I had my own strange (and usually effective) ways to get from point A to point D, and critique involving telling me to do B then C before D would drive me insane. It's a peculiar art to offer a critique that doesn't tromp on a personal process. If they have the same sort of perspective, then the biggest sin to be aware of is trying to tell them what they think.
Ah, yes--this rings a bell. DD is a natural auto-didact and likes to figure things out herself when possible. Teaching her to ride a bike was a complete nightmare until I just gave up and stopped talking. I try to stay as hands-off as I can when she is learning a new skill, but sometimes you do need instruction. Helping her with homework is quite a difficult balance. She also loves to fish, but this can be very frustrating for everyone, as the knots, etc are hard for her and adult guidance can be very useful if you want to actually catch something, whch she very much does. At the same time, she really wants to figure it out herself. (She will explicitly tell me this now--"No, don't tell me anything--I want to figure it out.")
(I'm depressing myself a little talking about this. Poor stubborn little thing--it's hard for her. You really see her old soul showing in this area.)
