A Love For Learning

As an educator and parent, one of my primary desires is for my children to develop a love for learning...a delight for exploring the physical creation as well as ideas from a standpoint of truth.

Previously, I have attributed the development of this characteristic to the educational process, believing that an engaging curricula coupled with parents and teachers who themselves love to learn, explore and teach would bring this about. Time and experience may alter my viewpoint...all I know is that my boys have been similarly educated and one has a much greater, and seemingly natural, desire to learn.

In spite of early indications that our younger son's intellect dimmed in comparison to big brother's, he shines when it comes to self-motivated interest in learning. He is forever creating, studying or tackling something new that is not required of him. Oh, he does all of his required work faithfully, but life doesn't end there.

Through the years, his primary creative outlet has been Legos...he's a fanatic; however, these days he is branching out a bit.

He recently bought himself a ginormous nerf gun and spent days figuring out its exact trajectories. He's fashioned targets of every shape, size and material - and of course, being his father's son, he has labeled each one with a point value! Some are still attached with red duct-tape to various spots around his room.

And when he watches a movie, reads or listens to a book, he either finds a way to "become" those characters (usually involving some kind of make-shift weapon or costume); or he writes his own story using the original as a springboard; or he recruits a child-artist to render particular characters or scenes from the story; or he reads about how the movie was created; etc. etc.

That one experience (book or movie), opens up for him a world of possibilities and draws out that enviable childlike delight in life!

He spent the last year trudging through Lord of the Rings (mostly because he wanted to see the movies, but I wouldn't let him until he read them - meanie!). The Fellowship took him nearly 8 months to read (he's 11), but he sailed right through The Two Towers and The Return in about 2 months total! So NOW, he is re-reading The Hobbit for the 3rd time...but he's not just reading it. Of course not...

He came downstairs the other morning and quoted a whole poem from the book which he had memorized the night before...just because he liked it. But that's not all...

He took it upon himself to find and learn the Elvish alphabet and began translating The Hobbit into Elvish! As if that weren't enough, he did the same with the Dwarvish alphabet and is now simultaneously translating it into both! And you should see it! This is a child whose teachers' primary concern has been his very poor handwriting...if only they'd let him do his work in Elvish...it's beautiful!

Anyway, it is such fun to observe that delight...that pursuit of something new and interesting JUST BECAUSE. Even though it creates messes in my house and doesn't fit my ordered world, I hope he never loses that - I'm doing my best not to squelch that sense of wonder.