One beautiful aspect of radical unschooling is truly living today with our children, right now. Seeing them as they are in this moment, valuing what they are interested in today, right now.
—Natasha Allan
photo by Roya Dedeaux
Below is part of a response by Robyn Coburn to a doubtful mom saying if ALL her kids wanted to do ALL day EVERY day was..., that she would have a problem. After creating some other all-day-interest examples, Robyn wrote:
Learning requires a sense of safety.
Fear blocks learning. Shame and embarrassment, stress and anxiety—these block learning.
So don't pressure, coerce or confuse your children.
Smile and laugh and provide.
Keep them safe and fed and warm and they will grow all sorts of ways.
It takes only a moment to turn what you describe as rubble into a series of activities, of joyous moments. They are still-lifes waiting to be interpreted. I can see the shadow of her sitting there and doing and making and talking and turning to Simon to show him or running to fly the plane she made in the hallway to see if it would fly well enough to engage whichever kitten it was designed to amuse, or calling to me to come and interpret whichever fold the origami book was describing onto the paper she was folding.
It isn't rubble, it is her life.