Being a parent takes bravery, and a homeschooling parent is a perfect example of this. We’re pretty brave just to make the decision to homeschool in the first place, but then we add an additional layer of courage as we allow our children to experiment.
Experimentation is a fantastic way to learn. It’s how all the great inventors accomplished the things they did. Can you imagine if Thomas Edison’s mother had forbidden him to play with electrical sparks? No significant amount of progress is made without some element of risk, and no real discovery is ever made without stepping into the darkness. Teachers who want their students to learn must allow for experimentation, and parents who want their children to learn must allow it as well.
Last night, my son came up to me and handed me a glass. “It’s homemade eggnog,” he said, and told me what he’d put in it. I was brave. I took a sip, and you know what, it actually tasted pretty good. His dad had allowed him to experiment in the kitchen, and I probably would have said no. Honestly—letting him waste a quart of milk and a dozen eggs on an experiment? But his dad wasn’t as uptight, my son was successful, and he now has the joy of discovering that he can invent a new recipe just by tasting something and then recreating it on his own.
This son has also developed a love of electronics, and he likes to tape wires together and all kinds of other things that frankly, scare me silly. He’s only allowed to try them out when his dad’s home (to put out any resulting fires) but more often than not, his experiments work. It’s amazing.
My other children experiment as well, making crafts and trying new game ideas, but the risks they take aren’t nearly as death-defying.
Yes, homeschooling parents are brave. We’re brave to fight society, we’re brave to face down the critical in-laws … and we’re brave to let our children tinker with gadgets and gizmos and to learn by doing. It makes messes, you bet. It makes us wonder if we’ll still have a shed come morning, or if it will have burned down in the night. But in the end, our children will have the self-confidence of knowing they accomplished something pretty terrific, and that’s not something you can get from a text book. You have to experiment.
Related Blogs:
The Euphoria of School Supplies
Simple Science Experiments for Preschoolers