When my family of four kids (9, 7, 4, and 2 months) was introduced to the concept of "unschooling," or self-directed education in which learners lead the way, there were several things that resonated for me: that learning can come through and feel like play; that life will be what you make of it and we can choose a life of joy; and that great learning comes from real application of knowledge and skills in pursuit of our own goals.

As a new unschooling mom, I found myself often telling my kids, "If you want something, you have to make it happen." I was trying to teach them the value of putting things on the calendar, and coming to family meetings to make plans with me for the week.

One day, my then 9- and 7-year-olds were debating which movie to watch together. I overheard their discussion, which concluded with, "Let's watch your movie this time, but let's write a note to remind us that next time it's my choice." And they did. It was such a small thing, but it felt like a huge testament to the path we were on.

So I continued to share my mantra: If you want something, you have to make it happen. And the longer I watched my kids living out their lives with joy and passion, the more I realized I need to practice what I preach.

I hadn't expected to learn and grow myself through unschooling, but you can only be around so much joy before you start to wonder if you're really living out your own interest-led journey. As I helped my kids get their goals and plans on the calendar, I naturally started carving out space for my own.

I first made space to try homeschool coaching. I made my first website, started my first Instagram account, and even my first podcast. I offered free coaching sessions to test my skills. I was loving learning these new skills. It kind of felt like play—like I was pretending to start a business.

As I coached, two things became clear to me. One, I was passionate about unschooling, and two, it would be amazing to unschool in a community. Someone should really start a school for unschoolers, I thought. I wish something like that existed for my kids, I mused.