How Does Your Garden Grow? Thoughts on Learning in Every Day Life

My Little Gardener

Real Learning is that which occurs in every day life, with every day experiences and everyday opportunities. LIFE is my family's classroom; it is my curriculum.

Above, my oldest can be seen tending to her garden...a humble garden of a few tomato plants, lettuce, and some corn. She can also be seen tending to our new plum tree. Gardening has offered us the opportunity to discover together the beauty of God's creation! She has also learned that hard work and gentle, loving care produces a fruitful harvest. I can't tell you how many times she has discovered an interesting bug when tending to the garden that she crouches to observe for quite some time before running inside to ask me to look it up on the internet or go to the library to borrow books about that particular species. It is moments like these when I am edified in mine and my husband's decision to raise our kids with an attitude of "LIFE is school" instead of "school is something you have to do at certain times of the day." After all, God has instilled in each precious human creation the natural drive and desire to seek higher knowledge. Doesn't it make sense to trust this, nurture it, provide opportunities to practice it and develop it, instead of squashing it with such lines as "no, honey, we're not learning about that type of bug THIS year...that's in next year's syllabus?"

Some people call this approach "unschooling," which by the very meaning of the word I find unfit. I do not call it "homeschooling," or "unschooling," or "relaxed homeschooling," or whatever label one may be inclined to give it. Rather, it is LIFE. And it is in this lifestyle that we give highest priority to loving and serving God and each other, encouraging our children's intense and natural curiosity about the world and God's creation. I dislike using the term "unschooling" for that reason, but also because of the stigma it tends to create. Often, when people hear that term, especially faithful Catholics, they cringe...afterall the education of our children is paramount is it not? I agree that it is! But many assume that "no school" means no rules, no boundaries, no order, and no discipline. I know, I used to be one of these people with such misconceptions.

On the contrary, we have order, we have boundaries (such as those that pertain to safety or respect of others), we have rules, we have structure, or routine, for many things, (ie: saying the Rosary as a family), but just not for "school." Another concern of many people is that children "will not learn to follow through from start to finish with a task unless it is required of them." I disagree. Our children learn to "follow through" with activities because they see us following through with an activity from start to finish (like the time my oldest helped her daddy make a wooden desk in our garage, or helped me to sew a baby carrier with my sewing machine, or when my kids help me follow a recipe to create a yummy treat). There are many opportunities within our everyday life in which to achieve real learning.

As I do with many things, I did (and continue to) discern these philosophies with careful prayer and research, looking to the Mother Church and the Holy Spirit for guidance. I did speak with a Catholic priest, my spiritual director, about my ideas and my hesitations with putting so much trust in my child's learning, and I have read writings of several Popes on the education of children in a Catholic home (both of which actually confirmed my inclinations and drove me into further adoption of this approach). And this discernment will continue every step along the way of my parenting journey, and as always I am open to the Holy Spirit to guide me otherwise, but one thing will never change: that I want my children to have a LOVE for learning, a DESIRE to fulfill God's will (by working hard, serving well, and learning what He needs them to learn to best develop their talents), and to understand that, in the words of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, "God does not expect us to be successful, but to be faithful."

The Catholic Church places on each parent the right to make informed decisions about their child's education, and so I place no judgement whatsoever on other people's schooling choices. Not every approach is for every family. This is just ours, and let me tell you it is a VERY exciting adventure that I never thought I would embark on...and its just beginning!

It is certain I will write more about this in the future...but for now, I have already written far more than I intended. I guess I just got excited to share my thoughts with you! I appreciate and welcome your feedback. I also did not do a good job this time of supporting my claims with valid sources. I do have it all- and can supply that in the future. For now, the children are finished with their lunches and we are all ready for some quiet time!

In the meantime, you can check on "Homeschooling with Gentleness: A Catholic discovers Unschooling," or click this link to find out more about Catholic Unschooling with the author of the book, Suzie Andres.