Tapping Into Curiosity

As we all know, the magic of homeschooling is tapping into our children's natural curiosity and identifying relevant learning opportunities. What is also magical is how much we grown-ups learn in the process!

Take, for instance, M's question yesterday that stumped both Daddy and me: why do trees have sap? "I don't know," we answered honestly, "but let's find out." M and I researched the answer today to discover that sap is to plants and trees what blood is to humans: a necessary mechanism to transport water and nutrients. But, unlike blood, sap is yummy and often edible, which led me to discover that March is, in fact, the heart of maple sugaring season in New England! I am ashamed to admit that I did not know this, but now that I do, we are heading off to a local nature sanctuary this weekend for a tree-tapping demonstration.

Here's a good YouTube video on tree-tapping that M and I watched today that might interest others of you who may want to visit New England's maple-sugaring farms this month to "tap" your children's curiosity!