Fountains of Knowledge
Thursday, January 12th 2012 @ 3:11 AM
One thing I like about homeschooling is that all of the knowledge we have accumulated in our lifetimes becomes part of our children's education. Some of that knowledge is specialized, unique to each homeschooling parent, depending on what each of us has studied or read, what we do for a living, where we grew up, and other individual factors. And some is the ordinary knowledge we, as grown-ups, take for granted. This is often the best stuff to sprinkle into conversation throughout the day, in stolen moments that might otherwise pass us by.
Kids love to see that their parents are fountains of knowledge! Over the course of a day, there are lots of little moments when you can say, "Did you know...?" I've learned that I should never assume my children have already picked up some bit of information, like who is on a dollar bill or where the water goes after it goes down the drain. I take the initiative and tell them.
Driving in the car: "Hey, did you know that in England and a few other countries, people drive on the left side of the road, and their steering wheels are on the right?"
Making dinner: "The water is boiling. Did you know that the same water has been evaporating and condensing since the beginning of time?"
Sitting around: "Did you know that this year there will be a presidential election?"
Brushing teeth: "Did you know that you have teeth with different shapes so they can do different jobs?"
Printing something from the computer: "Did you know that the printer can make every color out of just four colors?"
Replacing batteries in a camera: "Did you know that every battery has a positive pole and a negative pole? See that little plus sign and minus sign?"
Listening to music: "Can you tell what instrument that is?"
Opening a package: "Do you want to see how this box was designed from one flat piece of cardboard?"
And so on.
Of course, there's an art to doing this. You can't do it constantly, because that would get annoying. You have to say things that are actually interesting. And you have to encourage a conversation to develop, so your kids won't think you just like spouting random facts at them. What you really want is for your question to lead to their questions.
I think all parents do this kind of thing naturally, at least once in a while. What I've tried to do is be conscious of those easy-to-overlook opportunities when I'm with my children doing something mundane, when we don't intend to be learning and might even just be together but not really interacting. Those are the times when a well-dropped "Did you know..." can make the difference between time that just passes and time that feels special and satisfying.
Doing this requires you to look at ordinary activities through new eyes. Look for any opening to teach your kids what you know; everything around you is fair game. You know more than your kids about pretty much everything—how things work, why things are called what they're called, when things were invented, what languages are spoken where, which foods have which nutrients, and who created famous works of literature, music, and art.
It's nice quality time, too, when a good conversation gets going this way. And if you brainwash your kids properly (I use that term with the best possible connotation in mind), they will believe that the more learning you can squeeze out of (into?) a day, the more they are actually "homeschooling," and they will welcome those moments when you share juicy tidbits from your vast storehouse of knowledge.
