If you follow the idea of autonomous learning right through to it’s logical end, then surely no toy is ‘educational’ to a child?  The reason I’m thinking about this is because I decided not to get Flopsy something I know she wanted for Christmas because I felt that it wasn’t really much fun getting an ‘educational’ toy for a present and that educational things should just be bought throughout the year.  This is totally irrational.  It’s not ‘educational’ to Flopsy because it’s something she enjoys doing!  I’m bonkers!  Don’t worry, we’ve still got her something she really wants, it’s my method of choosing that I’m bemoaning. 

I remember being on holiday with my parents a couple of years ago, and for my ‘holiday reading’ I’d brought books to do with my course.  My Dad said “don’t you ever give yourself a break from studying?”.  I remember feeling a bit miffed at the time, but realised that what he didn’t understand was that I wasn’t studying because I had to, I had chosen to train to be a Breastfeeding Counsellor because I am passionate about empowering mothers and supporting women who want to breastfeed.  Therefore, the material I needed to read was of great interest to me.  I *loved* every essay I wrote and miss them now that I don’t have any to write.  My essay’s were interesting to write and the reading was interesting.  I was studying not to gain a certificate, but to learn about a subject that means a lot to me.  So my holiday reading wasn’t in the same vein as GCSE revision - if I’d been reading the books but not training to be a BFC, my Dad probaby wouldn’t have made that comment. 

And this is the essence of autonomous learning - doing it for yourself, not for anyone else and not for a certificate (unless you want one, of course!).  It’s not distinguishing learning from life.  It’s allowing children to spend their time the way they want to and if that means spending hours doing workbooks and playing with cuisenaire rods then that’s fine!  I’m imposing my own cultural conditioning on my children to even make a distinction between toys meant to subconsiously teach children and toys that are ‘just for fun’.  What a wally!