Did you notice my mistake? I've already blurted it out, but maybe you need a little extra help like I did to see it. There is a difference, a major difference, between learning and teaching opportunities. The teaching opportunity is for me. I get to teach, but I equated that with them learning. They aren't the same. A learning opportunity is, well, it's anything and everything.
We learn from everything in life, and yes, I did use we because one never stops learning. Sometimes, what our children learn from an experience isn't what we would have liked them to learn. For instance, on a trip to the zoo, I had hoped for them to learn about some geography and animal science. They learned about sea lion's mating habits and promptly forgot anything else I said that day. I've always loved how appropriate the quote from Throwing Marshmallows blog is: "Learning can only happen when a child is interested. If he's not interested it's like throwing marshmallows at his head and calling it eating.” – Barbara Lamping
When I tried to tell them what they needed to learn, I rarely got the results that I was hoping for. We often shed tears, theirs and mine, when I tried that. Luckily for all of us, I learned the difference between these opportunities, and that while I can be an influence, I will never be able to control what they learned.
I've stopped trying to push my teaching into everything. When we planned a trip to Disney, I joined a homeschool group and got tons of educational links and extra learning. But luckily, I began to understand before this trip that they will learn no matter what. I don't need to turn a fun trip to Disney into a boring "school" trip. I've been rewarded many times over by my children's joy during our stay, and they don't even realize how much they learned.
I never imagined that we would learn both male and female African elephants have ivory tusks, or that you can grow brussel sprouts outside of soil through hydroponics. They got to see how the average home has progressed through the century and hear how Grandma's mom had an icebox just like the one on stage. They got to see examples of the architecture from many countries at Epcot and Animal Kingdom, and soar over the west coast on Soarin. They got to talk with other guests and find some as close as our home city, and some as far away as Ontario. (BTW, whoever asks "What about socialization?" should spend some time with homeschooled children .) They saw a wild armadillo and more lizards than I care to admit.
I could go on and on about how much learning actually happened all without my planning for it. I may offer some of those extra educational things I sought when we get home to see if they are interested, but I'll be ok if they aren't. I know that they learned. Learning opportunities are everywhere. Trust that your child will learn and enjoy learning with them.
