A Quiet Day at Home

First off, much love to all past, present and future Veterans. On this Veterans Day, we honor you. I did my best to express to my children why we honor and respect you, and I think they got it. At least enough to begin with. God bless.

I was very much looking forward to today - the kids had no school, I had no piano lessons to teach, and we had nowhere really to be. Our day kicked off with a trip to the YMCA. The two little kids are used to going there three times a week while I kick it, Zumba style, with my ladies downstairs. Ming Wai hasn't been able to join us since the school year started. She surprised me by asking if she could please join me in Zumba today? Of course! Sure! Start 'em young - that's what I say. I was super proud of my little girl. First off, I tell her to get dressed, and she comes back in a Hello Kitty t-shirt, bike shorts...and a tiara. Zumba done RIGHT, yo. Then, she proceeded to dance the entire hour, grinning, with no breaks. That's my girl! (Her favorite moves were some simple foot taps...and the part where we wiggled our bums. That was fun.)

Zumba was followed with the traditional Monday afternoon visit to McDonalds. Ming Wai had earned a Happy Meal from me, and we had to hide away from the house for a while so our cleaner could get her work done. (The kids get a tally on a chart when they respond to a request from me with a happy "yes, ma'am." 40 tallies gets you a Happy Meal. Easy peasy!) 

The afternoon...was ours. Empty. The two big kids played Wii MarioKart for a while, and then worked on Reading Eggs (I'll explain in a minute) while Baby Ying Ying took a nap. The rest of the afternoon was spent listening to the big kids play upstairs and comforting a teething toddler. Poor baby. 

As I nursed by sweet baby to sleep tonight, I scrolled through Facebook on my phone, catching up with friends and family near and far. Someone posted a link to this article, talking about a new teaching method being tried out in a classroom in a Mexican slum, just over the border. Essentially, the article states this: when left alone with a computer, children will naturally flock to it and organize themselves around it. If that computer is loaded with educational materials, the children will teach themselves. In one example, children were left alone with the computer, with only one word from the adult in charge. "There is some interesting information on the computer - you might like it." The interesting information was molecular biology. After 75 days, the man returned and administered a quiz on the materials. The kids scored 25%. Another 75 days, and they were scoring 50%. The children were 10-14 years old in a remote Indian village. 

The article made me think about my kids, and how they learn. Ming Wai never went through the "Why Why Why How How How" phase that other parents talked about. She accepted my word as gospel, to an almost alarming degree. Siu Jeun? WHOO BOY. That kid has questions. Not the annoying, "Why Why Why" types. He is thinking. "Mom, how did they make this car? Mom, how did they make this snow globe? Mom, how does the steering wheel turn the car?" You explain it to him once, and he remembers it. So you'd best be careful in your explanation, because trying to change your answer later never goes well. You can almost see his knowledge expanding, like a physical extension of him, synthesizing his understanding of the world around him. It's incredible to watch. 

If you are reading this and are, for example, my home schooling sister Myrnie, you may be thinking, "Homeschool! Homeschool is the answer, feed his curiosity at his own pace!" And that is a brilliant answer. If you are my other sister, Bert, who went to Montessori, she might be thinking, "Montessori! Let him be creative!" For us, neither of those answers are a great fit. We plan to put all of our kids into public school. We have found, though, some things to augment the public school experience. Most recently, we were introduced to Reading Eggs. Ming Wai was having trouble getting excited about reading, and it was translating into a lot of negative self-talk and hesitancy. We did flashcards and workbooks, but nothing would stick. Reading Eggs give her a space where she is using computer skills, and the activities feel easy, but they use a lot of repetition (along with a healthy dose of rewards and silly songs), and after just a week, I can see a HUGE difference. (If you are interested, you can follow the link and sign up for a 4 week free trial.) For us, technology is making all the difference. 

So. Parents, educators - have you seen this phenomenon play out around you? How has technology changed the way kids learn?