Kim and Jason Kotecki are unschooling their three children, and they are also the brains and the fun behind escapeadulthood.com! We have a fantastic conversation, diving into their journey to unschooling, how they got into the work of fighting adultitis, how encouraging people to see their days through a more child-like lens is remarkably similar to deschooling, the joy of bringing curiosity and imagination into our adult lives, how it all weaves together so beautifully with unschooling, and lots more!
Questions for Kim and Jason
Can you share with us a bit about you and your family?
How did you guys discover unschooling and what did your family’s move to unschooling look like?
I really love your website, escapeadulthood.com, and your slogan, “Break free from the life you’ve been told to live. Create the life you were made for.” I think it describes deschooling in a nutshell! Deschooling is all about questioning many of the conventional so-called rules we’ve grown up with to see if they truly make sense and mesh with the life we want to live. I’d love to know the story behind how you guys chose to focus on this work.
In your book/journal, The Escape Plan, you make the point that this is about re-programming our grown-up selves to see life through a different lens. It’s about becoming more child-LIKE. I’d love to know some of the benefits that you guys have seen from recapturing the spirit of childhood and living your grown-up days through that lens. Why is this such a valuable shift to make?
Another unwritten rule is that curiosity and imagination is the playground of childhood. In one of your newsletters last month, you made a great case for why this isn’t so. We talk so much on the podcast about the value of curiosity for adults and children alike, I’d love if you could share that insight here.
From the outside looking in, your work encouraging people to create the life they were made for seems to weave together so beautifully with unschooling. Has that been your experience?
Many listeners are in the early stages of their unschooling journey and are in the midst of discovering the extent of the Adultitis epidemic. It’s like, once you see it, it can’t be unseen. To help get them started on the road to recover, can each of you share something fun they can try over the next few days to shake things up?
Links to things mentioned in the show
Kim and Jason’s website, escapeadulthood.com
Check out The Escape Plan, aka their guide to deschooling, with all 40 challenges listed
You can also join their online community of Adultitis Fighters
You can find Sawyer Fredericks on Instagram and Facebook
Episode Transcript