Learning All the Time . . .

Important to understanding and trusting unschooling is the knowlege that kids (and we!) are learning all the time. You can't stop it--although there are certainly ways to get in the way of peoples' learning. One of the great pleasures of unschooling is to be with my children and to see their learning unfold in organic ways.

They are so adept at picking up new skills. We got a Wii video game system for Christmas. The kids have quickly become masters at the set-up and working of it, filling us in on things we never knew even though we had at least peeked at the manual. I see this ability in them with most of what they do. Watching them explore, I realise that they do it with an abandon and confidence about "fiddling" that was dampened in me long ago. They go along merrily poking buttons and icons without worrying that they are going to do something wrong. I go about it with hesitation, afraid I will do something wrong. Their strategy usually proves more enlightening than mine!

Here's the disclaimer: they will also learn in places and situations where you really rather thay didn't. Today, at the office of a service provider we see weekly (and luckily have a good relationship with), Oliver went to get a drink of water from the water cooler which was out of my sight.

He came back with the report that, "My tummy was full so I poured the rest in that little thing on Ms. J's cooler. There's some on the floor."

I was pretty sure this wasn't the full report.

"What exactly did you do?"

He repeats his first report and I know that I have to go look.

The well below the spigots, designed to catch small amounts of water, was overflowing, water was cascading down the front and pooling on the carpet.

"What did you do, Oliver?" I asked him.

"I filled it up."

"Why?" I had to ask.

"It was just an experiment. I wanted to see what would happen."

Ah, yes. Learning all the time.