A wonderful day
Last week I got a glimpse of what the APTB experience will be like because we had 2 families visiting from abroad who also unschool and are interested in APTB and with another unschooling family that lives here we went up North to explore the ‘parque tematico‘ (theme park) in Santana.
We were 5 parents and 7 kids from 3 different countries. The kids were running about having a blast, playing even without speaking the other kid’s language, holding hands, chasing each other, non-stop talking and throwing pebbles at each other without any of us parents interfering (they were all having fun the whole time, even the pebbles were part of the game). The only time we warned them was when they were going to stick their fingers through the ostrich fence telling them that they’re able to snap a finger off.
I went on a little rowing boat with the 4 girls and I started rowing onto the middle of the pond when Lima (6) asked to row, so I let her. Soon after Tara (6) also joined in when Lima gave her one of the oars. For over 20 minutes they were trying to figure out how to move in a desired direction and then back to shore.
I didn’t say one word or help a single time because that’s what we at APTB are all about - only help when a child asks for help, otherwise be quiet and do our own thing.
Their problem-solving skills were in demand and whilst having a lot of fun they were concentrating, communicating with each other, joking and sharing thoughts of what they saw was happening. I loved it! We all did…
Us parents were agreeing on kids needing the freedom to explore freely without us interfering even when some people would like to warn of certain dangers and safety hazards. Children have in inbuild protection mechanism and the more we talk about dangers, having to be careful and warning in order to keep them safe, the more accidents will happen. And that’s backed by studies!
I’m looking forward to opening our doors and welcoming many more families into our project, home and live and spending amazing moments together, watching our kids thrive and be happy.
