Rising: Shattering Myths, Finding Courage, and Opting Out of the School System, the founder of the Thrive Homeschool Community, and the creator of the Christy-Faith List — a free directory of homeschool-friendly businesses and providers. A homeschool mom of four, she reaches over 400,000 followers across social media and has built one of the largest and most trusted voices in the homeschool movement.
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