Eassa@Geography

I purchased for #Eassa this big #map poster book for future #geography studies. He saw it, grabbed it and started leafing through it.
Me: what are you looking for Eassa?
Eassa: I’m looking for Iran. Where is Iran?
Iran being where two of his nieces and nephew reside. He somehow understood that this is a map book that would logically contain the map of Iran. But it didn’t contain a map of #Iran . It didn’t contain a map of #Iraq . The only Arab/Muslim #countries in the book were Jordan and Egypt. He was #disappointed. I was disappointed.

I got distracted with my phone. A few minutes later, Eassa came to me with an #Atlas from our library, “we will find Iran here, mum”. I was blown away. How did he know? How did his little brain understand what an Atlas is when we really haven’t even learnt anything about countries and maps? Then I remembered that children are #curious #smart creatures who #learn in so many different ways, they just need the right environment for their curiosity to be nurtured. The Atlas was often displayed next to the globe in our home and naturally he would have looked through it, and drew his own conclusions about it.

Making home a welcoming, child friendly learning space has not been easy for me. I’m a perfectionest when it comes to presentation and aesthetic looks. My home was initially like a display home. I constantly cleaned and hid toys, books, cardboard boxes in a play room. It took me a few years to realise that this is not really practical or useful for my family. I’m so grateful for this lesson in homemaking.