Science Class
I can safely say that until today I had no idea how to identify snail poop. Sophie found this critter outside today and we brought it inside to “study him” for a while. We hoped he might show us some slime. And he did. We weren’t bargaining for the poop.
So goes the science at our house. We try to follow her lead. We model curiosity (because we really are curious!) She and John often “do experiments.” Stuff like seeing how long a bowl of ice takes to melt, putting celery stalks in colored water, leaving an egg in vinegar overnight (gross). She has sprouted seeds and is growing her first bean plant. We check out piles of library books about human anatomy, seasons, birds, and botany. She had a minor meltdown one day when a little friend tore a page from her seed catalog. Her special seed catalog!!!
Girlfriend has her own mind, full of questions about the world. It’s magical to see it unfolding, to see her making connections. Some are bittersweet. She’s figured out what it means to die, but not what happens afterwards. “Do you still have your skin when you die?” SHe can identify solids, liquids, and gases- “Farts!!” This week’s fascination is with muscles and bones. How fingers work. On our holiday wish list are a stethoscope and this puzzle, which is just brilliant.
I never liked science at school. Not until high school biology, when it all started to become fascinating. Occasionally we’d come to a unit on the solar system and I’d be engaged, but for some reason the “cool” bits, the biology and anatomy, were few and far between. I remember drawing a picture of the water cycle every year. I know we can give her more than that. In some ways, I think we already have.
When I have doubts or fears about this journey we’re embarking on, taking our ladies’ education into our own hands for at least the near future, I remind myself that we’re mere facilitators. We don’t need to teach. Our only job is to listen, to answer, and to occasionally demonstrate. With Sophie it’s a matter of nurturing her interests and showing her just a tiny bit more of the bigger picture. Curiosity is everything, the rest will follow.
Yes, yes, yes! I believe that too- “Curiosity is everything, the rest will follow.” I’m not sure I would have believed it a few years ago, but our children are living this now. It is not always easy to trust our children’s innate desire to learn… I am working on it, and they help me every day.
So that’s what snail poop looks like!
“Curiosity is everything, the rest will follow.”
Exactly. And sadly, traditional public (and some private) schools seem to be structured so as to quash that native, intelligent curiosity that we all come in with. Curiosity, after all, tends to muck up their pre-planned, teach-to-the-test curriculum. Very sad.
Good for you! This all sounds like so much fun!
I just have to add to the above comment though. Not all traditional schooling is structured and squashing. My son’s experience has been wonderful. Home Schooling and Public Schooling doesn’t have to butt heads. Some kids thrive in a home schooling atmosphere, others thrive in public school. Both forms of education can be amazing and truly inspiring. Yet both forms of education can have stifling and lack challenge.
We are all in this together, making the best choices that we can.
Wise, wise mama you are!
Ada, I hope Canadian schools haven’t gone the way of test-centric American public schools. And I agree, the right school can be magic. The trick is happening into that right mix.