The Beginning of Nature School

It seems like the less traditional academic we get, the more right life feels.

I guess it just fits our family.

People kept telling me that if I stopped trying so hard to teach things, then I'd be amazed how much self induced, passionate learning emerges.  And for me, the interesting aspect of this hiatus from teaching has been in my own shift in understanding of learning.  I've even stopped believing that there is a word "learning."  Because when we live in this manor, learning is exactly as equal an experience as living, there's no parsing it out.  Learning and living are so intertwined, they are the same thing.
This shift in thinking happened without me planning of realizing it.  Just one day, when my mom was trying to quiz Kaio on reading, and I noticed that I didn't care.

I didn't care if he answered her questions or sounded out the letters because I knew that he's focusing on other things in life right now and he'll get to reading when he wants.  He spent all day in and out of the swimming pool improving his stroke.

And when Nala demonstrated she could divide in halves and thirds, I didn't care either.

In fact, I was more impressed by her clay shark.

And the colorful clay islands that weren't copied from any example.  Weren't ordered by me.  Were just a pure expression of creativity at the moment.

And then Kaio made me a pair of earrings.

I guess he could have gotten art credit for that.

   

Nala has started to say we have a "Nature School."

"Here mom, we can use these in our Nature School."

I have no idea what she's talking about.  But when she hands me somethings natural, I find myself staring, inspecting, tearing them apart by fiber, feeling the difference in texture with a trippy kind of wonder.  Industrialized manufacturing can create some amazing substances, but I see we have so much more to learn from the diversity of nature's creations.

So maybe she's right, maybe nature should be our school.

And for recess, we'll hang out dancing in the rain.