Editing Homeschooling (section)

==== Informal learning ====
{{Main|Informal learning}}

'''Informal learning''' refers to the component of homeschooling which happens outside of the classroom. Informal learning is an everyday form of learning through participation and creation, in contrast with the traditional view of teacher-centered learning. The term is usually used synonymously with "non-formal learning" and "self-directed learning." Informal learning differs from traditional learning as there are no expected objectives or outcomes. From the learner's standpoint, the knowledge that they receive is not intentional. Activities such as planting a garden, baking a cake or even talking to a technician at work about the installation of new software can be considered informal learning: the individual is completing a task with different intentions but ends up learning skills in the process.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Livingstone |first1=D. W. |year=2006 |title=Informal Learning: Conceptual Distinctions and Preliminary Findings |journal=Counterpoints |language=en |volume=249 |pages=203–227 |jstor=42979596}}</ref> Children watching their tomato plants grow will not generate questions about photosynthesis but they will learn that their plants are growing with water and sunlight. This leads them to have a base understanding of complex scientific concepts without any background studying.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Crawford |first1=Elizabeth Outlaw |last2=Heaton |first2=Emily T. |last3=Heslop |first3=Karen |last4=Kixmiller |first4=Kassandra |year=2009 |title=Science Learning at Home Involving Families |journal=YC Young Children |language=en |volume=64 |issue=6 |pages=39–41 |jstor=42731048}}</ref>

Depending on the part of the world, informal learning can take on many different identities and has differing cultural importances. Many ways of organizing homeschooling draw on the model of apprenticeships and [[Learning through play|play-based learning]]. In some [[Homeschooling international status and statistics|South American indigenous cultures]], such as the [[Chillihuani]] community in Peru, children learn irrigation and farming technique through play, advancing them not only in their own village and society but also in their knowledge of realistic techniques that they will need to survive.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bolin |first=Inge |date=November 2006 |title=Growing up in a Culture of Respect: Child Rearing in Highland Peru |journal=Journal of Latin American Anthropology |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=430–432 |doi=10.1525/jlca.2006.11.2.430 |issn=1085-7052}}</ref> In Western culture, children use informal learning in two main ways: through hands-on experience with new material, and by asking questions to someone who has more experience (i.e. parents, elders). The concept of informal learning depends on the inquisitiveness and interests of the child.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Legare |first1=Cristine H. |last2=Sobel |first2=David M. |last3=Callanan |first3=Maureen |date=October 2017 |title=Causal learning is collaborative: Examining explanation and exploration in social contexts |journal=Psychonomic Bulletin & Review |volume=24 |issue=5 |pages=1548–1554 |doi=10.3758/s13423-017-1351-3 |issn=1531-5320 |pmc=10409598 |pmid=28744768 |doi-access=free}}</ref>