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How do you strew when you are always on the move? What about when you have a stressful situation at home?
My answer is – as long as you are living and learning together, strewing happens.
Join me on the journey through The Art of Strewing.
Strewing On The Go
How would unschooling and strewing work if you were constantly on the move, or you lived in cramped quarters?
“Strewing their paths” must take on a whole new meaning – unless you want a trip to the hospital!
Whether it’s full-time RVing or living in a high-rise apartment, each life situation presents challenges to strewing.
Have you ever played that game where you have to name the items you would take with you on a stranded island? Forget about it being completely illogical (you can’t choose what you will happen to have on you) – and just think about strewing in a similar fashion.
If you had to live in a small area for months or years on end with your children – what would you absolutely have to have with you? What if you only had one overhead compartment to store it in?
Here are some tips to make strewing in a tight spot a little easier:
- Remember quality over quantity
- Strew non-physical things – opportunities, events, ideas
- Make the most of technology – you can fit thousands of books onto one e-device
Margie shares her experience with strewing on the go:
We’re fulltime RVers, so space/clutter is a major issue. We strew experiences.
We explores places and meet people more than look at things. We have laptops for any research and such, but most of our discovery is on location. We’re mostly out in nature learning about and enjoying it.
Strewing During Stressful Times
Maybe life is a little hectic right now. You may be dealing with family issues, or financial issues – whatever it is you find unschooling very difficult in the midst of it.
Unschooling is about real life – the good and the bad. What good is it if we never opened up to our children about our struggles, about reality, and about the truth? Sometimes life hurts. Sometimes it gets overwhelming. And sometimes life is so sad or joyful that you just have to sit and absorb the moment.
When your family is not getting along – you can still lovingly strew discussion, cooperation, and peace.
When finances are tight – you can strew ideas to earn money.
There is always something to strew because there is always something to observe and learn from in life.
Strewing Is The Nut-Meat Of Life
When I was a little girl (yes, that’s me on the left), we would usually get a bag of nuts to eat during the holidays.
I loved to eat the big huge Brazil nuts and the Hazelnuts, but I couldn’t crack them on my own. I tried as hard as I could but I just didn’t have the strength or the dexterity.
So my dad would sit me on his lap, take the nut-cracker, and patiently crack nuts for me to eat.
Why am I telling this story?
Oh- I remember.
Life is like a box of chocolates. No wait – wrong story.
This might be a stretch for an allegory -but the nuts represent life’s ventures, knowledge, and experiences.
Inside there are wonderful learning lessons just waiting to be opened up to our children, but often they need help cracking open that outer shell until they are strong enough to do it on their own.
No matter what you come across in life, we can help our kids get to the meat of life – the sweet treasure of discovery and wonder at all there is.
We are the patient father (or mother) and strewing is our nutcracker.
Strewing is probably more patience, guidance, and circumstance than it is preparation. Life comes fast – and we should take every opportunity to scatter a tiny sliver of it for our children to discover.
Tomorrow, I want to discuss how we can strew attitude.
This post is part of the iHomeschool Network Hopscotch – go check out some of the other series that are being featured (and check out the giveaways that are being hosted there)!
Here are the lovely ladies that are participating in the Autumn 2012 Hopscotch:
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