Thoughts on: Cultivating a Life (and Love) of Learning at Any and Every Age
(weekly newsletter: No. 3)
(Photo: My darling Mama (aka Nana) alongside my daughters: Ace Noelle (23), Emma Riley (20), and Indie Blue (9) — I am grateful for a good many things in this life, but among a handful of the things that I cherish most are the lifegiving gifts of simply loving and learning, healing and growing alongside these beautiful souls.)
Hello lovely friends,
I hope you are well—and your weeks are filled with wonder—wherever these last days of summer might find you!
We’ve officially reached that time of year again in which now-discounted school supplies are quickly being replaced—with colorful stacks of Autumn decor—on store shelves.
“Oh, I can’t wait ‘til October!” is overheard often—in equal measures, from adults and children alike—and our socials are filled to the brim with bright-eyed families’ back-to-school photos.
Whether it’s images of children—a good many of them with backpacks in hand—heading off to a fresh new year of learning (in school) or a handful of little ones gathered round a table—complete with stacks of books and cozy cups of cocoa—ready for their own fresh new season of learning at home, I think we can all agree on at least two things:
1) There are many wonderful ways to learn… and… 2) there is ever-so-much excitement in the air these days!
Each year, as we inch our way ever-closer to September, I often find myself longing for the simple joys of cooler mornings and cozier days ahead.
While at the same time, I’m also trying my best not to jump ahead in my own story, because despite my ever-eager Enneagram 7w8 heart (and mind), the last thing I want to do is miss out on the many simple gifts that are right here in front of me.
At the root of it all, what I’m really longing for most are the slower, more gentle family rhythms—of learning and living, growing and healing together—that are so often found in welcoming the rhythms of Autumn, here at The Nature Walk Farm.
Meanwhile, a good-many of the gardens surrounding Willow House are in need of just a bit more tending to, before Fall planting.
Our old work-horse-of-a-printer is busy preparing for wonder-filled days of ‘Exploring Nature with Children’ studies, while also bringing to life many new-to-us patterns in hopes of creating lots of rainy-day sewing projects to busy our hearts and hands in the cooler months ahead.
And our weekly stacks of borrowed books are growing ever-taller with each new Saturday morning’s visit to our rural public library. Which is actually quite wonderful considering our smallish county’s size (I’ll share more on that another time).
In other words: Everything is signaling that Autumn is indeed on its way!
And so, I thought perhaps I’d share a handful of the many simple ways that our family has cultivated a lifelong-love-of-learning, in hopes that it might help to encourage and inspire you in your own creative life journey as well.
When I began writing this week’s newsletter I’d fully intended on sharing a small peek, behind the scenes, of what it looks like for me as a Mama of four—in my 20th year of homeschooling—to Unschool a wonderfully curious, neurodivergent, nine-year-old child (especially now that her siblings are all grown up).
But as I’ve shared before: 1) I believe a story is most true when it’s not missing any parts, and 2) sometimes in order to tell our own story, we must also share the stories of those whose lives are interwoven throughout ours.
So, with that in mind… How about we take a little detour from here (while exploring a lovely rabbit trail) to see where it leads?
Whether you’re Twenty-five or Seventy-five…
You have a busy home full of little ones, your kids are all grown or you’re simply enjoying a child-free life…
You never did much care for school when you were younger or you're dreaming big about continuing your education well into your golden years…
There’s one thing for certain: We are never too young, or too old, to cultivate a love of learning!
While it’s true that it’s much easier for us to begin cultivating our love-of-learning when we’re still quite small—before the busyness and responsibilities of life stake-their-claim on our hearts and our minds and our time—there are still countless examples around us, of everyday folks who didn’t begin to embrace their own unique learning journey until they were much, much older.
And because every story has two sides:
As a formerly public-schooled child, I chose to begin observing and then narrating stories—of the world around us—to my children (long before they could ever think of narrating them back to me), spending our days reading countless books aloud, learning together at home, working on small creative projects, and venturing out on nature walks together as often as was possible.
On the other hand, my darling Mama—who will always be the first to share about how she’s struggled with dyslexia, and other neurodivergent challenges, her entire life—didn’t begin exploring a life of reading and learning, until she was well into her Thirties and Forties.
In her Fifties and Sixties (with the help of the internet and stacks of gardening and crafting books) she began exploring topics that she had often been curious about but never quite had the time to dive into before, excitedly sharing what she’d learned with others around her.
Exploring new ideas helped her to build her confidence while discovering more about herself—and the world around her—which in turn helped her to navigate many long seasons of grief (after losing the love of her life to cancer, when she was Sixty-one and he was in his mid-Sixties).
Then, just a few years ago, when she was in her early Seventies—after many slow and gentle years of cultivating a love of learning all-the-things—she set out on an intentional journey of growing and healing creatively.
She taught herself to draw, during the winter she turned 73, with the help of borrowed books and free videos online. And even though she still struggled with finding the courage to call herself an Artist, she began using her newfound gifts, to help brighten the lives of others, by adding her nature-inspired drawings to countless handwritten letters (she still writes year round) to a handful of her beloved-old-friends who live a good-many miles away.
As an unexpected (albeit much-welcomed) surprise of living in a multigenerational home, she’s also found inspiration as she’s witnessed my own healing journey—and those of her grandchildren—as we continue to navigate deeper healing, and deeper meaning, by exploring: Permaculture (Ethics and Principles), the Enneagram, Healthy Attachment styles, Respectful Parenting, and countless other ideas and apps, books, tools and resources (that are honestly just so much more readily available to us these days, than they were even just a handful of years ago).
Many of these have collectively helped us to better understand our own unique personalities, neurodivergence, past-traumas, and life stories. In turn, they’ve also helped us to better care for: this little corner of earth we call home, the friendships and family relationships we cherish, and the ever-so-much wider world around us.
In what might have begun as a desperate search to find things that would help her to pass the time—as she grieved—exploring her own love-of-learning has now become an everyday part of her life, year-round!
These days, she happily busies herself: tending to gardens and researching plants, propagating trees and saving seeds, growing herbs (and drying them for teas and crafts) and learning about the benefits of local wildlife, and the medicinal properties of plants and trees all around us—whether they’re native or invasive, have been planted here by us or were cultivated by Nature itself—the more she learns about each of them, the more she learns to value and appreciate their unique diversity and purpose.
Her curiosity and sense of wonder are her driving forces.
When wild-weather brings her indoors she watches countless documentaries—on just about every topic you could imagine—and handwrites letters to friends (often with a simple dictionary by her side to help with spelling).
With each new day she: encourages and inspires, reads and learns, imagines and creates, makes and mends, heals and grows—and whenever it’s necessary, she adapts.
And as she does—in true nature to our family’s collective heart to help inspire and encourage others—she often shares what she’s learned with the folks she crosses paths with.
I confess that I’m partial, but one rarely leaves a conversation with Nana without also carrying her (ever-generous) sense-of-wonder with them on their way!
Meanwhile, even though my parenting styles, educational choices, and the family culture I have chosen to help cultivate for my children are vastly different from my own childhood experiences and family dynamics I grew up with:
I am nevertheless grateful for the chance to continue learning side-by-side with my darling Mama (and my children alike) as we continue to grow together as lifelong-lovers-of-learning.
I also know that none of this would be possible if we hadn’t found the courage—as a family—to accept the past, embrace change, and seek healing through a life of living and loving and learning together—no matter how different that life may look to the world around us.
Now with our rabbit trail explored—and this part of our story told—next week I’ll be sharing a handful of the simple ways that we’ve worked—as a collective family—to help cultivate a love-of-learning, in the life of our ever-curious, neurodivergent, nine-year-old Unschooler.
So, with this in mind, regardless of how young or old you might be (or feel)…
If you just so happen to want to learn more about: Botany and birding, planting seeds and saving baby trees, geography and geology, exploring painting and poetry, music and nature, art and stories, new-to-you languages (via free apps), hand crafting and sewing, books, books, and more books!
Oh, and dinosaurs, too! Because (according to our darling young Paleontologist in-the-making) one must never forget the dinosaurs! — You’re simply not going to want to miss our (FREE!) newsletters in the weeks to come!
(I’ll also be sharing lots of creative ideas, personal stories, links and resources, and so much more to help us cultivate our collective love-of-learning—At any age!)
In the meantime, Friends, while we’re indeed never too young, or too old, to cultivate a life-and-love of learning—and because sometimes we just need an extra bit of curiosity, creativity, and courage—if we’re not quite sure where to start, it always helps to have friends by our side who can point us in the right direction—and that’s exactly what The Nature Walk Collective is here for!
Wishing you a wonder-filled week (and many lovely seasons of learning) ahead!
Talk soon. — Juanita