Squealing With Delight!

Well, here we are mid-July and most of our schooled friends are spending their days playing sports, hanging out with friends or numbing their minds on Facebook. Pretty typical and in my opinion that's a great way to kick back and relax after ten months of stress and pressure to perform academically.

This post (amazingly enough) isn't meant to bash the school system; we'll leave that alone for now. I just wanted to share the state of oblivion that my kids now live in when it comes to learning time vs. leisure time. Once they were de-schooled, these guys amazingly lost their aversion to new information and the two merged. I started to see it just a short time into our Central American experience, first with Tristan (no surprise there) and then after I relaxed and trusted that it would happen, little sis finally followed suit.

Now that learning is no longer the enemy, I watch as they begin to enjoy it once again. I remember the days when they were toddling around their little world, brimming with curiosity... touching, tasting, exploring. No pressure, only support and encouragement from a very excited mom and big brother to cheer them on. Each new observation seemed to be an accomplishment in itself back then, celebrated with squeals of delight.

Uh-oh!  Tristan, stunned by his Newtonian discovery.

Random amazement!

 While there isn't as much squealing going on these days, we have returned to a place where the simple art of living provides all the opportunity for learning that we need. When you slow down and begin to take notice of all the fascinating lessons that surround us it is easy to see how each experience, no matter how great or small has the potential to enrich us.

This week we learned about the senses, World War II and the Titanic just through genuine curiosity. We were intrigued, surprised, challenged and enlightened... and it was enjoyable. Gotta love it!