For a couple of hours in the afternoon, the Kiddo has independent learning time. He has a few projects that he is working on during that time. He has been doing some French worksheets, research on Quebec History, and designing a board game about the immune system. He has been doing well to work a little on all of them. It's a skill that has been developing over the last few months.
Today he was watching a Crash Course series about the immune system on YouTube. He noticed that they spent a whole year covering how the body works. Then, as I was writing this post and thinking about what I could encourage you with, he came and told me about it. The Kiddo asked me if he could watch all of them.
This could have gone many ways. I could have told him that he needs to stay focused on his project and watch them some other time, which he wouldn't. I gave him a big yes. I want him to feel free to explore the world around him and not be tied down by his projects. He'll come back to the project, but he often doesn't come back to the rabbit trails in life. Are you giving your kids the chance to explore?
Learning happens in many ways and sometimes the unexpected moments are the most impactful. If you can hold your routine/schedule with a loose grip then your children have more opportunity to experience the unexpected. Say yes to exploring their inquiries. If you haven't done it much, it will be all the more delightful to see their responses. As you learn to say yes they will learn to be passionate about learning.