“The Unlikely Hiker: How Nature Walks Became My Budget-Friendly Unschooling Hack”

Sometimes, you just need to take a walk. Now, let me preface this by saying: I am not an avid hiker. I am more of an “I’ll walk if there’s food at the end” kind of person. My child, on the other hand, would rather binge-watch gaming videos like they were training for some sort of couch Olympics. Yet, somehow, we find ourselves out in nature. Be it a casual stroll through a botanical garden, hiking to a waterfall that Google says is “easy” (it’s not), or dodging raindrops while searching for cool rocks on a beach with friends—nature always has a lesson for us.

Take, for example, birdwatching. We use the Merlin app to track our sightings like amateur ornithologists. Well, my kid is more of an “I’ll help if I can make the bird noises louder” participant, but it’s teamwork nonetheless. For plants and trees, we’ve got Google Images on speed dial. And speaking of Google, let’s not forget the time we had to look up whether koi fish give birth to live babies or just lay eggs. (Pro tip: if the fish belly looks huge, don’t panic. It’s eggs. Lots and lots of eggs.)

If we’re in a no-signal zone, we resort to taking pictures of whatever caught our curiosity and hope we remember to research it later. Spoiler alert: we rarely do. But that’s all part of the adventure.

Sometimes, though, we just sit. Well, I sit. My nine-year-old takes full advantage of the unrestricted movement time to zoom around like a squirrel who’s just discovered espresso. But on occasion, even they pause long enough to soak in the stillness of nature—though, let’s be real, those moments are fleeting.

Speaking of movement, I recently braved the nature playground’s balance poles. Twice. I’m practically a wilderness athlete now.

So, what’s the point of all this wandering in the wild? It’s a reminder that nature is a fantastic, budget-friendly way to enrich your unschooling experience. And the best part? You can find it almost anywhere—at no cost or minimal entry fees. Whether you’re identifying birds, rocks, or questioning the reproductive methods of fish, there’s always something to learn, no matter how much your kid protests that nature is “boring”.

Trust me, it’s worth the walk. Even if it’s just to get back to the car faster.