I was looking through my daughter's artworks because I wanted to see a before and after of her work. In our homeschooling journey, I strongly enforce the competition with oneself as opposed to competing with others and striving to be on top. We value self progress and self improvement more than any other achievements. I was so amazed at how she has improved so far. I can remember all the tears she shed and the frustration she felt whenever she couldn't draw the things she want to draw the way she wants to draw them.
I remembered she started tinkering with Ibispaint on her tablet a few months ago. She has shown me her drawings there but I clearly recalled the drawings she made about our Baguio trip last January. When I saw those, it also reminded me of the drawings she made about our trip to Batangas last month.
As I was staring at the pictures she made, it told me the story of what she actually saw during those trips. I know I took a lot of photos, all for my blog, her portfolio, something to remind us of our trips someday in the future. But as I gazed into the memories she kept in her drawings, I couldn't help but smile. She just showed me what her eyes saw during our trip. She just told me a story of what she kept in her memory from our field trips.
She was not like this before. Whenever we go out of town, she just wants to play and have fun, be silly, and not worry about anything. But she saw me watching the sunset during our Zambales trip last year. Then I took photos, wrote some things about it in my journal. I asked her if she also wanted to write something in her journal too. Of course she said no. Then when we went home, I asked her to write an entry in her travel journal just so she could have a memory of it in the future.
She was not a fan of the idea back then. Like most kids, all she wanted to do is to just enjoy those moments in her head. I explained to her that it would be much better if it is written down, like a memory keeping. So she wrote an entry. Quite hesitantly for she is headstrong but she knows that she will need to obey me if not as her teacher, then as her mother.
Before we went to Baguio, we took a look at her journal so that she could read through the previous trips we had. And just like that, she said she can't wait to go to our trip and write down everything about our trip. We haven't even gotten home and I saw she was already drawing the things she saw. When we went to Batangas, I did not even have to prompt her to draw the kinds of fish she saw during our snorkeling. She drew them all in one go when we got home.
Whenever we go on family trips, aside from taking care of my family (because moms don't really go on vacations, they just go take care of their family at a different place), my task is to take pictures as well. For the memories. But when I saw my kid's drawings, it was a different kind of memory refresher.
Field trips are a fun way of learning outside of the schoolroom. Charlotte Mason always mentions that children should also learn outdoors. And there is so much to learn outside. These learnings are much easier to digest because of all the fun. But the best way to seal the deal so to speak, to keep the memory, is for the child to actually draw it or write about it in their journal. It doesn't have to be some extra detailed type art work or essay, it just needs to be made out of their memories. That way, it stays in their mind and in their hearts. And if someday they take a look at their old journals, they'll see their drawings and handwritings. Maybe they'll see a before and after and will realize how much they've improved over the years. But for sure, those memories will flood in their brain and will put a smile on their face.
