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

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Pool closing

Could it really be that time of year? Wah.

The kids and I have been making good use of Grandma Donna's pool these last few days. Gabriel's soaking up all the deep end swimming he possibly can. What a fish! I've loved watching him learn to swim all on his own and in his own time. He's a natural with nary a lesson under his belt. ;)
And so proud of himself too...This particular day, Simone busied herself burying Aunt Tina's ever-so-patient boyfriend Ryan under a pile of wooden sea creatures.Caden, as usual, worked the plasma car like nobody's business. Round and round the pool he goes, re-opening "ouchies" on his already bloody-but-trying-to-heal toes. (Yes, it's that bad. He won't wear shoes and he won't stop riding the damn bike!!)And a special treat that night, sparklers!It should be noted that two days later, on a return trip to Grandma's and without a camera in hand, Gabriel finally tried jumping in sans mask (just nose holding), Simone swam with out her bubble in the little end and Caden, who avoids the pool like the plague, happily swam with Daddy all night.

Go figure! :S

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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