An "aha!" moment
Shannon CC
I lurk here :-) I'm a SAHM of one dd, 16 m/o. I think unschooling is the
natural extension of the kind of parenting I'm already doing. It makes
no sense to me to trust her (and my) instincts for years and then, at an
arbitrary age, tell her those instincts are no longer valid. Anyway, my
point of posting was just to share what happened today.
We were out in the driveway and dd was carrying around a small watering
can. I put some water in it for her and she dumped it out the top. She
handed it back to me and I put more water in and said "here honey, let
me show you how it works" and proceeded to pour water out the spout
while she watched. I handed it back to her and she dumped it out the top
again. I had the good sense to butt out at that point :-) Instead of
continuing to try to "teach" her the "right way" to do it, I just kept
filling it with water for her every time she handed it back to me. Over
and over she kept dumping it out the top.
Then, I handed it back and she went to turn it upside down and the water
came out the spout! She stared at it as if she'd never seen this before.
She was captivated and for most of the rest of the time we were out
there (almost an hour!) she poured the water out of the spout.
It just drove home the truth of what I already knew. I tried to "teach"
her something and it did not register at all. But she discovers it for
herself and it's a world of difference! It's just so hard not to be a
"teacher" sometimes. To sit back and not show her the "right way" to
stack the blocks, but to let her play with them as she will. I guess
this is me de-schooling 8-)
Shannon, Mom to Bridget (Oct.8.98)
natural extension of the kind of parenting I'm already doing. It makes
no sense to me to trust her (and my) instincts for years and then, at an
arbitrary age, tell her those instincts are no longer valid. Anyway, my
point of posting was just to share what happened today.
We were out in the driveway and dd was carrying around a small watering
can. I put some water in it for her and she dumped it out the top. She
handed it back to me and I put more water in and said "here honey, let
me show you how it works" and proceeded to pour water out the spout
while she watched. I handed it back to her and she dumped it out the top
again. I had the good sense to butt out at that point :-) Instead of
continuing to try to "teach" her the "right way" to do it, I just kept
filling it with water for her every time she handed it back to me. Over
and over she kept dumping it out the top.
Then, I handed it back and she went to turn it upside down and the water
came out the spout! She stared at it as if she'd never seen this before.
She was captivated and for most of the rest of the time we were out
there (almost an hour!) she poured the water out of the spout.
It just drove home the truth of what I already knew. I tried to "teach"
her something and it did not register at all. But she discovers it for
herself and it's a world of difference! It's just so hard not to be a
"teacher" sometimes. To sit back and not show her the "right way" to
stack the blocks, but to let her play with them as she will. I guess
this is me de-schooling 8-)
Shannon, Mom to Bridget (Oct.8.98)
Winifred Haun + Dancers
Shannon:
I thought your description of your 16 month old and your realizations
about her were wonderful. Thank you for sharing your story. Aren't
toddlers (difficult, but) amazing?! There is so much to learn FROM
them...
Wini
_____________________________________
WINIFRED HAUN & DANCERS
4225 N. Oakley
Chicago, IL 60618
773-583-2995
http://www.mcs.com/~wini/
______________________________________
I thought your description of your 16 month old and your realizations
about her were wonderful. Thank you for sharing your story. Aren't
toddlers (difficult, but) amazing?! There is so much to learn FROM
them...
Wini
_____________________________________
WINIFRED HAUN & DANCERS
4225 N. Oakley
Chicago, IL 60618
773-583-2995
http://www.mcs.com/~wini/
______________________________________
Shannon CC
Winifred Haun + Dancers wrote:
since she was born. This was just one of them! But yes, there are days
that I would love to put her out on the curb with a sign "free to a good
home", lol! Difficult but amazing is a great way to put it 8-)
Shannon, Mom to Bridget (Oct.8.98)
> Aren'tOh, there is, there really is. I've had so many moments of revelation
> toddlers (difficult, but) amazing?! There is so much to learn FROM
> them...
> Wini
since she was born. This was just one of them! But yes, there are days
that I would love to put her out on the curb with a sign "free to a good
home", lol! Difficult but amazing is a great way to put it 8-)
Shannon, Mom to Bridget (Oct.8.98)
Tracy Oldfield
rofl! She would be sat there next to mine, I reckon!!!
Tracy
Tracy
----- Original Message -----
From: Shannon CC
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2000 6:45 AM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] An "aha!" moment
From: Shannon CC <shannoncc@...>
Winifred Haun + Dancers wrote:
> Aren't
> toddlers (difficult, but) amazing?! There is so much to learn FROM
> them...
> Wini
Oh, there is, there really is. I've had so many moments of revelation
since she was born. This was just one of them! But yes, there are days
that I would love to put her out on the curb with a sign "free to a good
home", lol! Difficult but amazing is a great way to put it 8-)
Shannon, Mom to Bridget (Oct.8.98)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com