An Attractive Yield

So much of the information we learn doesn’t come from workbooks, CD’s, videos or field trips. Thought I’d start posting some of the incidental-yet-material, unschooling-esque opportunities to discover something new.

Ds casually inspected a 1099-INT while I was preparing our tax return this year. He liked the dollar figure he saw and asked if he could move his savings account to this other bank. I said I’d check into his options and, satisfied, he went off down the hall to do something else.

I was still working on my tax return later that afternoon when he walked into the room.

Ds: Know what the best thing about interest is?
Me, intrigued: Tell me.
Ds: You can earn interest on interest.
Me, nodding: Yeah, you sure can. That’s called-
Ds: Compound interest. I know.

So, okay, technically speaking, he didn’t learn about compound interest that afternoon. I ordered some general finance comics from the Federal Reserve more than a year ago. Who knows when he read them.

That afternoon, we talked a bit about percentages and why a bank pays interest at all. I’m not an unschooler per se, but I adamantly agree that kids will learn a heck of a lot of their own accord if you just let their interests lead the way.