I LOVE teaching my kids things. I love the "aha" moment that inevitably follows and I love the challenges they lay before me. The other day we were sitting at the breakfast table with Kashi multigrain puffed cereal (which is tasty and healthy, so I don't mind mentioning it on my blog). I was picking out the puffed rice for my 8 month old when I realized there is a list and a picture of all the grains on the back of the box. I immediately took out a handful of puffed goodness, piled it up on the table in front of my 4 year old and turned the box to her. She got it right away.
"Mommy- which ones are which?"
I read the names and descriptions of each of the grains and seeds and we spent the next 15 minutes sorting and discussing them. We sorted by size, shape, color, taste, texture and general puffiness. It was a beautiful moment. It was a learning moment.
Every day is full of moments like this one. Totally out of the scope of any curriculum (there might be one out there I don't know of that includes Kashi grain recognition as a skill set), this moment still stands out to me as a reason (albeit a rather "fluffy" one, pun intended) why I love to homeschool. If we were running late for the bus, this moment would not have happened. A clarification: kids who take the bus in the morning can find time in their day to make such observations, of course. I'm just happy we can be more flexible.
Down the road I look forward to more nutrition talks around the breakfast table, in the grocery store, and in the garden. I'll keep you posted.
