ciroccoj | Lifelong learning

It's funny, when you become a parent you have certain hopes and dreams for your children, and by and large I've found children are not terribly concerned with them, preferring hopes and dreams of their own. I sometimes recall that for all the years that I thought about the kids I'd have some day, I had an image of having at least one quiet, artistic, shy little girl that I could gently coax out of her shell, and whose creativity I could help nurture.

Ah, yeah, no. Daniel and Justin are not real big on art of any kind, other than painting D&D figurines, and have between them not a shy bone in their bodies. And rather than me gently coaxing them out of their shells, they have not-so-gently forced me to tumble out of mine.

Which is good. I didn't get what I wanted; I got something far better.

The one dream of mine that my kids have fulfilled, in spades, is curiosity. I know children are by nature curious and inquisitive, but at some point that curiosity seems to wither and die in most kids. By the time they're teenagers, it seems learning is a chore that must be endured, but brings no joy.

My kids aren't like that at all. They're enthusiastic little learners, asking a million questions a day, (mostly) listening attentively to the answers, and busily incorporating new knowledge into their world views. Daniel more so than Justin; I recall one night when he was about four and I went into his room and he, fully asleep and dreaming, rolled over and sighed, "But why?" But Justin is passionate about learning in his own way. Especially if said learning can be tied into food, or something sensory or living.

My kids ask questions. They watch educational stuff and (in Daniel's case) read textbooks and magazines for fun. They look forward to watching Cosmos. They ask to play educational games even when I haven't assigned them ("This week's Spanish goal is 1 hour of Mira! Home school cop out? Gosh no!")

It's freaking wonderful. Magical. Exactly what I'd hoped for. How did I get so lucky?