All About April Day 11 - Passions and Unschooling

For my son Jesse who is the big 3 year old in our house these big work machines are his life. He plays with them every single day inside and out. He LOVES and breathes all things machinery. Diggers, dump trucks, tractors, rollers and tankers....he knows them all and then some. He can spy them out from miles away or suddenly yell out at the top of his voice......DIGGERS! ....while driving. 

He is super into them. He knows various parts to all of them and what those parts do and the job that each machine might do. All this passion and energy is just him, its just a part I who he is.

Neither Jamie or I are remotely interested in machinery like this but have supported and encouraged and help Jesse foster and grow his intense interest in them. I have learnt alongside Jesse about the different types of machines by reading books, looking at diagrams and watching videos clips and yes even singing songs about them. If I find new YouTube clips or websites about machines then I'll show him or we might stop the car to look at cranes and forklifts working. 

All this is the basic explanation of how unschooling works, which makes up a percentage of what we do around here. We have never had to sit Jesse down and make him learn facts about machines. He is passionate and interested so he learns. I don't know how long this will last for Jesse but until his interest starts to wane we will continue on seeking out all the info we can on the subject. 

And something else to think about too....if you have ever taught yourself something like how to crochet or paint, maybe you have googled instructions or asked someone else to help or show you something....then you have learnt through unschooling. It works for any age! 

Isn't that cool!