A Day With Peter Pan
by Mary Gold

What could be more playful than Peter Pan? This well-loved musical theater production was sure to be a big hit with my daughter and her friend. Flying pixies, lost boys, pirates, silliness, songs and fun: this was going to be a day for delight. We set off in great anticipation, leaving thoughts of learning and homeschooling behind. We started off with lunch, whisked off to the production, and stayed after to meet the actors for some Q&A. We were after entertainment, and that is what we got.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum (another fine musical, by the way). We experienced something else in the bargain. It is something that our children understand instinctively, but we parents sometimes have a hard time seeing. It is something that is available in any fun day. We experienced a day of natural learning. It was just as meaningful and productive as any day we may have scheduled as "educational," even more so in fact because it was all so natural. We heard new music and rich dialogue. We asked questions and found our answers. We were learning! In fact, there was so much new information flowing into our day that the girls and I were bubbling over with inspiration. Our discussions and enthusiasm lasted the long drive home and beyond.

Just for fun (and to inform a friend new to homeschooling) I decided to come home and jot it all down. I thought it would be inspiring to see in print all the learning that takes place in a child’s fertile mind. As an exercise in my own unschooling awareness, I tried to put all we had experienced into the language of school. It is what we homeschoolers like to call educationese.

So let's see, what exactly could a professional educator come up with as a syllabus for a day at the theater? Putting on my best bureaucratic curriculum-writin' hat, here is some of what I came up with.

English:

  • Classical Literature: Introduction to James Barrie’s classic novel Peter Pan. Discussed origins of story and compared and contrasted visual interpretations of the same story. (We talked about the book, the Disney version and the show.)
  • Vocabulary:
  • Introduced the phrase non sequitur. Practiced pronunciation and used examples in definition. (This actually did come up, totally by accident—almost as if it were a non sequitur. It was a funny conversation.)
  • Introduced the words overture, conductor, director, technician, and intermission. (These have a more obvious origin.)
  • Poetry: Created rhymes using classic folk songs.

    Music:

  • Choral participation: Sang traditional songs and composed and sang original compositions to traditional tunes. (This happened during the drive down to the show. You haven’t lived until you’ve heard that new classic, "Dashing through the snow, on a pair of broken skis..." a few dozen times.)
  • Attended a musical performance with a full orchestral accompaniment. Listened to and discussed different instruments in an orchestra.

    Theater:

  • Attended a professional theater performance. (I guess that one is kind of a given.)
  • Researched and presented ideas on technical theater applications. (We talked beforehand about how we thought they would do the stunts and stage the show.)
  • Attended a presentation on staging, vocal prep, acting techniques, scene design and overall production. (This was included as part of the Q&A with the actors.)

    Science:

  • Intro to physics: Learned about momentum, force, and simple machines. (We saw a demonstration of pulleys and counterweights and learned exactly how much force it really does take to make Peter Pan fly. Apparently the stagehand on the other end of the rope must jump off a very high ladder to get the actor airborne.)
  • Electronics: Saw demonstration of microphone and sound technology. (Did you know that microphones are now so small and sensitive that they can hide them in the actor’s hair?)

    Math:

  • Money skills, simple addition: Counted out change for tip using bills, quarters, dimes and nickels.
  • Intro to Economics: Discussed basic service industry economics. (As in "why do we leave a tip?")
  • Simple multiplication: Figured out the lunch cost per child based on the 55¢ per year of age formula used at the restaurant.

    Social Sciences:

  • Interpersonal Relationships: Explored and experimented with various interpersonal scenarios. Evaluated efficacy of basic skills and adjusted according to explicit circumstances. (There always seems to be opportunity to hone these skills.)
  • Careers: Explored careers in the theater such as acting, set design, sound technician, and lighting technician.

    Wow, what a day! Keep in mind that my daughter is only eight years old and her friend is just six. And yet there they were seeking out all sorts of new information. They were soaking it up like little sponges. Now if I had planned all this out beforehand, it would have been a pretty impressive syllabus for one afternoon. Apparently we covered an awful lot of "topics." In fact, if I had written it down beforehand, I would have doubted my ability to fit it all in. It is quite a little curriculum the girls built into their day. But I didn’t have to fit anything in. I simply let the day flow. I talked with the girls and answered their questions. I kept our pace slow to allow for observation. I acted silly and posed some thought provoking questions. I did what any parent would do with two bright, thoughtful, eager learners.

    If you have never attempted that convoluted language of the schools you might like to try it sometime. You will undoubtedly impress yourself with how much of what the schools work so hard to accomplish can be handled by two little girls in just one afternoon of play. Your syllabus will of course be different than theirs. That is the beauty of self-directed learning, it suits the learner not the teacher. But the learning will be there. It will be surrounded by joy, excitement and laughter. Because in the words of author James Barrie, "The most wasted day of all is that in which we have not laughed."


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