Let Them Alone

Finn is heavily into ants these days, spending hours observing their behavior and attempting to create his own ant farms in Mason jars, that I thought of this quote from Home Education by Charlotte Mason:

For the evil is, that children get their knowledge of natural history, like all their knowledge, at second hand.  They are so sated with wonders, that nothing surprises them; and they are so little used to see for themselves, that nothing interests them. The cure for this blase condition is, to let them alone for a bit, and then begin on new lines.

Yesterday at the pool on a rest break he spent 20 minutes intently watching tiny ants carry off bits of his rice chex snack.  A child who is engaged in observing the world is a child who is easily entertained!