Tidbits

The boys are learning. It is obvious when I stop trying to make learning look the way *I* want it to look, when I overcome my desires to control what they are doing, and instead *see* what is really happening all around me.

They learn everywhere and all the time. Not all the time, in the sense that they are learning something new every second of every day, but all the time in that they might learn anytime, when doing anything. (I think of the line from 'Ratatouille', "anyone can cook", meaning not that everyone can become a great chef, but that a great chef may arise from unexpected places. Likewise, learning may arise from unexpected sources.)

Lately, I've noticed Remy (the boy) asking the meaning of words or phrases that arise in the course of normal conversation, or while reading together. I don't think the vocabulary we use has recently changed; rather, Remy has found the confidence and curiosity to ask. A few recent comments from him also encourage me: "I'm learning a lot about physics from these physics games [on the computer]", and while playing near a stream, "Nature is cool." Another cool thing he is doing (all his own idea) is writing observations about his new fish. I am starting to see the learning happening - and am confident there is still much more happening that I am not yet seeing. I am learning too.

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