You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again. ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762
One of the things I appreciate the most about homeschooling is the fact that our children are not constrained by pace. We try to make our children into adults all to soon. There really is no hurry. If a child is not ready to buckle down and hit the books, is it the best idea to constrain them to the task?
There are a number of ways to approach this. One is to just let them skip, play, and run. There will be plenty of time to grow and be respectable and responsible. Be patient and let them grow into a natural curiosity and then feed that desire. Often children will want to know or understand a given topic or concept. Their questions will open up lines for communication and instruction. They’ll be learning before they even know what the activity is.
With a small measure of imagination directed activity can easily became a teachable moment or an opportunity for insight. Just remember that these times are just as much instruction as when they are working a worksheet full of math problems. It’s not that our children are not busy, their activity level makes me tired just watching. If you take a moment to observe, you’ll realize that homeschooling is happening naturally.
What do you think about easing kids into their education based on interest as opposed to a calendar? Do you agree or disagree? Feel free to leave a comment to share your own point of view.
Tags: homeschooling