How Do Unit Studies Work with Fun-Schooling?

Unit Studies…

  • A deep dive into a topic/interest
    • Can be based on an animal, nature topic, hobby, interest, book, place, person- anything really!
  • Combine multiple educational subjects into the same topic
    • For example, a unit study on horses might look like:
    • Math- calculating horse speed, stride, distance, stats, etc for racing horses. Managing a budget for horse feed and equipment. (lots you can do with horse math!)
    • Science- horse biology
    • Social studies- horses around the world, how horses are used in different cultures/communities, horses throughout history
    • Language Arts- read a classical book about horses, do copywork on horses, learn to spell horse-related words
  • Multiple ages can work together on the same unit study with age-appropriate materials for each subject
  • Students can also work individually on a unit study
  • Great for students who tend to get “sucked into” a subject
  • Goes well with our idea of choosing a major https://funschoolingwithsarah.com/?s=major
  • Can last as long as you’d like- a day, week, term, month, or even an entire school year!
  • An easy way to combine elements from multiple educational approaches/methods (see the comments below for links to the other educational approaches we’ve covered)
  • How do I set up a unit study?
    • Start with a Fun-Schooling journal based on what your child wants to learn about- or a blank core journal or Master Class if we don’t have a themed journal on the subject
    • We’ll talk about this more on the 21st- information below

How do you set up a Fun-Schooling Unit study? Make sure to join the main Fun-Schooling group, and then click below to watch!

Investing in the Future

I think that having a dream for what they want to become is great for any child. I think it builds confidence when we support that dream. With struggling kids, the goal is having parents partnering with them and collaborating together to start something that the child can gradually take over.

I help them experiment with business ideas on a small scale between ages 5-14. It’s been about age 13-15 that my biological kids have developed a vision for their futures and we can help them begin to build towards those.

Isaac was 13 – we invested in tools and training to be a personal chef, about $1000, at 16 he switched to being a media producer, and we invested another $1000 for internship and basic tools. The next year he put his own $6000 into his media business.

Anna wanted to be a baker at 13, we invested about $200 in her muffin business on an island off Croatia. At 15 she decided to be a singer/songwriter- I paid Isaac and Anna each $100 to produce and publish her first song. The rest is History “His Story” – we later collaborated with dozens of professionals to create a stage musical. At age 22, $7.5 million was invested to launch her project. The first series of shows happened in Texas, probably to tour next. Still figuring that out.

At 13 Esther wanted to be a photographer, she continued with that vision, she saved up money for her first nice camera, and we invested over the years, but by the time she was 17 she was financially independent and now makes thousands per week doing what she loves.

Rachel didn’t know what she wanted to do, she focused on helping Anna. At 16 she sparked an interest in oil painting. We funded a trip to Indiana to get lessons from my mom. We bought her the supplies. She’s been building her portfolio and selling her art ever since. Doing commissions, media art, and online sales.

Naomi is 18, we spent $1000 on her first business when she was 14 to launch a dog accessories business. She used that income to grow the business, buy horses, and start breeding high quality golden retrievers.

My adopted kids need more time, Christina started her first business at 17, making crocheted toys. I spent about $500 on supplies and sent her to visit our dear friends in Texas who have a business in crocheting so she could learn all the foundational skills. She has about 32 toys made and is ready to launch a shop soon.

The goal is for each one to be an expert in their field by age 18, and to have an income source to support themselves.

If they need college to further their goals, they can show a great portfolio, and pay for it themselves.

I don’t really want them to go deep in debt over a degree though. Most kids don’t have a chance to develop their skills and become specialized in anything at a young age, because so much time is taken up on irrelevant things. 🙂

Ask God for wisdom for each child, and He will guide you. That could mean teaching toward tests, college, careers, missions, homemaking or anything.

Let Them Dream

Anna’s Dreams Becoming Reality

God has given each of my children an amazing set of gifts, skills, talents and experiences that shape who they are. I love watching each of them become who they were created to be. Each one has a calling, and for each one it is a unique dream for the future. Each path begins the same, here in our home, but I respect the reality that they each will pursue different futures and goals. Even in our own home, their pursuits and dreams will shape their early lives uniquely.

I pray that we would lay a sure foundation, and that our mission would be to fully equip each one to become whatever it is that they should me. They will not follow my dreams or walk long on my path, they will not hold my hand the whole way, so I pray that my life would simply be to them an example of faith, courage, and integrity.

I don’t expect them to do what I have done, I don’t want them to fall in line with my mission in this world. I want to understand what it is we can do, as parents, to catch their visions and invest what God has given, that they would each be able to shine as they walk bravely into the callings that God whispers into their hearts and minds.

I don’t want to waste a moment of their childhood on worthless things that are irrelevant to their future. So I let go, I set them free. And that looks different from the ordinary idea that each child should have a fair, equal, same, common experience and education. I pray, each day, for the wisdom it takes to let each one learn to handle the responsibilities of their liberty to become….

Start With the End Goal

Think about this… what is the END goal for having kids strong in Math and Language Arts? These skills are not an end in themselves, but tools to be successful in other things. With Fun-Schooling you often start with the end goal, you don’t just teach Language Arts and Math, you USE it doing meaningful projects.

What do you want your children to be able to do with Language Arts NOW?

What do you want them to be able to do with Math NOW?

What are they capable of TODAY?

We are not talking about filling out endless worksheets. Those worksheets do not relate to real life (and kids KNOW it). They only prepare kids for successful test taking, so they can move onto the next level of education.

Kids learn when they USE their skills in a meaningful way.

We only remember what we love, what we need and what we use in a meaningful way. All real learning is driven by curiosity and need.

What do you want your children to be able to DO with their language skills when they are finished with ALL formal education? Imagine all the things that can be done when someone is awesome with written and spoken language!

Consider my 18 year old daughter, Anna, she published a dozen bestsellers and wrote His Story: The Musical, which premiers next month! She has never used tests or traditional workbooks, and has been declared by some of the world’s great musicians (Dove Award Winners) to be on track to be among them. She is a Fun-Schooler all the way.

I have another daughter, who as a teen booked 2 or 3 photo-shoots almost every day back in 2019, where she usually earned $300+ on each one. She was more of an unschooler, she had to turn down jobs.

My oldest son was able to move into his own home, build his business, work part time in missions,and get married and support his household by age 19, and he manages his own taxes and business investments.He didn’t ONLY learn to do the fun stuff.

Fun-Schoolers don’t wait to start life and work after their education is over. They live life to the fullest and are PRODUCTIVE in the NOW.

What do you want them to DO with their calculating skills once they are finished with all formal education? We often think that our productive life starts after education, but most kids really want to start doing REAL stuff NOW. It’s why we focus on determining a major.

Start with the END GOAL, and begin with the ending.

Why We Love Fun-Schooling

I thought I just chime in and share why I love fun-schooling so much.

When my kids were little, I was trying to do a lot of Charlotte Mason learning, some Montessori schooling at home, classical learning and a lot of Unschooling. It was exhausting! Our whole life style revolved around me being a worn out teacher-mom.

I have so many children with such diverse needs and passions, I wanted to give each one their own path. I gathered tons of different curriculum from conventions and it was overwhelming to create all these custom plans for each child!

And so I had the idea to make the Fun-Schooling journals when my oldest child was 16. I created ONE do-it-yourself homeschooling journal that guides each unique child through the experience of studying their passion, their hobby or their career goals – while still focusing on all the required subjects!

The first DIY journal could be adapted to any child age 7-17. I created a different cover for each child and put the first Journal on Amazon with a bunch of different covers, and bought them from Amazon for my own kids. I was just using Amazon for print-on-demand book making for my own kids. But I had the books up for sale just in case other families wanted a copy.

So when I created the first DIY homeschool journal I was expecting my 10th child and I really just wanted to take a break for six weeks so I could focus on the new baby.

So I thought I’d make a six week curriculum where the kids use 10 pages a day, without much help from me. I would build myself into the book!

The idea is that they would get a stack of library books and a bunch of documentaries about anything they were interested in, and they were to use those resources along with the journal while getting in all those academics.

My idea was that they could do everything independently with one journal and I would just have to add a math curriculum.

It worked great! After the kids finish their first DIY journal they asked for themed journals. One wanted to study horses. One wanted to focus on travel and fashion. One wanted Minecraft theme. One wanted to focus on dogs. Another was really into nature. My son Joe was crazy about space. I said yes to my kids and we started collaborating on making Fun-Schooling journals together- based on each of my kids’ passions.

The whole idea was an amazing success. My kids started earning royalties and were doing their homeschooling independently!

One thing I really love about Fun-Schooling is that it frees me up to be mom, and it gave me time to enjoy my preschooler and baby.

So instead of spending my day struggling over their schoolwork and trying to make sure that everything is organized in a really boring way… I started focusing more on pursuing my passions and reading to my kids more.

I thought it would be great to be an example to my kids of the learning I want to see in them. Down the rabbit trail I go… I started making Mom-School journals that look a lot like their DIY Fun-Schooling journals!

Not only did the kids love Fun-Schooling – I do too.

When we first started Fun-Schooling, I had 10 kids. Before Fun-Schooling, our homeschooling days were really stressful and I always felt like I wasn’t doing enough, yet I was going non-stop.

Our home just became so much more peaceful, full of wonder, and just more harmonious with Fun-Schooling. Best of all – lots of other families started discovering Fun-Schooling too!

Within two years of making the first DIY journal we sold so many Fun-Schooling books that we were able to do things we never thought possible.

We were able to support ourselves as volunteers in Ukraine, and eventually we were able to adopt five more kids because we had the extra income and I didn’t feel like I was overwhelmed by the ten kids I already had.

As more of my kids became teenagers, we helped them to focus on pursuing their careers, instead of focusing on high school credits, and now five of our kids are adults and have started their own successful businesses and are able to be independent.

Fun-Schooling made such a huge difference in our every day life and empowered us to really become who we were meant to be!

It wasn’t just the kids pursuing their passions.

I also was able to pursue mine, and somehow I found time in the past 8 years to create, collaborate and publish over 400 books!

From Anna: “Start Your 10,000-hour Journey”

From Anna’s Instagram:

When I was seven my mom said I could major in the arts. Why wait for college? My mom believes in the 10,000 hour rule. If you want to become “World Class” truly legendary and super skilled at anything you need to immerse in your passion for 10,000 hours.

All the Brown kids pick a passion, calling, career or even a hobby to “major” in at a really young age. Then each kid gets a stack of books, access to tutorials, internships, volunteer opportunities, shadowing or personal trainers, online classes, tools, supplies, whatever.

At around age thirteen our parents invest a serious $1000 – $5000 into our first venture. For Naomi is was a horse and eventually a farm. For Alex it was a professional flight simulator. For Joe is was all things Jazz piano and music production. For Esther it was high quality equipment and a move to Kauai with the whole family. Her dream was to be a photographer in Hawaii.

You may think this is over-the-top when it comes to investing in teen entrepreneurs. My parents actually do this so they can save money on college. They would rather pay $3000 to launch a teen’s career than spend $80,000 or more to help them get a degree. The other option college debt! The goal is for each child in the family to be financially independent before they are 20, with no debt.

So, what does this have to do with my $10 sale? Besides wanting to be a playwright I wanted to create curriculum for teens who are following the Fun-Schooling path and majoring in their passions now!

So spend the $10 and start your 10,000-hour journey! Go here to see all of the books (discount good for at least 7 more days!): https://bit.ly/3JPXytn or use this QR code:

Who They Were Meant To Be

My girls were busy painting yesterday. Rachel, 19, did the one with the yellow background. Susie, 16, did the one with the green background. This is Susie’s first oil painting.

I’m in awe of their giftings, but it’s not just raw talent. The girls have devoted thousands of hours to growing in their artistic skills. Both decided to major in the fine arts while homeschooling. The process of finding who they were meant to be includes all of this.

I don’t know who you were made to be

But I will trust in the One who gave you to me

Because every child is a promise and a mystery

And every little smile shows us what is meant to be

As you play and dream and just have fun

I stand in wonder of the life that has begun

As you laugh and sing, jump and run

I stand in wonder of who you will become

Little hints of genius and artful poetry

You awaken promises and dance with mystery

I watch, I wait, I wonder, as I give you liberty

Just be you, as you become, who you were made to be.

Freedom, and patience, and grace always rising

Can I capture this moment, as I’m realizing

That you’re only mine for a matter of time

As your story unfolds and your light now shines

I’ll hold you close, I’ll hold your hand, and I’ll set you free

To be, everything that you were made to be

Because every child is a promise and a mystery

And every little smile shows us what is meant to be

For my children – By: Sarah Janisse Brown

A Mother’s Calling

I’m at a cafe today

Flipping through the pages

Of a journal I filled

When Anna was seven

I read the prayers

Of a discouraged mother

Who had hope

That someday

This little girl would read and write

But most of all,

I poured out my heart

That I could be devoted

to preparing Anna

To serve and follow God

In the calling He had for her

Not my plan

But His.

March 2, 2008 (Anna age seven)

Oh Lord I come to you and pray that Anna’s heart would be so fervent for you. Open her eyes to see you, give her ears to hear. Let her be hungry for your word and thirsty for more of your presence.

Help me to be full of wisdom to show her your path. Help me to teach her what YOU want her to know.

Help her to read very well soon.

I will trust you to show me how to help her. Give her a strong desire to learn. Let her mind be strong to grasp the things that will help her to be fluent in her reading. Let her develop a great love for reading even now.

Help me to devote myself to prepare her to serve and follow you in the calling that you have for her.

In Jesus name, Amen.

————-

As I read my prayer from 15 years ago I remember feeling God impressing upon me to NOT raise her to reflect the teaching of the current culture or the standardized path that so many were pressuring me to take. I saw an anointing upon her, and I felt so strongly not to try to conform to the ways of the world in raising her, to block out the well-meaning voices of concerned relatives and friends because this child was chosen to do things in this world that a person with a standardized education could never have the time or creativity to do. “Let her be an artist,” God spoke to my heart. “Let her major in the Arts now”, my heart demanded.

If there were two things I knew about my call to raise Anna, they were: Empower her in creativity and plant the most beautiful seeds of Art and God’s word into the garden of her heart. It was obvious that she was an artist and a storyteller and she assured me that she didn’t need to learn to read to become an artist. I assured her that God would not have put the Bible in written form if He wasn’t going to give her the power to read it.

The Arts, Travel, History of Fashion, and the Bible became her entire curriculum throughout her homeschooling years from age 6 to 15. At 15 she wanted to add singing and songwriting to the plan and I hired Christine Dente to be her coach. At age 17 she completed the writing of an audio musical about the life of Jesus. It was her senior project, bringing forth all of her learning from her childhood. That year I didn’t require any other schoolwork — “Just write your musical” — and she did!

Learn what has become of her talents, her hunger for God’s word, her thirst for His presence and her devotion to serve Jesus and follow His calling to reveal His heart to this world… see how He answered the prayers of a discouraged mother who sought God’s will and not the world’s for one little girl. Anna’s faith is beautiful, free, passionate, and alive. She is a bright light in the darkness and brings me so much joy.

HisStoryTheMusical.com

Anna today.

Become a Facilitator!

Taken from a 2018 Facebook post…almost exactly 4 years ago…still so much here to encourage parents!

I have found that with Fun-Schooling, or Delight Directed Learning, and intentional unschooling, many children rise to a much higher level of focused learning and accomplishment… sooner than kids in school, and seem to be ready to start their careers at much younger ages. I notice that by about age 14, once they get through the “brain dead stage” the young adult is ready to start trying out their careers in the real world from the safety and support of home. It’s no longer about LEARNING, but DOING!

Let me explain:

When my oldest son was 16 he scared me. He said, “Mom I want to study music, film and create documentaries, be a sound engineer, do voice acting and a little bit of publishing. I don’t want to do any math that is not related to my goals…”

He was sort of asking permission, and sort of letting me know he was ready to take charge of his life, mind, learning and goals.

So, I did all I could to equip him to reach HIS goals and I let go of mine. He spent two years (at home) focused on the things he needed to become great in HIS field, not some random set of educational goals drawn out in 1955 (or whatever) by people who wanted more obedient citizens and good employees in the workforce.

Once a young man or woman has their heart and mind set on what he or she wants to become, get everything out of the way that could be a distraction. Empower him or her with every tool they need to become the best at what they want to do. If what they want to do requires college, they will be motivated to study for that track and build a portfolio. If they want to start a business or trade, they can just do it.

What if he had the option of dropping everything else and focusing entirely on being an expert in Social Media Marketing and Travel Vlogging? Just think of all the debt he can avoid if he builds a business now, rather than paying for a degree.

I set my son free and told him that if he decided later that he needed college he would be entirely responsible for all the entrance requirements, and I washed my hands of it. He is no longer one bit my responsibility. I put his education into his hands at 16. He was able to start doing everything he wanted to do with his life. And he did it well. He did it without distraction. He did it without me forcing him to take calculus and biology. He had two full years of living at home and starting his career before needing to have an income to support himself… and future family.

He’s enjoyed his life on his own, and now with his wife, and is just fine at generating income, he has no debt. He is a traveler and volunteer, does music, film making, and makes stupid Jazz Memes. He and his wife are happy, and when they needed more income they did what they needed to do, and fell back on the skills that make money.

Parented, directed education ends when the child knows that they want to become and is willing to start doing it. At that point we become facilitators.

I have older children now that are no longer “schooling” and have already embraced their own futures and are living them out. They are not just preparing to “someday” become something. They have all started their careers and are actively working at becoming great, while still at home. I know that my teens need time to perfect their skills, and now they may be only earning a few hundred dollars a week at their trades, but it is something, and they can learn to reinvest it. At this time they don’t need to put that money into rent and food, so a little becomes a lot. Imagine having $300 a week, no expenses and no debt! How would you use or invest that money? Mine put it back into their trades and invested in their own businesses. At times some of my kids have made hundreds of dollars per day. They are not bogged down by education, they are DOING their dreams now, and doing it from home.

I respond to their needs so that nothing will hold them back. My daughter seemed to have one or two big clients coming to the island every week to do photography with her because she was so good. She made her work affordable and was attracting many new clients, and she’s nice and showed up on time, even without a car.

My other two spent time in many different parts of the world doing music professionally, and were overseeing a recording project that about 30 – 40 music artists were working on. It was so good that some very well known musicians got involved and contributed to the work. My daughter Rachel taught harmony parts to people who have graduated from theater and music school. My kids are confident and don’t feel limited.

I really believe that when a child is ready to become who they want to be, they are willing to pour their hearts, minds, energy and effort into that passion. I am becoming more and more fearless as I trust the way my children were designed, as all children, to thrive. Every one of them works hard to learn everything they need to do their meaningful work very very well, and I am not going to fight it, I’m going to encourage it, and get all the nonsense out of the way.

If any one my kids decided that they do want to go to college and need high school credits, I’ll work with them to get it done, I’ll buy the books and sign them up for online courses, send them to a tutor… but the motivation, responsibility, results, and work is THEIRS.

Take a Break!

Sometimes a break from school really gives parents time to help a child with a problem area so she can go back to school with new skills and confidence.

How do you do it? I would just let them play most of the time but spend about an hour focusing on the problem area. It’s a great time for dyslexia therapy or some multiplication games.

Sometimes the school schedule is so packed that a break like this offers us a chance help our kids grow in a specific area so they can go back to school stronger in the problem area.

Also, some kids have passions that they don’t have time for during the school year. I have a daughter who was obsessed with parrots and endangered species. It was a perfect time to let her “major in parrots” and learn to dig deep into a topic she really loves.

So we put together a Fun-Schooling basket full of stuff that helps her research birds and Endangered Species. It’s easy to focus because she’s so passionate.

So, during a break from school I would suggest only two things:

1. Zero in on just ONE problem area so the child can overcome some of her struggles.

We use DyslexiaGames.com for reading, writing and spelling problems. It’s so easy to use.

Try Math Craft for problems with basic math and multiplication.

2. Give the child resources based on their passion, and really make time for that passion. What is your child passionate about?

It’s exactly what we would do on summer vacation since this is a chance to focus on strengths and weaknesses, letting everything else go.

Besides that, the kids can have a blast and stay busy being creative, playing video games, watching movies, cooking their own meals, exploring nature, training a pet, learning new skills, and being together. The possibilities are endless!

Example of a Horse Lovers Fun-Schooling Basket