Very cool John Locke quote from Some Thoughts Concerning Education in defense of learning through play:
Thus children may be cozened into a knowledge [of] letters; be taught to read without perceiving it to be anything but a sport, and play themselves into that others are whipped for. Children should not have anything like work, or serious, laid on them; neither their minds nor bodies will bear it. It injures their healths; and their being forced and tied down to their books, in an age at enmity with all such restraint, has; I doubt not, been the reason why a great many have hated books and learning all their lives after: it is like a surfeit, that leaves an aversion behind, not to be removed. I have therefore thought, that if playthings were fitted to this purpose, as they are usually to none, contrivances might be made to teach children to read, whilst they thought they were only playing.
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Sounds like Charlotte Mason's only learning through play until age six - spend most of day outside exploring and wait until at least six before asking kids to do formal, sit down lessons. Don't know time frame of Locke vs. Mason though?
But of course after six we still believing learning should be fun and engage their senses/movement.
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