Innovation Up Ahead

Yesterday's Library Excursion

There's something about the tail end of the summer. The days feel so slow, the late summer heat infecting me with an unshakable case of lethargy. At the same time, the knowledge that the end is near--that autumn fast approaches--is inescapable. My son and I don't have to stress about the first day of school, but most of his friends do. I've been skipping homeschool sessions in favor of playdates a lot lately so that Parker can get as much playtime as possible with his buds before they head back to their classrooms. While my son's friends all reunite with their teachers and classmates and get down to the business of school, Parker and I will be bouncing around five states for almost two months, visiting family and friends and attending a wedding, two birthdays, a triathlon, a melée up a mountain and a melon festival. One of the downsides--for me, the biggest downside--of living in the Caribbean is being so far away from loved ones. I miss my sisters, my brother, my mom, my dad, my husband's mom and dad, my niece, my cousins, my childhood friends, my college friends... (The list goes on.) It's not enough to see them only every so often; if I had my druthers, they'd all live within driving distance. Yes, it's a small world, but not small enough for me. So I pack my suitcase a couple times a year, fly myself and my son back to the USA and try to get my fill of as many of my beloveds as I can. (And if I get to do a little shopping at Trader Joe's and Target, too, well, that's what you call icing.) One of the upsides--not the biggest upside, but a good one nonetheless--of homeschooling my son is that I don't have to plan our travels around a school's calendar.

I wrote about unschooling in my last post, and I will definitely be borrowing from its philosophy of allowing children to learn through their natural life experiences while my son and I are away on our potentially epic five-state adventure. As it has in the past, just getting ourselves to the St. Thomas airport alone will provide multiple learning opportunities, from packing our suitcases to buying our ferry tickets to driving across St. Thomas (past road construction, cruise ships, a cargo port and a bazaar). We'll be flying into eight different airports; bustling, exhilarating hotbeds of excitement for a young, inquisitive mind. And, when we have some downtime from the sporting events and melons and birthday cakes, my son and I will happily have at our hands any number of zoos, museums and exhibits. However, I do intend to at least somewhat keep up with our homeschooling (and my blogging!). Some Montessori materials I will be able to pack, but others I'll improvise using whatever I can find around us. We can practice identifying different odors while sitting in an airplane (the first class passengers' hot meal, the perfume wafting off the lady in front of us, the carafe of coffee the flight attendant is proffering, Parker's stinky feet). Similarly, we can practice identifying textures and sounds while playing in my in-laws' backyard or visiting my sister's apartment in the city. Forced innovation, it should be fun; for me, and for my son as well.