Sun and fun to everyone!
As I sit
here at the beach, watching the children play, and listening to the waves, I am
reminded why I chose to home educate. You see, learning takes place even as
they play.
The children
were digging up clay from the lake. My camp friend and I explained to them how
the Native Americans, used clay to make all types of beautiful pottery. We explained how
they also dug out the clay, sculpted it, and then either baked it or sat it out
in the sun to dry.
Guess what?
They decided to do the same. They huddled together, sculpted some stuff, and
then set it out to dry. But there wasn’t much sun! History lesson. Check.
Now skipping
rocks. That’s something every child should get a chance to do! As the children
skipped rocks, I reminded them to throw the rocks at an angle, with a little
spin, and to find rocks with a flat side. These bounce on the water better than
round rocks, which just sink straight down. I could go on about the “science”
of skipping rocks.
The children
also collected rocks and took them back to the RV. We then, looked in our rock
book to identify the name of the rocks. Science lesson. Check.
As they played with friends, they were learning how to share, cooperate, and work together. Getting along with others. Life lesson! Check.
Like most
children, my children LOVE the water and swimming. They raced and I heard my
camping friend tell them to hold their fingers close together while they swam
on the floater, in order to go faster. They followed her advice, and won!
When I heard
this, I immediately heard a metaphor. It was simple. I told the children that
the same principle applies in real life. Just like their fingers, when they
stick together, they’ll go further, faster! Another life lesson. Check.
As we
watched the waves, I asked them how waves were made. They answered. We talked
about how the energy from the wind pushes the water, and that the stronger the
wind, the bigger the wave. We discussed a few more details. Another science
lesson. Check.
So you see,
many things can be learned at the beach. A math lesson, geography, and so
forth, could have been taught as well, but for the sake of time, I focused on a
few things.
After we
went back to the RV, I began to write curriculum to go along with our day at
the beach.
While on
this journey, living and learning collide. They are always taking place,
simultaneously!
Our plans,
His hands.
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