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

Monday, February 16, 2009

Sledding & chickens.... what else?

I literally made the kids go outside today. Simone and Caden happily obliged. Gabe said, "You can't make me!!" Well, guess what. I did. Bad, bad, unschooly mama. I just couldn't take another day with him not exerting some energy out-of-doors! I told them to get some chickens and some sleds and have at it.They did.I came out to this (please don't call animal control, they really enjoyed it):

Still not satisfied with the amount of energy exerted, I dragged out the Gator...Until it died, then it was bikes to see if everyone retained their riding abilities.They did. However Simone required a switcheroo from boots to sneakers, then all was golden.Caden worked his bike as if Fall was just yesterday. The best thing about snowpants? No scraped knees.

Posted by Jessica at 1:16 AM

1 comment:

Stacy said...

ROFLMAO- you know, so the other one can get scared too. He he he

3:45 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