When curiosity hijacks your day… run with it!
It was a day much like any other. We sat around the breakfast table, eating and talking. I was excited about the day before us. We’d slipped into a beautiful, smooth-going routine. And then it happened…
An innocent comment about rocks. Turns out my little turkeys had raided my stack of rock books that I had stashed away for our upcoming vacation. I don’t normally take “school” with us on vacation, but when a friend up in Payson mentioned that this was a great place to learn about rocks, I couldn’t resist!
The boys began rifling questions my direction.
What are rocks made from? What is a rock hound? There are volcanic rocks down the street. Does that mean a volcano was here? Do you think we can go out front and dig for gold? No? Well, what about rock collecting. Please, mommy. Please.
And just like that I realized that I could be a slave to my routine – that glorious, smooth-going routine, or I could feed their curiosity and run with it.
Oh the beauty of homeschooling is that we can strike when the iron is hot. When there is interest in a subject, a wise mama can rearrange the schedule and make room for spontaneous learning. When curiosity is lit, it is amazing what they will learn.
So we went rock hunting. We compared our neighborhood discoveries to that same trusty little rock identification kit that I had used as a girl. We read about rocks and marveled at God’s creativity! And now in hindsight, it was excellent preparation for our time up at the cabin; far better than my original plan.
The math, spelling and phonics happened on a smaller scale that day. But memories were made and minds engaged in a magical way that I could never orchestrate on my own. Learning like this, integrated naturally into a day, helps lay the foundation for a life-long pursuit of discovery!
Don’t be afraid to ditch the schedule when curiosity comes knocking! It will be there waiting for you.
Yes…run with it, indeed! Your children are cutie pies. 🙂
I am a stickler about schedule too, especially when I feel like there is hasn’t been any progress in a particular area (like phonics) with my Kindergartener. Our schedule has been pretty smooth and routined but noticing that they start dreading school when I don’t switch it up or do something out of the ordinary often enough. Reading this has helped encourage me to remember that curiosity about learning is the beginning of learning for the enjoyment of it rather than the task of completing the to-list of the day. Thanks!!!
YES!!! Our children need both. They thrive on routine, but we need to be keeping a watchful eye out for prime opportunities to mix it up and add spontaneity. Balance is key…
What a great encouragement. Not only are your kids building memories and having fun, but you (the teacher) are preparing your kids to be graduate students, or entreprenerrs, or artist, or muscians, rather than drones. They are learning and practicing how to be interested in a subject, how to ask questions, and the joy of finding answers. You have the long vision of education, rather than the short vision of your daily lesson plan. Not that daily lesson plans aren’t necessary. Of course they are. They give you a foundation to deviate from, and then return to.
Glad to read this today, Heather! After making Play Doh men and watching them tumble and then placing tooth picks inside of them to demonstrate bones, my kids wanted to play which then became building an animal hospital and treating their animals’ broken bones. I was torn about letting them ‘play’ and getting back to ‘school’. I know how quickly these younger years go by now that I have two grown and two in high school. I let them play!!
I love how young minds work. One of the blessings of having older and little one’s is the perspective it gives you. I always love hearing things like this. Play is so powerful!
Another H.A.I.F. day: Homeschool At Its Finest!
I just love this post, because it’s so true and such a great reminder. My 4 year old is FULL of questions right now about anything and everything!