-by Ketika Kasetwar, June 2025

One thing I’ve learned, loud and clear, on our homeschooling journey: kids really learn when they’re ready. And not just in the “okay, now I’ll sit down and study” kind of way. I mean really ready – physically relaxed, emotionally open, and (the magic ingredient) inquisitively curious!!

In our home, learning often means going down rabbit holes together, usually at the most unexpected hours – late nights when my eyes are closing or mornings when I am answering calls. It might start with a question, a conversation, or even a meme. And suddenly, we’re all-in. Sleep, exhaustion, hunger, thirst, chores – all swept aside in a split second!! No set lesson plan. No “you should’ve learned this by now.” Just two (excitedly jumping) people learning side by side.

Of course, there have been moments that made me fidget. Like, “Why doesn’t she know this yet?” Take this for example: As a tween, my child could explain atomic structure, discuss gender identity, philosophize about the concept of time and discuss the comparative presence of human beings in this universe… but had zero clue about Earth geography. Couldn’t tell Europe from Africa on a map. Cue my mini internal meltdown, brought upon by that nagging part which always questions if I am doing good/enough as a homeschooling parent…

But then, as always, to bring us out of the unnecessary questioning, life (and learning) threw us a curveball. During a “Guess the Country” round on a gaming platform, she got stuck. That tiny moment of wanting to know the answer turned into a 1.5-hour globe-trotting session. We covered country placements, compared landmasses, discussed how continents came to be, and touched on languages and culture. Boom!! Almost the entire Earth geography, unlocked. Information gathered and dots created, to keep the basket of information ready for future use. All this because she wanted to know. Not because I decided it was time. Not because she had to learn according to a set system.

Same story with languages. Language learning didn’t need pressure, just a personal reason. I had been trying (and gently pleading) for her to take an interest in Hindi. Nada. Zilch. Couldn’t read even the alphabet. But then April rolled in. And by the end of the month? She was reading full Hindi sentences, on actual bank forms. All this to understand the Hindi words typed/used during her regular gaming sessions or while scrolling videos on social media channels. Meanwhile, those strange Italian “brain rot” videos that are currently trending worldwide (yes, the kind that have parents rolling their eyes around the world!)? Yup, they led to her picking up Italian. On her own.

So now, whenever I catch myself thinking, “She should’ve learned this by now,” I remind myself: learning doesn’t follow age charts or academic calendars. It follows curiosity. And when that switch flips, when the body, emotions, and mind are all ready, that’s when real learning happens. Deep, delightful, long-lasting learning.

We can’t force it. But we can be there. To explore, to support, to go down those rabbit holes, no matter how weird or wonderful they are.

Because at the end of the day, our job isn’t to push. It’s to stay close by, waiting with snacks, drinks and Google tabs open.