Home » Education & Career » Unschooling » Expanding Horizons or The Quirky Things We Do

Expanding Horizons or The Quirky Things We Do

© Teri Brown

"You're family finds the strangest things to do," a friend once commented to me. She was right. Whether that is due to being in the right place at the right time or divine intervention, I can't say, but I have another theory. We find strange things to do because we are open to the strange, quirky and the unusual. By living our life the unschooling way, my children have been exposed to some of the most wonderful things, more than many children get in a life time.

A trip to an herb farm, found by attending a gardening club meeting, led to a class. Soon we were learning the ends and outs of candle making and constructing herb and cheese pizzas. This class led to another class the next day, given to us free by the instructor, and we learned the secrets of forming a willow trellis. The herb farm became one of our favorite places to go, to share tea, or growing tips with the owner. They have a wonderful shop in the basement where we poke around in corners, checking out new candle molds, handmade soaps and sniffing fragrant oils.

Not strange enough? Here's another example. A magazine article led to a trip to the library for a movie on clowning. My children were hooked. They practiced by themselves for a bit and, by chance, a friend mentioned an acquaintance who was a professional clown. That led to clown classes with a woman who was Vice President of the local clowning association. Which led to Rose City Clowns. Soon we were attending workshops and board meetings run completely by clowns. Try sitting with a straight face as clowns discuss new business and the latest treasurer's report! The last meeting we attended had a workshop on puppetry. A professional puppeteer took us on a worldwide history tour of the world using puppets. We handled the type of puppets used in ancient Egypt and looked in awe at black-market Indonesian puppets which, until recently, had been banned from leaving the country. Both kids were delighted with the puppets and I foresee puppetry in our future.

Being open to adventure and learning has led us down some odd roads. One thing leads to another, often, it's just as much my interests that lead us there as the children's. Sometimes it's sheer nuttiness that takes us down a different path. Take the knights in the park. We were driving down the road and my husband said, "Look at that!" He quickly pulled over and we watched in awe as what looked like the knights of the round table fought duels before our eyes. We hopped out of the car to get a better look and, before I knew it, I was chatting with several knights around a picnic table. We are scheduling a full exhibition for my homeschool group in the next few months. Now my children are checking out books on the medieval times and ancient weapons.