Day 9 - School
2020 March 26
Thursday
10:30pm:
I’m not terribly concerned about sitting my kids down and formally teaching them here at home. I generally embrace the idea of learning in many different ways, and accept that the lessons kids pick up and hold to heart often come from the most unexpected of places.
A teacher friend of mine indirectly reminded me of this earlier today.
#Kid2 (now 16 year old) decided he wanted to learn how to make bread this morning. He has never made it before, but was craving garlic bread. We found a recipe to try and I supervised him walking his way through it on his own. His bread turned out great, and was a huge hit with the other kids.
There’s only one slice left this morning, in fact, so I expect he will want to make more today.
In making the bread, he practiced following a recipe, interpreting what it said and asking questions to clarify, using the oven, and figuring out his own “recipe” for garlic bread with the finished loaf. There were discussions about the importance of allowing the dough to rest and rise twice, how to tell the bread was done, and how to best use the broiler to achieve the results he wanted with the garlic bread.
There was a lot of learning.
He also got a glimpse into what I do everyday as part of keeping our household running, and more appreciation for the tasks and efforts dedicated to that.
Was it “school”?
No, not in the traditional sense, but he is learning important life skills and that is just as important as grade 11 math.
My friend is right — embrace this time away from the structured learning environment as an opportunity to heal and relearn how to love learning new things. This is a wonderful, rare chance for your kids to have an extended break from the rigidity of the traditional classroom model — that’s not a bad thing.
I'm thinking about the BLESSING we have happening right now.
— Shannon Salisbury (@Miz_Salisbury) March 26, 2020
Yes, I said what I said.
Our kids've been breaking under pressure of academic competition for so long & that pressure's increased over time.
This is an amazing wellness opportunity for them.
Let them breathe.