Alice in Wonderland was one of my favorite books when I was about 8 or 9.
I’d sit by myself in the attic, reading it out loud, and acting out the story. I’d line up stuffed animals to be the Mad Hatter and the Door Mouse. I’d push two chairs close together and jump down in the space between them, pretending to fall into the rabbit hole.
This week while reading a post by Susan at Learning ALL time!, I was immediately brought back to those days again. Susan wrote about how some families follow “rabbit trails” when they take a break from their regular curriculum,” but her family follows rabbit trails all the time instead of following a curriculum.
Not only was I reminded of hours of pretend play I enjoyed with the characters of my favorite books, but it also reminded me of how I loved following my own rabbit trails every summer….and how sad I would be in the fall when I had to stick to one straight path instead of exploring the wonders of all those delightful side trails.
But today my life if full of those wonderful rabbit trails again. I feel so blessed to skip down the trails with my kids every day, stopping for a long time to stay in one place that fascinates us, and then quickly skipping down another path without lingering at all.
Each little bend in the road, even if it’s blocked with huge trees, is a chance to discover something new. Each time we come across something new, it’s a chance to connect it with something else we’ve come across earlier on our journey.
Learning doesn’t have to be chronological or linear. It can be, if you like learning that way, but while you are picking up bits and pieces of knowledge along the way, there will come a time when they all start to fit together, to make a wonderful, intricate pattern that makes sense in a way that would never have been possible if you had refused to wander down branching, twisting, off-the-path roads.
We can talk about subjects because it’s easier to give something a label when describing what you’re learning about to someone else, but really everything we learn in life is comprised of many different subjects, themes, topics and ideas.
In fact the more we can relate a new bit of knowledge to a wide variety of other bits of knowledge, the greater understanding we have.
So instead of worrying about whether your kids did any math today, or whether they can read a map correctly or know where to place commas, be glad they are walking, and often running, down the path at all.
Too many kids today want to get off the path; they want to sit on the side of the road and watch others pass them by. They’re frustrated at being excited about something interesting off the side of the road, only to be told to keep going straight and quit slowing everyone else down. Or they want to run and fly along the path, but are quickly pulled back so they stay with the rest of the group.
They don’t want to walk along the main path anymore because they know where it’s going and they aren’t interested in going there anymore.
Embrace all those wonderfully delicious rabbit trails. Explore them to your hearts’ content. You won’t see everything along the trail, but what you do see will be magical and memorable.
And that’s the only way you’ll ever arrive at Wonderland.
Photo Credit: DennisM2
What rabbit trails have you been following lately?