Unschooling and Science

Homeschoolers are supposed to be great at science.  We can do hands on experiments.  Great fun.  Kinesthetic learning.

Guess what.  I hate experiments.  The "simple" experiments always have ingredients (like glycerin) that I have to leave the house to get.  Science experiments always induce a slight feeling of guilt and overwhelmedness in me.

We did Mad Science when Sarah was young and it was incredible (though we got a simple experiment to try at home and I never did them, and they lingered reproachfully around the house for months until I would throw them out with a mixture of bravado and regret).  Chana never really enjoyed science trips and was always resistant to any I tried to bring her to.

The funny thing is how much she's enjoying science now.  She loved Chemistry, she is loving the AP Biology book, and she wants to know when we can learn Physics.  It's really amazing how her mind is just exploding with intellectual curiosity--and in the realm of science!  I never would have thought.

So many times when I worried about how much she disliked it and I didn't push it because she disliked it so much and I would tell myself that not everybody has to be good in science or learn science.  I so wanted her to understand the scientific principles that we use to understand the laws of nature and the world around us.  But she wasn't interested.

And now she is!