"Colin, we can't talk about roller coasters right now. It's time to do science!!!"

OK, so I've always said that this year is a practice year. Kindergarten is supposed to be more about learning how to do school than it is about actual subject matter. There's still a lot of learning through play. We should be having fun and getting used to having school at home.

Turns out that I'm the one who needs the practice.

I should start by saying that I love to plan. And, once I've made the plan, I love it. Yes, I'm a fan of the plan. The plan is safe. It's ordered. I'm prepared to carry out the plan. However, homeschooling isn't, and should never be, about "the plan" no matter how wonderful I think the plan is.

Today we got off to a rocky start. The terrible twos have been replaced by the treacherous threes with my daughter and we have our share of battles every day. She wasn't in the mood to do a thing I asked of her and always seemed to be screaming at me while I needed to focus on Colin, who wasn't really into it either. After a not-very-fun hour, we took a break to go to the Y where we all had a chance to work our frustration off. We came home, I showered, we ate lunch, and then headed back out to the library. I had a few more "fun" activities planned for the day as well as our daily quiet time ritual (not to mention that I was trying to do laundry and needed to grocery shop at some point) and I felt the time was slipping away from me. We got home and all of us were in a state of tiredness and frustration. I decided to get quiet time out of the way a bit earlier (NOT a popular decision) and pick up with our school work afterward.

Well, Anna was difficult during her quiet time (obviously not understanding the point of that time) and I was trying to switch to "go mode" where we get everything finished quickly and as painlessly as possible. Colin and I did a brief art study and he did a beautiful watercolor painting. Then, I had a great science experiment planned about water density and that's when we hit the wall.

Colin's watercolor painting.

Colin, after an experience on a kiddie roller coaster at a festival recently, has become obsessed with roller coasters. It's a welcome departure from his usual Star Wars obsession. I reserved several roller coaster books for him at the library as well as a Popular Mechanics for Kids show about roller coasters. He didn't want to learn about water density, he wanted to look at his roller coaster books and watch his show. That's when I uttered (OK, maybe shouted) the title of this post: "Colin, we can't talk about roller coasters right now. It's time to do science!!!"

I heard my words and stopped cold. What? I'm going to stop Colin from learning more about something he's really interested in to make him do something he could care less about? I realized that I was missing the point. I was teaching according to the plan, not according to my son. He's the priority and what he's passionate about he should be free to explore. That's one of the reasons we chose to homeschool in the first place.

Colin's recent roller coaster ride.

I apologized to Colin for my outburst and we proceeded to watch a great show about the science behind roller coasters. Then we snuggled on the couch and looked through his roller coaster books and had great discussions about why some coasters make you feel weightless, how wooden and steel roller coasters are different, potential energy (when a coaster is at the top of the climb), kenetic energy (when it starts to speed down), and centrifugal force. He then wanted to read to me a book about a boy and his grandpa riding a roller coaster together. Then we found a "design your own roller coaster" website where Colin could choose hills, loops, tunnels, etc to assemble his own personal coaster. Great stuff, all educational, and completely enjoyable to him and me.

I thanked God in those moments for making me the student and reminding me that my plan is not his. I hope the learning continues.

Colin building his own virtual coaster.