Parent Book Club #2 - Learning Because You Love It
When is the last time you learned something because you loved doing it? Today we are going to dive back into our Summer Parent Book Club and youth development as we look into our children learning things because they love it. Camp offers lots of opportunities for children to discover what they love, which is why I’m camping out a bit (no pun intended) on Chapter 3 in Unschooling Rules.
Big questions from this chapter include:
- Why does learning because our kids love it matter?
- How do our children get this kind of learning at Camp?
And then there are things that one loves. Here learning is automatic. – Clark Aldrich
1. Why does it matter?
As mentioned in this chapter, so much of education and youth development is focused on what our children need (i.e. reading, writing, arithmetic). This is great (and needed), but how are our children given opportunities to learn what they love and why does it matter? I would argue that each of us, including our children, are one-of-a-kind, unique throughout time beings. As I’ve mentioned before in a letter to our Huawni Families, DNA and science prove this. Therefore, wouldn’t it make sense that, being unique, we all have unique passions in life…things that we love so much that we lose track of time when doing them? These likes make us come alive, and give us joy and richness in life.
Camp also gives children the freedom to not be so serious. It’s in this freedom, away from the busyness of life, that many times they discover what they’re truly passionate about.
2. Learning to Love at Camp
Camp is a hot bed for children learning things they love. For many campers Huawni is a place where they discover what makes them come alive. It could be their first talent show where they are nervous, even scared, but fight through the anxiety to take the stage. It could also be their first time up to bat at the Wiffleball World Series, as all of camp is watching. It may also be a quieter moment….that first time when a friend says, “You want to play my ukulele?”. This can even happen to campers who have been coming to Camp for a long time. During their 7th summer, they finally come to realize that they’re actually good at something they didn’t realize before. Camp also gives children the freedom to not be so serious. It’s in this freedom, away from the busyness of life, that many times they discover what they’re truly passionate about.
So why is it important for our children to learn what they love? So they can live out their unique, one-of-a-kind gifting and positively change the world. And how exactly do our get this kind of learning at Camp? By unplugging from the rush of life and trying out new things until they discover something they love.
Parents, what are some examples of things your child has come to love while at Camp?
