10.23.2008

for the love of learning

it has been so amazing to me to watch my children learn every new step and sound...every new discovery that prods them on to greater understanding. it is the way we learn...always. we find something interesting, we start to explore what it means to us, we take risks and try our hand at whatever it is we are hoping to grasp.
i am coming into my own understanding of growth and learning and new philosophy on teaching our young (or rather, guiding and facilitating...and learning FROM them). i am being drawn to different approaches and thoughts on learning, and i am really enjoying how much it is igniting this breath of adventure within my own self.
it is never too late to learn something new.
i see this because i get to witness the natural love of learning in my children.
from walking, to talking, to being totally submerged in a love for wanting to know MORE.
it is beautiful and so very contagious.
so i notice that when i learn best is when i am free to explore what i want to learn...what interests me and what brings satisfaction to my sense of wonder is what i am drawn to.
this just so happens to also be the case with our children.
the world is so full of opportunity to learn and my children are always helping me notice the small things all around us that really are truly BIG and full of information.
it is all at our fingertips.
and the second my children feel forced to learn something that hasn't naturally appeared in their world and minds...they shut down and resist with great effort.
so do i.
i learn when i need to learn.
we all do.
i keep discovering more. each shiny, new, wisdom-filled day leads me to greater learning.
sometimes i even remember what it was like to be a child.
i was really smart back then!
we're off to learn from the world around us through exploration and adventure!
i'll be back in this space early next week.
happy weekend to you!

3 comments:

daisies said...

i LOVE learning, love love love it :) you know, i really miss teaching, sigh. i also love that i get to read all my son's textbooks and help him study without him even knowing, tee hee

i hope we never grow up so much that we stop learning, you and i and everyone we know ... xox

Annette said...

gosh I remember my children comming home from school and having letters to learn and I loved phonics and they would demostrate them to me. Thank you for the sweet memories, my children are now 16 & 18. I wish I could go back in time.....sometime's.
Hug's
Annette

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more... I had been inspired to honor my child's autonomy from the very beginning... I didn't realize that it would lead us to homeschooling/unschooling... something that when I first heard of it struck me as simultaneously new but totally familiar.

enjoy------