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Games Make Learning Fun!
We love to play games. Gaming has been a go-to activity since my kids were very young. Board games, card games, made-up games, video games, outdoor games, you name it, we have played it. Not only are games a great way to bond as a family, but they are also rich in learning opportunities. When I worked with children in the classroom, time and time again games were shown to be a conduit for teaching new skills in a fun and engaging way. As a tutor, I almost always found a way to turn the skills I was being paid to teach into a game-like activity. When there is intrigue,…
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What Does it Mean to “Live and Learn”?
What does it mean to “live and learn”? Exactly what it sounds like. Live your life by following things that interest you, that intrigue you, that puzzle you. Ask questions, try things out, explore, observe, examine, challenge yourself. Meet people. Go to different places. Read, watch, and write. Get sick and work to get well. Care for others, care for animals, and care for yourself. Get a job, work on a hobby, and pursue your curiosities. By simply living, you learn–all the time. If you want to study, study. If you want to read, read. If you want to take classes, take classes. There is no pre-planned curriculum that will…
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The Case for Living the Self-Directed Life
Summer is probably the most dreamed about, written about, and longed for season in America. For most of America’s children and young adults, summertime means freedom. The school year schedule fades away and the longer, warmer days are replaced with uninterrupted sleep, exploration, visiting with family and friends, vacationing, and learning new information simply because of a desire and curiosity to know, not in order to pass a test or check a box. The alarm bells cease and desist. Stress subsides and growing minds are happily given more time to wander and wonder. There seems to be a universal respect of the unscheduled, free flowing days of summer and a…
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Gun Play: Shooting down Parental Fears
In the early days of parenting, when all toys were bright and cheerful, when television shows were filled with funny songs, silly dances, and playfully nice characters, and when advertisers had a limited effect on my son’s wants, I reveled in a blissful state adoring my innocently calm, flourishing child. Little did I know, a few years later, the bliss would be replaced with a quietly intensifying internal panic as my three year old son barreled towards the army men in the aisle of the toy store, pining for the plane with the bombs, picking up action figures with oversized muscles and equally oversized weapons, desperately seeking toys with “shooting…
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Getting out of the Way
We parents like to help. It’s what we do. When our children are struggling we feel compelled to assist, direct, or support. Sometimes, all this ‘help’ is counterproductive and inadvertently sends the message that you don’t trust your kids to do things on their own, to create, or problem solve without some adult supervision or input. If there is one constant statement repeating in my head it is this: “Back off, they are capable, be patient. When they want help, they will ASK ME for it.” The trick is to be available, but at a distance. Yesterday, my gal needed a curtain in order to properly create a fashion show…
