Tina

As an unschooler I've made an effort to see the fun and *learning*
in every moment. Lately, Adrian has had a few "funny" moments. I
thought some of you may find them humorous as well, any educational
gain is a bi-product. :)

Moment #1 - Adrian accompanied me on my vending machine route last
week. I've been in this habit of regularly checking his hair and
looking in his ears, one time I found a finger nail...go figure.
Well, this time I just happened to look over while we were at a red
light and noticed that there was something completely blocking his
ear canal. When we got home I looked further and could not figure
what it could be.

This quickly turned into a "science experiment". First we tried
getting it to move using peroxide. The theory was the bubbles would
help it move to the entrance of the ear canal. Well, It did move,
but every time I tried to grab the object it would fall back in the
ear.

After several attmpts, and not wanting to cause injury, we moved on
to asking an "expert". That expert would be my good friend of 20+
years who is a mother of six and someone we refer to when in need of
home remedies. Our expert suggested that we flush the ear with
water, as that is what would be done in a doctor's office.

We used a sqeezable bulb and squirted warm water into the ear as he
leaned over the sink. It worked. Guess what came out? A LEMON
SEED! Neither of us are quite certain as to how it got in his ear.
He is 11 years old and knows the "dangers" of inserting foreign
objects into ears.

After further research we discovered that a much younger child at
one time had stuck an orange seed up his nose so far and for so long
that it actually sprouted. AND, we also discovered that Battleship
pieces inserted into each ear canal at age three and discovered at
age nine do no real damage to one's ears.

Moment #2 - This could be considered a follow up "experiment" to
an "experiment" that took place a few years ago. Adrian is very
fond of pepperoncini peppers and eats them on a regular basis. A
few years ago he discovered that pepper juice in one's eye is VERY
painful. The easiest remedy is to run to the nearest swimming pool
and open your eyes under water for several minutes.

Just yesterday in the follow up "experiment" it was discovered that
pepper juice up the nose is not quite as painful as pepper juice in
the eye. This is not to say that it is not painful, as it very well
is. The easiest remedy discovered is to run to the nearest sink.
Quickly run warm water, place your nostrils in the running water and
suck the water into your nose. Blow the water out your nose.
Repeat until pain is relieved.

The above "experiments" were unplanned. There was no curriculum
involved, and were spontaneous events that occured through
strewing. No one was permanently injured, and we have all had a few
good laughs. Upon close examination there was several areas of
learning covered if one was so inclined to categorize the events.
You wouldn't, or rather you just may, believe the conversations that
have come of these events. See...learning really does occur in
everyday life. :)

Having fun in the moment...

Tina and Adrian