Waking Up To Running River

Since our family discovered Running River School and decided to enroll our first grade daughter, our mornings are different. With a later start time (Running River begins at 8:45), there is no more waking up to an alarm and rushing out the door. We have discovered our family waking up in other ways, too.

“Oh my gosh, Mom! This is the best day EVER!”

This enthusiasm spills out of my daughter on the way home from school. “We built spaceships at school and today we blasted off for the first time and we went to Mercury and an alien came in (one of the older students dressed for the part) who told us all about their planet and it was so fun! And we had my favorite lunch so I went back for thirds! Tomorrow during recess we are going to keep playing that game where we make mud balls and pretend they are treasures and someone is a pirate and…”

Her excitement goes on and on. It is wonderfully contagious.

For a child who loves learning, public school was a continuous disappointment for our daughter. With twenty three other kids in her class, she adapted but did not thrive. Her natural tendency to question everything, a valuable trait, simply couldn’t be responded to effectively, much less lovingly.

Currently the kids around here are studying space. Families have been asked to step outside for five minutes each night and gaze up. 

What do you notice?

How do you feel?

What changes from night to night?

In being bundled up together as a family and looking at the stars, we are carrying on our daughter’s learning at home. I pick up some books at the library about space. My husband prints off some images of nebulas for the kids. In an effortless way, school and life at home blend together more seamlessly. 

It is a joy to be alive and curious in the world, and what better reminder of this than the inborn momentum of children toward questioning and exploring. A day of learning need not be bookended by the official beginning and end of school. There are countless moments throughout the day of little windows opening -of waking up- as new ideas emerge or connections between information are made. This piecing together of parts ushers us toward greater awareness, learning and understanding. I’m finding it such a delight to share in this with my kids.