Rock Collecting

Sometimes schooling doesn't have to include a pencil and paper. Sometimes learning doesn't need a book or a desk. Sometimes the best way to grow and learn is to have fun.

Today we did just that.

My boys recently heard that Mommy has a rock collection! *gasp!*

I collected rocks as a child and have managed to hold on to them into my adulthood. My sons thought this was the coolest thing and so today we did some informal learning.

Nowadays with the internet it's so easy to find documentaries, articles, or videos on any subject, even rocks. Some of the best school days are the ones that start with a question and take on a life of their own as you seek the answer. There's nothing else that can replicate the energetic buzz and momentum found when a day of learning takes an unexpected turn toward passion and excitement about a new topic. When everyone is excited searching for the same information or anxious to jump into a new, spur of the moment project everything just falls into place. Facts are better remembered, attitudes are kept in check, discoveries are twice as exciting, and Momma gets a much deserved chance to soak up the moment. Afterall, isn't the whole point of education to learn how to learn? Don't we homeschool so we can be a part of those aha moments when your child's love and zeal for life is all on fire? Don't we all want to see our kids excited to learn?

After we pulled all of Momma's rocks out and lined them up we had fun playing with them, picking favorites, sorting by color, and sorting by style.

My 2 year old said the pink collection was his favorite.

My 5 year old liked gathering the ones that were cooler shades.

Later, as the excitement was wearing off I asked them to pick their very favorite ones to try to draw. My 5 year old informed me that drawing rocks is hard and they never look good so we decided to trace the shapes and color them rainbow colors instead.

Rainbow colored rocks.

Naturally, my collection inspired my boys to start their own. The timing of this was perfect because grandma and grandpa just returned from Israel with rose quartz for both boys and this launched their official rock collection. Of course we ran around the house and found rocks stored in various boxes and tins and selected our favorites from those mini collections to add to our new favorites collection. (These are boys afterall, they don't realize they have been collecting rocks since they first figured out what pockets were, but after today rock collecting is official!)

Off to a good start! 

Now our rock collections are ready for us to travel the globe (or at least to a nearby park) in search of new pieces! Maybe someday my boys will get to share their collections with their kids as well. Until then it's going to be fun to start adding to my rock collection again after all these years with my new rock collecting buddies.

Happy Collecting!