"Children do not need to be made to learn about the world, or shown how. They want to, and they know how." -John Holt

Friday, October 19, 2007

Unschoolers far & wide

Yesterday, we -along with Grandma, made the trek to Madison, NH to visit the Martin family. Their kids were eager for company and made my kids feel right at home. Simone told me that first she was being shy but now she was better and "talked to the big boy and the big girl"... and that's no small feat!

We played. We walked. We chatted. And Devin showed off his rope swing tricks...And my normally acrobatic Bomey did too... until I intervened to tell her where to grab the rope "better" and then this happened:That's her in mid-flight with terror already written all over her face. She crashed and landed on logs. Oops. I'll stay out of it from now on. And *maybe* I'll even spot her instead of looking for photo op's. Not sure I've totally learned my lesson though...Gabriel enjoyed the swing too. Though always a bit more cautious than his little sister, he put his foot in the loop for added security and didn't listen to a word of my caution.
We were lucky to have a beautifully warm fall day to spend outdoors on Dayna's gorgeous chunck of land. Thanks for having us!

Posted by Jessica at 12:33 PM

1 comment:

Dayna Martin said...

What a fun visit Jess! So glad you guys came to see us!! I enjoyed the banana bread you made us today.....twice! ;)

This picture cracked me up because I didn't even notice all the kids faces from standing behind them.

Thanks for the memories!! (((hugs)))

Love, Dayna

3:01 PM

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"By nature people are learning animals. Birds fly; fish swim; humans think and learn. Therefore, we do not need to motivate children into learning by wheedling, bribing, or bullying. We do not need to keep picking away at their minds to make sure they are learning. What we need to do - and all we need to do - is to give children as much help and guidance as they need and ask for, listen respectfully when they feel like talking, and then get out of the way. We can trust them to do the rest."
John Holt
"In the end, the secret to learning is so simple: Think only about whatever you love. Follow it, do it, dream about it...and it will hit you: learning was there all the time, happening by itself." -Grace Llewellyn
"What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge, not knowledge in pursuit of the child."
George Bernard Shaw
Real, natural learning is in the living. It's in the observing, the questioning, the examining, the pondering, the analyzing, the watching, the reading, the DO-ing, the living, the breathing, the loving, the JOY. It's in the joy. ~Anne Ohman
"How could youth better learn to live than by at once trying the experiment of living?" -Henry D. Thoreau