Unschooling Moments

Yesterday was one of those days when it was extremely clear to me that my children are truly learning all the time - if I will invest myself enough to be present with them in whatever it is we are doing, and take the learning opportunities that are present. But, even without me, on their own, they desire to learn and life presents a multitude of opportunities. One such opportunity occured in the car on our way to rehearsal at the theater. We were listening to a Rascal Flatts CD, and in one of the songs phrases such as "you're a waterfall washing over me", "you're a mountaintop, when I reach for you your love lifts me up", and "I am frozen ground, you're the warm sunlight". As I was listening I realized that in this song, they were using, over and over, a literary device called a metaphor. Wikipedia defines it this way: Metaphor is language we use to compare things, but without using "like" or "as". I told the kids and some friends that were in the car, and we tried to see how many we could find. This was much more exciting than sitting in Grammar class, with a worksheet, tediously circling the metaphors and underlining the similies for a class period!

Another incident was also spurred on by music in a ZoeGirl song. (Yes, we listen to a wide ranging variety of music!) The singer is asking God to take away her superficial focus and help her concentrate on the beauty within. Kaitlyn asked me what "superficial" meant. This led us into a discussion about things that appear one way on the surface and are often very different inside.

It was a great reminder that they are, to coin a John Holt phrase, "learning all the time"!!