There is a hurricane headed toward the Hawaiian islands. Talk about an awesome unschooling opportunity! We have been discussing meteorology at our house – how hurricanes travel, what possible damage they can do, how we read maps to track the path of a storm. We had to pick up supplies – water, canned goods, charcoal, matches, things of that nature – and battling the crowds was a huge chore, but we managed to make it into a fun learning opportunity. I explained that storms sometimes cause power outages, so we might not have electricity for a few days. He started to brainstorm – what couldn’t we use if the power went out. He quite joyfully compiled a rather exhaustive list, and seemed very proud with the number of things he could come up with. “If the power goes out then we can’t turn on the lights!” He also listed: oven, microwave, washer, crock pot, and K cup machine! He asked if we could use the car without electricity, and we discussed how our car uses gasoline, and how we should fill up the tank before the end of the week. We brainstormed the different things that we could cook using a charcoal grill, if need be. (Steaks are the favorite.) We talked about how much water a person needs to drink per day to stay properly hydrated. We counted out how many bottles we needed to buy. We talked about which foods need refrigeration so that they do not spoil, and then selected shelf-stable protein sources (read: canned tuna).
Unschooling is so awesome and so much fun! Just talking with Lucien, explaining things, sharing my thought process turns into a true educational opportunity – enjoyable and exciting for the both of us. Seeing how much knowledge and confidence Lucien is gaining every day makes me so unbelievably happy!
And here is some more photographic journaling of our adventures together:
Bare-bottom Picasso, painting in the back yard. Yes, make as big a mess as you want!@
Playing at the YMCA – they have a jungle gym and toy cars! What a fantastic afternoon.
Panda-themed story and craft time at the public library. Have I mentioned how perfect our Thursday mornings are? We have My Gym class 9:15-10:15, and then, only a block away, story time at the Aina Haina public library begins at 10:30. And right in the middle of that one-block walk to the library they just opened a Starbucks. Life is so, so good.
Riding around the parking lot with neighborhood friends.
Feeding the chickens at “chicken park,” otherwise known as Wa’ahila Ridge. “They are omnivores, like us!” We discussed how chickens are much more fond of worms and bugs than we are, though 🙂
Life With Lucien 