Wednesday 2 April 2014

A Seuss-y Ode to Unschooling

One Kid, Two Kid, Three Unschooled Kids

A person's a person, no matter how small!
What's gripping to one isn't gripping to all.
Brains developed for learning and making connections,
Whether Minecraft construction or sugary confections.
So support their interests and surround them with joy,
And they'll take in what they need, each girl and each boy.

A fortnight of YouTube, just 'screen' to a muggle,
Is done for a reason, maybe learning to juggle!
Maybe this kid works better with watching things first,
And doesn't like trying what they haven't rehearsed
In their head as they've watched it a squizzlion times,
As the circus man shows off with batons, or limes!
Or maybe they're watching to zone out while they chew on
Some snippet they've seen about physics: the gluon!
Or maybe they're watching the fonts, or the presenter,
Or planning a Fling-o-licious juggling centre!
Each person knows inside their own brain,
The things that they seek, maybe what they will gain.
Whatever it is that they learn at their leisure,
The bestest of learning is a spin-off from pleasure.


An aficionado of Minecraft, the miniest of crafters,
They play for a reason, maybe more than the laughter!
Maybe this kid likes building the things in their head,
Or chatting or coding, baking pixelly bread,
Running servers or working with limited riches,
Building gold pyramids, putting redstone in ditches!
Or maybe they're learning some good netiquette,
Or decoding coordinates for the first time yet.
Or installing exe files, or working out mods,
Or playing with other-hemisphere bods.
Each person knows inside their own brain,
The things that they seek, maybe what they will gain.
Whatever it is that they learn at their leisure,
The bestest of learning is a spin-off from pleasure.

A box full of dolls, what, more of the same?
Open your eyes, discover their game!
Maybe this kid likes collecting, a packrat if you will,
What looks repetitive to you is them getting their fill
Of similarities and differences of dolls one and all,
Whether squealing babies, or Barbies so tall.
Maybe they like cutting and styling the hair,
Or maybe they're helping the dolls learn to share,
Or maybe they're making their clothes out of play dough
Or fabric that needs a needle-and-thread-sew!
Each person knows inside their own brain,
The things that they seek, maybe what they will gain.
Whatever it is that they learn at their leisure,
The bestest of learning is a spin-off from pleasure.

So if you're unschooling, one, two, or more,
You've lost some stiff schooly thoughts from before,
And your days can be full of the things that they like,
Whether breeding stick insects or riding their bike,
Watching My Little Pony or baking a cake,
Or jumping up and down on the things that they make.
Or painting or reading or thinking of bees,
Or sitting for long afternoons in the trees.
Or playing on World of Warcraft all day,
Or questioning lots of the things that we say.

So when you're still up at midnight planting basil and thyme,
Watching Pewdiepie's newest for the seventeenth time,
Masquerading as Pidgeot for your Pokemon fan,
While listening for the timer for your small chef's flan,
Planning a day out to mines where there's gold,
While giving your toddler a hand she can hold,
Bringing a snack to the Yogscast-watcher,
And drawing a grid for a keen hopscotcher,
Just remember...

A person's a person, no matter how small,
And, whatever their interest, there's value to all.

6 comments: