Unschool: Aqua Waves and Awe

Be Curious

The aqua waves rise high and then fall, rolling towards the shore as we watch with awe and wonder: why is the ocean so blue?

Do you view the world with wonder and awe? Are you a curious person who asks questions and searches for answers? Does your curiosity encourage your kids to be curious too?

Awe, Wonder, Curiosity

While my daughter, Charlotte, and I were on holiday at the beach, we spent hours watching the rolling waves headed towards the shore.  “They look like they’re loaded with aqua dye,” I said, raising my camera yet again to my eye. “When I show my photos to everyone at home, they’re going to think I edited them, boosting the blues. They won’t believe the ocean really is this colour.”

We wondered: why does the ocean look so extraordinarily blue? Was there actually something blue swirling around in the water? Although we liked our aqua-dye theory, it didn’t seem likely to be true, so we did some googling to find the right answer to our question. And we learnt about colour spectrums, light absorption and reflection, and phytoplankton and other particles floating in the ocean.

From The Unschool Challenge:

Curiosity is at the heart of an unschooling life, isn’t it, because it motivates us to learn? As we observe, question and search for answers, we find out about all kinds of things.

Kids are born curious, so they should have no problems learning all they need to know. But can curiosity disappear? Mine did. When I was a school student, no one valued my curiosity. I had questions, but nobody wanted to answer them if they weren’t related to the school lesson plan. I had no time for wondering, pondering and dreaming because I had schoolwork to complete.

Eventually, I lost interest in learning. Sadly, when I finished my formal education after completing a Bachelor of Science degree, I threw all my notes and books in the garbage bin. I had done what was required: I’d got my qualification. And in the process, I’d lost my curiosity. On my last day of university, I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “No one can make me learn anything else.” I no longer loved learning.

We don’t want this to happen with our kids, do we? That’s why we need to be careful. We mustn’t stomp all over their curiosity.

Curious Things You Could Say

Curious Things You Could Do

• Have you done Challenge 47: Be Curious from my latest unschooling book, The Unschool Challenge?
• You could read my story, Are You a Curious Unschooler? You’ll find it in my book, Curious Unschoolers.
  

You could also stop by and tell me about the things you and your children are curious about at the moment!