Learning All The Time

We spent the past week out of town. I thought I would be so cool and bring along lessons so we would stay on top of things. We were going nonstop with beautiful weather and did practically no sit down lessons in the way I envisioned. Not that we didn't learn, which I must remind myself to keep from being discouraged. We learned about erosion on the beach, lighthouses, jellyfish, sea lions, pelicans, beach trash, whales, waves, wind, and so much more.

And I must remember the unschooling, which follows me around like a bad penny.

It even sneaks up on my on vacation. I gave big sister The Trumpet of the Swan to read because I knew it would come up in our language arts curriculum soon. She had it so briefly I was sure she didn't read the whole thing, though she insisted she did. Tonight I was staring to read a passage from the book for our language arts lesson and she stopped me. She hated that passage and didn't want to read it again.

So, I suggested we see if she could answer the questions from her memory of reading the passage. Me, thinking she wouldn't have actually read it and so she'll let me read this part to her for the lesson. I asked her the questions and she answered all of them with amazing specificity.

What are three things that the cob saw in the music store? "He saw trumpets....drums.....and banjos...."

What did the cob have in his mouth when he flew away from the music shop? "He had the red string from the trumpet's tag in his mouth." Not just the trumpet, but the RED STRING from the trumpet's tag.

I am beginning to wonder if she is actually sucking out my memory faculties and using them for herself. In any event, it's difficult to complain that we didn't stay on track while on vacation.