READY to START learning?

Funny how you can be talking to someone and it suddenly dawns - "this person isn't on the same page as me."

They're not even in the same book.

Or the same library.

Same town.

Same planet ...

Well, anyway, my recent discussions with the MOE lady proved this (and I promise I will stop ranting about it soon, when its out of my system).

She wasn't on the "Natural Learning" page.  Because I don't think the MOE have one.  Apparently they do.  But maybe she hadn't read the book with that page in.

SO - getting to the point ...

Some time back our then 5 year old was working alongside a friend who had come to help us.

They were putting out spoons for lunch and Mr 5 was counting them:

"One, two, three ... we need three more to make six."   

This was not an unusual thing for him to say, so I took no notice as I was doing my thing with the lunch.

But our friend (ex-teacher, ex-homeschooling mother) looked at me and said:

"I think he's ready to start learning!"

For a second I was puzzled.

Then I realised that she probably meant  "He has exhibited signs of intelligence and now we must buy him some workbooks and sit him down for a period every day and get him to work through the books and advance in an orderly fashion."

So I said:

"Hm," raised my eyebrows in appreciation and smiled.  Our friend is very servant-hearted and I'm not being nasty toward her.

Just made me realise, once again, that not everybody can see how this works. 

I just shared this with a friend the other day when she asked about unschooling:


 " Everything you are doing with your little ones just continues on, forever and ever. They keep learning things they're interested in and because they don't have "learn now" times and "don't bother me with anything LEARNING or SCHOOLY now" times then they learn ALL THE TIME. It's is precious and breathtaking sometimes. Our 6 year old was bouncing on the trampoline one evening and he said to Daddy "What's the real name for a bluebird?" Daddy was puzzled, but I knew what he meant. I said "Do you mean the Latin name?" "Yes' said bouncing 6 year old. So I looked it up and told him.

  Truly Truly Truly, everything you are doing, and not doing, with your children when they are younger can continue as they get older ... there is no "magic age" where "learning" starts, and there is no "magic age" where you need to STOP all the good fun things and start 'boring' school things."

Then I was sharing with another friend yesterday about this concept, and she said 

"I wonder if people are worried that if they just continue on as they are doing, and don't start any formal "learning" type programme, they will end up with 18 years olds who are still doing what 3 year olds do?"

I wonder?