Distraction or Sparkly?

One of my homeschooling mom friends often talks in terms of using all the "sparklies" in the world as educational fodder. Sparklies, of course, can be anything. And they are different things for different people at different times in our lives. Sparklies for my son, for instance, currently include swords, cavemen, cave art, dirt, buried treasure, pirates, war (generally), WWII (specifically), boats, flags, tanks, helicopters, real and/or ficticious people who have any remote interest in or experience with any of the above things, computers, computer games... let's just say it's a very sparkly world out there.

I like the word -- sparkle.

And I like using it as a noun -- not a sparkle, but a sparkly -- a seemingly little thing that can grab your attention and fill your imagination with things to wonder about or fill your mind with questions to answer.

I think this sparkly seeking approach to life is what makes our approach to homeschooling work so well for us. I don't see homeschooling, as it is sometimes viewed, as a way to protect my children from the world. It's more of a way of giving them access to it -- all of it -- when and how they want it.

I was just thinking this morning, that for myself, I've not quite come to terms with the sparklies that attract me. Too often, I spend time worrying that they are distractions. I sometimes tend to think of them as the things that prevent me from moving forward, rather than the things that might give me access to the next place I want to go.

My kids seem to be better able to navigate this sparkly-filled world. I watch them shrug, "Maybe later, Mom," or "Neat, but not for me." I also watch them dive right in with delight. It's like knowing when you've had enough cake. It's hard for me to turn it down when it's sitting in front of me even when it's not my favorite flavor, and I marvel when my daughter eats just what she wants and puts the rest aside for later... or even gives it away.

Pick up the sparkly; make it mine?

Appreciate the sparkly, but stay the course?

There's always something to ponder.