Unscheduled Time

It continues to amaze me, what the kids pick up on their own, simply because

a) they are interested in it
b) they're given enough free, non-scheduled time to try these new-to-them things out

Many times, well actually most times, these are pursuits that seem to come out of nowhere. I have no idea where they get their ideas from......certainly not Larry or I making a suggestion for them to try this or that.

Some examples off the top of my head

Jake
~~ selling marshmallows at the side of the road
~~ all of his entrepreneurial pursuits in general
~~ creating games
~~ drawing pictures






Tyler

~~ researching cartooning
~~ creating cartoons
~~ music
~~ exploring
~~ geography, maps, flags of the world
~~ travelling















Brittney

~~ taking a shirt and stitching her own pattern onto it.
~~ taking complete charge of her nutrition -- making sure she's getting enough from ~~ each food group by keeping track of what she's eating. It's common place for her to ask for more vegetables or another glass of milk or to say no to junk food because she's already had some today. Now don't get me wrong, she *loves* her junk food too, but seems to know when to draw the line
taking charge of her physical fitness -- roller blading, bike riding, walking (when ~~ it's too nasty to do the other two). She loves the way exercise makes her feel and gets outside most days.
~~ doing laundry (I tell her this is a good one to have as mom doesn't much care for it ;0) )














There are more but these are the ones that come to right to mind.

I often hear the notion of providing the right 'opportunities' for children, whether it be the right school or the best instructor or the best activities etc. We believe one of the best opportunities to offer our children is the opportunity of time --- time for them to explore their own interests, develop new ones or expand and/or alter already existing ones. So, while they do have some structured type activities (Piano lessons, youth group, gym class/swimming with the homeschooling group etc.), we try to reach a balance between scheduled and unscheduled time.

Hmmm...I wonder what new things tomorrow will bring.