Segue....I don't want to take the fun out of things, but as the children and I continue on the learning journey, I realize everything is really a teachable moment. I just make sure not to constantly interrupt the fun to discuss the lesson. I do, oftentimes, revisit a situation or issue to get the kids' feedback and to discuss whatever that moment's topic may be....respect, reincarnation, division, milk....it's all a world of interconnected information and knowledge.
Somehow this all connects, but I am trying to blog AND watch Protlandia, so thia may be a fail!
My kids didn't really get any BIG stuff for Christmas (which has been nice in terms of not having to reorganize anyone's rooms). Overwhelmingly, they got games. It is a nice excuse to be together and do something fun. I admit, I felt guilty this week because we have a Nook, and they do enjoy the Nook, but generally bore of it after about 30 minutes. And that is all they get a day if they get that. A good friend has an Iphone with lots of cool apps. The kids played on it for a couple of hours one day this week while I had a meeting. I felt bad. Maybe I should get an Iphone....then, Alya, of course, Alya the following day went into her convulsive (mother) play state, and, when I asked what she was pretending she said she was pretending to play with her Iphone. She was moving all about, jumping and flailing her arms. I asked her to describe her game and it was a wonderful melange of amazing things. She'd created her own game in her mind. So, for now, without money to buy the cool stuff, that will have to suffice.
One game, Roll and Play, was courtesy of my mother via my Discovery Toys Party with Wendy Johnson. These toys are solid gold!
Roll the big cloth die, and see what color comes up. Then select a card from that color stack (you can make your own cards when your kids tire of the ones that come with the game, although mine have not yet). This game is really ideal for little kids...but my kids love it too. "Put on a hat!" "Clap your hands!" "Hug Mommy!" (my favorite!
Some of the kids' favorites....brush your teeth (yes!), see how many blocks you can stack up, wash your hands...
And one we all enjoy a lot....HAVE A TEA PARTY! I admit, we used some Kool Aid we had from a day of slushy madness....Kool Aid junkies there is still a half pitcher in my refrigerator.
As we progress on, the kids are really immersing themselves in science. They love everything about the body, animals, weather and space. Ben continues to thoroughly enjoy math and has moved past addition, subtraction, and multiplication to division and fractions. He says he does not like to use his imagination, but you can find him every night at bedtime drawing all sorts of wonderful creatures and things on his doodle. Alya, the queen of imagination, is improving with her reading....made it through an entire book one night this week. We are finding with her that she knows all her letter sounds and how to sound out words, but is having trouble paying attention, so she will look at the first letter in a word and then guess the word without reading the word, so she is usually wrong. As we work more with her, we find that she seems to have a bit of ADD and also seems to potentially have some sensory issues. We aren't dreaming this up....husband: teacher: education in early childhood development. We'll have her properly assessed after we talk to her ped at their 5 year visit next month.
This question is being posed on a friends' podcast....I seem to have the tools I need to discuss lots of topics with the kids, but am having trouble finding a good resource for religion/philosophy. The kids are very interested in death/afterlife, etc. I want to be able to present lots of different ideas to them. Also, we were Jesus heavy (justly) during Christmas. Adam and I are both believers but he is not "Christian" and, while I consider myself one, I don't think any traditional Christian would agree. I think it is important that the children understand that Jesus lived and his important life and message, but, beyond that, I want them to understand all (most....I guess I'd be pretty amazing to get ALL of them) of the great theories and to know about the important saviors and messiahs of other religions, and, also, to understand the theories of those who are not religious...the science based theories. Even I have a hard time articulating what I am looking for, but the more I search, and the more we talk, the more aware I become that on so many levels it is easy to indoctrinate. I want the kids to have the fredom to choose...the freedom to understand and follow what is in their hearts. Ideas, thoughts, suggestions are appreciated.
Awesomeness!!!
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