Lighting of Fire

There is a wonderful quote attributed to W. B. Yeats: Education is
not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. That just
about summarizes our views about education and why we have chosen
unschooling for our family.

Actually I'd go one step further and say that our primary
responsibility is to help our kids find their own fires and then
to make sure that adequate fuel & air get supplied to keep that
fire burning. (I am actually paraphrasing something Deb Lewis
wrote in one of the unschooling email lists.)

We have been getting very consistent cues about Supriya's fires
since she was very little. Go anywhere -- from playgrounds to her
gymnastics -- and she would soon be making friends (male and
female, with a distinct bent towards older boys). She is very
friendly and generous. As the pictures show, she is also a talented
athlete/gymnast/acrobat. She has taken to swimming this summer.
In addition, she is a gifted singer, although she is still shy about
performing in public.

Aseem, on the other hand, is highly introverted. You will find him
playing by himself at playgrounds. The computer is his best buddy,
and he really enjoys playing games on the computer. He is also
very friendly once he gets to know you. Aseem enjoys building
train-tracks and helping Manisha & me with kitchen stuff like
peeling cucumbers and cracking eggs. So now our challenge is to
find opportunities for both kids to stoke their respective fires.