FUN with Magnets

That's what the box said..."Fun with Magnets"...we got this magnet kit in our curriculum this year and the kids couldn't wait to get into it but it wasn't scheduled until the last few weeks of the school year so I put it up on a high shelf and waited until the 'book' told me we could play with it...fun with magnets? or working from the book with magnets?...hmmm.
Last night I was reading John Holt (the unschool guru), he was explaining how kids had performed so much better when given 'free play' with science and math tools, and it occured to me that "Fun with Magnets" wouldn't be fun if I said, "here is the fun looking magnet stuff but you can only do what I tell you to do with it"...so today I cleared off the table, placed the open box in the middle, (drum roll) and said..."here, have some FUN with this kids"...and they did...and they read the little experiment cards...and they learned...and I didn't help unless I was asked to help - unschool guru you rock!