In the quiet stillness of night, inspiration struck our little Imaani.
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You see boredom can be quite the resource.
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We had traveled all day, it was getting late, and little ones began feeling that they had done all that they could do. It was that moment in time where winding down begins and the temptation to fight it off turns into restlessness.
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Pretend play was the weapon of choice for Imaani as she warded off the weight of her very own eyelids. Her chosen tools of play were as follows, a dead iPad, the flight safety manual, a pencil, and one of her older siblings’ old mathematics workbooks.
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It began with furious fun and very busy play. I watched giddily from the corner of my eye. She was in a world of her own making. Then . . . the invitation to join made its way to me ♥️
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“MOM! Look at how good I am doing with this math! See how I did it here? Can you read me what this part says?”
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I was fascinated! I was excited! I was all in and available for whatever she wanted me to be a part of in this world she created. One question followed after the other and she began filling the pages without my prodding or pushing.
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As a follower of Jesus, I took a page from his book, and I practiced returning a question with another question, ha!
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When all was said and done, she filled 4 pages full without one wrong answer and no correction from me. This was considered advanced work for her age, but she didn’t know any better. She was playing freely.
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What an honor to watch her flourish and a privilege to help cultivate her growth.
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In what ways do you encourage freedom to learn in your home?