Welcome!

Becoming a parent and a parent-educator are truly life-changing experiences that challenge us in extraordinary ways on an everyday basis. Either as a stay-at-home parent or a parent working from home, engaging meaningfully in the life and learning of our children while keeping up with work, household tasks and taking care of the many other basic needs of your child, is an extraordinary challenge we face daily. "Pero el amor es más fuerte" ("But love is stronger"), in the words of Argentinean singer, Ulises Butrón.

I'm Ana Fonseca, I'm an anthropologist, wife of a brilliant self-directed learner and mother of a beautiful child who is learning freely, without school. Parenting and educating my child have been the biggest and most meaningful challenges of my life. I don't say this lightly. Moving from my native country and living in a different culture, changing careers and becoming an independent academic -and many other challenges in between- all this pales in comparison to the challenges posed by parenthood and home education. The realization that a little human being counts on you so much to survive, learn and grow, both overwhelms and encourages every part of you in ways you never thought were possible.

How to make our lives as a family more joyful and facilitate the growth and learning of our children in the middle of the daily rush and overwhelming feelings that also come with parenthood and home education, especially when starting this journey? This question is at the very core of my purpose here. From an early age, children instinctively know what they want and are driven to explore the world around them. Unfortunately, they cannot easily communicate their wishes and interests. Parenting and educating a child requires a lot of creativity, observation and responsiveness, but most importantly instinct, respect, trust and connection, every day.

Child-led parenting and learning are truly transforming the way we see and relate to our children and the world around us. Through child-led parenting and learning we connect and respond to our children's wishes, interests and signs of readiness, and let them make choices to encourage their creativity, problem solving, personal growth and age-appropriate independence. In sum, children have a voice in the kind of parenting and education they experience, and there is more receptiveness to all the learning that is around us: learning happens in many ways, all the time, every day, and everywhere. Learning is not confined to a curriculum, schedule, classroom or date in a calendar. Child-led parenting and learning allow us to be more in tune with our parental instincts guided by the innate curiosity and drive to learn of our children. This is something we all know deep inside of us, but we have been conditioned to put it to the side perhaps by other adults in our lives and mostly by the traditional school system most of us grew up in. It is in this sense that I embrace the idea of child-led parenting and learning, in the sense of listening to the natural instincts that as human beings we have to follow and be fully present for our children, more than following and prioritizing parenting manuals and learning curricula that disconnect us from our children. 

I use the terms "parent-educator" or "home-educator" because that's how most people refer to us, but we see ourselves mostly as child-led learners and facilitators. For my husband and I, that means to truly listen to our child and provide him with a simple, rich and safe environment to explore and experience. This environment also involves us as parents serving as models and letting him see us engage in what we love with passion. All while respecting his right to give or deny consent, as well as his right to choose what he is most interested in learning.

By sharing my experiences, challenges, knowledge and reflections as an anthropologist, mother and a child-led learner, I hope this site serves as a source of empowerment and inspiration when embarking on your own unschooling journey. Not only to help you survive the rush of the day graciously, but also, and most importantly, to help you accompany your child in the development of her/his full potential. Let's get started.

Happy learning!