What to Do When Strewing is Rejected
Recently I found all kinds of things to strew in front of Charlotte.
I came across a website and DVD series that has an episode about a man who settled on the uninhabited Cocos Islands, later making himself king over the workers of his coconut plantation. His family ruled for 150 years before Australia brought that rule to an end. Doesn’t that sound interesting?
I discovered a TV program about Mao’s Last Dancer, Li Cunxin, and told Charlotte about it. I remembered we owned the book. I thought she would love to read it. And then there's the movie version.
I subscribed to Explore Learning’s maths and science Gizmos and imagined all the fun Charlotte would have playing with them.
I found a chemistry book, The Joy of Chemistry, full of experiments that can be performed with materials easily obtained from our local shops. Perfect for Charlotte the Unschooling Chemist.
And what about the computer science tutorials I found on the Kahn Academy website?
There were other things too.
Don’t you think all these resources sound very interesting?
If I were a teenage unschooler, I would be very excited by what I’d found. I’d want to start watching, reading, clicking… straight away. So why did Charlotte screw up her nose and ignore my suggestions? I am a little disappointed.
What shall I do? Shall I keep nagging her to take a look at my strewing? I think for a moment and the answer comes loud and clear:
Leave Charlotte to learn what she wants to learn… and use the resources myself. Because when it comes down to it, it’s me who’s excited by what I’ve found, not Charlotte.
So I am using the computer science tutorials. I’m trying to work out how to translate and rotate my drawing using Javascript. I watched the TV program about Mao’s Last Dancer. I might re-read the book. I'm about to order a copy of the movie (for myself). I’m going to watch that DVD about the man who ruled the Cocos Islands…
I guess there's always the possibility that when Charlotte sees how involved I am with my DVD, tutorial, book... she might suddenly become interested. She might settle down next to me and want to take a look after all. But if she doesn't, that's perfectly okay.
We are all different. We don’t have to learn the same things. There are so many interesting things to investigate, it doesn’t matter at all if Charlotte rejects some of my strewing.
So what do I do when strewing is rejected? I keep looking for other resources for my children and I use the rejected ones myself.I've just discovered the ABC shop has Mao's Last Dancer on special. I've ordered a copy (for myself). I am going to enjoy it!