What I Have Learned:
A Letter to the Reader

Excerpted from

Child of Wonder: Nurturing Creative and Naturally Curious Children
by Ginger Carlson, MA Ed.

What I Have Learned
A Letter to the Reader

Dear Fellow Parents and Other Facilitators of Learning,

    Children are creative by nature, yet scores of materials exist for adults who want to tap into and recapture their creative sides. So somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we, one way or another, lose contact with that true nature. Well, welcome (or welcome back) to wonder!

    Child of Wonder began taking on this concrete form in a small café in Santa Monica, California in the early nineteen-nineties. As an elementary school teacher, my world revolved around how I could create an environment for my students that would both honor and develop their thinking and self-expression. A decade and three continents later, my life was still joyously centered on discovering, creating, and wondering. Then, becoming a parent myself, my mission was brought even further into focus. It has become a labor of love and, more than that, a way of life. But to say that it started over a cup of coffee would be gravely underestimating the truth.

    Much of what I am and the way I approach life and learning is directly related to the way I was parented as a young child. I believe, as many researchers do, that I am not an exception. As parents, we have the greatest impact on our children’s desire to learn and ability to express themselves.

    When I was a child, the poem Children Learn What They Live by Dorothy Law Nolte hung in our hallway. I walked past it thousands of times. Occasionally, I would pause in my day and stop to read and reread all it had to say. As I grew, I processed and internalized all a child could learn if treated the way he or she deserved: patience, confidence, faith, justice, appreciation, and ultimately, to find love in the world. Now, as an adult, I am recalling memories and assessing what I have learned by what I have lived.

    I have learned that stacking wood is easier and faster if we do it together. I have learned that skinned knees and concussions heal, but riding on handlebars is probably not the best idea; there are better ways to learn balance. I have learned that you should still turn the water on, just check for scorpions before you stick your hand in the hole. I have learned that math is less daunting and much more fun if you are learning about it while sitting on Dad’s lap; even engineering can be approached like an art. I have learned that the best mess is the one you make when decorating cookies your own way while listening to Mom tell tales about playing King of the Mountain in the backyard of the little white house on Castle Street. I have learned that sitting around the dinner table is my favorite place. We will never all agree on how to live, but it is much more peaceful and fulfilling to listen to the point of view on the other side of the table than to try to prove you are right. After all, a game of dominoes is so much better when we are all laughing. I have learned that every stumbling block is a lesson. Sometimes the sudden change in perspective is what helps us move forward. I have learned that learning is a lifelong journey.

    Thank you for taking the step towards living a life of creative wonderment with your children. I am honored to continue the journey and the learning with you.

Happy discovering, creating, and wondering!

Ginger Carlson, MA Ed.