Yesterday was Sam's birthday. He turned six, and his desire was to have fun all day, and then stay up all night and play. He got his wish. I went to bed – I choose to work today – but Kristin and the boys stayed up. They watched Star Wars Episode 1 and The Black Stallion Returns. They turned the Eagles on loud and danced. The played Pokemon. And that's just the stuff I know about. It wasn't the most restful night I've experienced.
He did it, but just barely. When I got up at 5 a.m., Sam was starting to fade. Kristin said she felt like she was in an airport. Trin, on the other hand, had gained his second wind and said he was wide awake. As Kristin carried Sam into the bedroom to watch the Making of Star Wars, he said, "Wake me up when we get in there."
Homeschooling is an incredible gift we give our children. Perhaps the most valuable gift we give them. We have no curriculum. We prioritize dreaming, following our interests, domestic arts, respect for self and others, fun and play outdoors, exploration, community service, natural and social sciences, reading and math, and music. The math they learn is meaningful, connected to what they're doing. The reading is, too, and mostly they teach themselves. They help us grow our own food and preserve it. They are an integrated part of our economic unit as a family. Their childhood is embodied freedom and responsibility, and they are thriving.
And one of the side effects is that a six-year-old boy can have his birthday wish and stay up all night, without losing a single minute of school.
5 comments:
haha that is funny. I don't know if I would have ever wished for that, but I do know that I wouldn't wish for it now. ha. That was a neat post Seda; we are probably going to need to do homeschool and that made it sound really good.
Hey girl,
Holy moly--Max would have loved that birthday present--he was up most nights anyway, total night owl.
You did forget with home schooling, (and David should know this) that the kids don't waste time trying to fit in. They fit just fine into a family. No one in my family ever rejected me for being weird, and ditto for Max, only difference is that he's just now learning he is weird in college; didn't learn it as a child. He learned it when his whole Biology table left him alone saying that they didn't want to sit with a "total genius".
Go figure. If I added up all the time I spent in the hall or in the library for being a "total genius" I'd have a couple of years.
We give our kids the opportunity to realize themselves without having to squash that under the expectations of a group of strange people. That's more than a dream, although Max did his fair share of dreaming, too.
Growing up with love is so vital a force that I think you and Kristin doing more for the future than recycling and driving your biodiesel (when you drive at all.)
As I said, I want to live in Trin and Sam's future--the future you are making.
thanks girl,
hugs
me
David,
You can do a lot worse than homeschooling. Better yet, unschool. Get every book by John Holt you can - "How Children Fail," "How Children Learn," etc. John Taylor Gatto's another good one - for a good reason for homeschooling, read "The Underground History of American Education." If you "have" to homeshool, consider it a blessing.
By the way, are you hinting at something?
Anne,
Hey, thanks, girl! That's cool.
Oh yeah, I thought I posted it somewhere right when we found out, but Sarah is due September 28! We are very excited.
Yay! Congratulations, David & Sarah! Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?
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