The master teaching duo
how to let nature and imagination lead the way to your brilliant, confident child.
Friday, April 7, 2023
We’ve had almost constant rain here for the past week. This isn’t a strange occurrence in Tennessee - it’s actually one of the things I love the most about living here. And even through what was supposed to be winter, we’ve been enjoying 70 degree weather since December.
No matter the weather, our morning routine looks the same every day. We wake up early, eat oatmeal with fruit for breakfast, head out to the orchard to take care of our bunny colony, get in a quick kids yoga session, and then start our school day. But today something different happened. Today in the orchard, the littles were drawn to the small pond that the rain made. When we finished up with the bunnies, they asked if they could stay out and play longer. My reaction-response was, “not today, we need to get inside and start our school day.” Thankfully I quickly heard my own voice in my head, repeating the words that I’ve said to so many new homeschooling moms: to live is to learn. And kids thrive when they’re learning through play.”
It’s so hard for me not to get stuck in my routine. My family thrives on routine, and sometimes when we get off track we all feel out of control and get cranky. But what a tragedy it would be if I constantly deprived them of opportunities to grow and learn from the master teaching duo: nature and imagination, in favor of a rigid schedule. What a shame if the only opinions they heard were mine, and they never had a chance to create and share opinions of their own.
I have never regretted a day of letting them play freely outside. They inevitably come back with minds filled with detailed stories about their adventures, and questions about new things they encountered. An organic study session always follows, where they teach me what they learned, and I guide them to the places where they can find answers to the questions they found along the way.
As an adult who sometimes struggles with debilitating fear and anxiety and lack of confidence and self-worth, it has become extremely important to me to raise kids who are not only kind to others, but also love themselves, and are sure of their abilities to do anything they set their minds to. I truly believe that playing freeling in nature will equip them with this sort of confidence.
While we haven’t adopted a fully “unschooled” method of educating at home, I have seen so much good come from our more unstructured days that I absolutely see the draw toward that lifestyle.
So don’t wait until you’ve all been beaten down by the structured routine day after day; loosen up, and let them play.
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