Learning in the Margins

Carmen has a soccer game about an hour and a half away today. Two kids are out to lunch and a movie with Abuelos. One daughter is out working. There are three more soccer games this week. Did I mention its hot? Super hot.

Still, this morning, before I jumped into my day, I sat to eat some breakfast and drink my coffee. John snuggled up under a mountain of pillows on the couch next to me. I put on a podcast from the BBC, a science show called In Our Time. (Soon I will write about how much I love science podcasts. Love.) This episode was about neutrinos. Apparently John was listening because he suddenly sits up and says, "That's true right? Everything is made of particles. Everything." This got a small discussion going. I told him about atoms, and the even smaller particles that make up atoms. Then I remembered that I had grabbed this book, Albie's First Word, at the library. So, I pulled it out. Mara, who loves being read to, snuggled in to listen. And Ella for a brief moment. The book is a great introduction to Albert Einstein. No physics, no science at all. It speaks beautifully to the idea of giving children space and time to think, to ponder, to daydream. We read it. We talked about thinking about things and being creative. We talked about asking questions as we learn. 

It was a brief moment in a busy week. But it was a powerful reminder for me of what this learning at home is really about for my children. It is about space and time to ponder and daydream. It as about the freedom to go at their pace. It is about asking questions and finding answers together.