Unschool plans

On Tuesday we went to a friend's house to do some science. We're booked in to a workshop at the local observatory in a few weeks and we thought it would be nice to do some space related activities beforehand. We had a few things in mind, one of which was making a Nocturnal, or star clock - something the observatory had asked us to make so we can use to on the day.

What actually happened though was completely different as is so often the case when you have an "unschooling plan". On arrival at our friend's house we found that her husband had retrieved an old computer from the local recycling centre. The kids immediately started taking it apart, finding every tiny screw and asking for smaller and smaller tools.

The whole afternoon disappeared as the computer was reduced to its individual components. They worked like nothing else existed, barely looking up. When one of them found something they recognised from other electronics projects we've done, they set it aside to bring home. When they found something beautiful they brought it to show me, a set of cogs, the mechanism of the CD drawer.

The science we had planned didn't happen. But something else did, something equally valuable, something fascinating. It's often that way. A plan changes, something wonderful happens in its place. No one thing is more worthwhile than another. Maybe the planned activity will still happen some other time. Or maybe there will something else too absorbing and we will allow ourselves to be distracted again.