Unschooling is scary for sure, especially at first.
I had read a tonne about unschooling going all the way back to Tolstoy who was an avid believer in children self directing their own learning.
My first child I was more hands on, feeling and thinking I had to show her the basics....how could she learn to read without me teaching her? What about writing, math etc? But the theory and studies made so much sense that I persisted with unschooling and allowed her development to unfold at its own pace. I was however having kittens and shed more than a tear or two when by age 8 she still wasn't reading!
Then one day I heard her voice and found her curled up on the floor in her room reading a young adult novel at the age of 8! She read fluently, no phonics or hesitation. From then on and to this day she is a prolific reader.
When my second daughter arrived 6 years later I was much more relaxed. I knew first hand that all those 'basics' do unfold and arrive naturally especially in first world environments when the child is surrounded by books, conversations, ideas and stimulating materials/environments.
I never once gave my youngest a reading lesson or math lesson, I an just always on hand for any question that arises.
My youngest learned to read much earlier than my first, she was reading by age 4 and maybe that was because I never once asked her to read a word or sentence?
Books have always been important in my house, we have a library and I read to both of my children every bedtime when they were young.
It takes a lot of trust in human nature and the brilliant minds of our young to be able to unschool.
Most of us are programmed to believe we have to control every aspect of our Childs life or else they will fall into the gutter.
We would never have come so far as a human race if that was the case. Our children are for more capable and brilliant than we can accept.