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Category Archives: Bright Spots
Play Skills and Siblings
My wife and I walked our three boys over to a big fallen tree this morning to sit and grab a drink of water during a hike. “I’ll do the brakes,” my son Nico (5) said as he ran toward one end of the tree. “OK, I’ll be the engineer,” replied Leo (3-1/2), and he ran to the opposite end of the tree. Nico and Leo waste no time. They play every chance they get. They’re superstar “players.” Really… We … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots
Science Fairs for Elementary School Kids
Am I blowing it? I let my second grader, Marco, decide on his own whether he would participate in his school’s science fair. “I don’t want to give up any recess,” he told me. That means “no.” Participating in the science fair requires meetings during recess. Sometimes I think I’m blowing it. A friend of mine with kids at the same school has a very different point of view. “They’re participating,” he told me. “They don’t have a choice.” My … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots
Fitting Organized Sports Into Our Family Life
Organized sports can be great for kids’ bodies and character. Unfortunately, they also have a big downside: they pull kids away from their families and neighborhoods, now much more than ever. Partially due to organized sports, kids aren’t playing sports in their neighborhoods nearly as much as they used to. Almost entirely due to organized sports, they aren’t eating dinners at home with their families very much, either. Furthermore, parents and siblings spend tens of minutes, sometimes hours, each time … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots, Solutions
Doing is a State of Mind
We all see things that bother us many times a day, every day. The interesting question is, what do we do about it? First, I’ll tell you what I used to do. Like most people, I often ignored the problem. When I decided to “do” something to solve the problem, I actually didn’t “do,” most of the time. Instead, I delegated it to someone else. By “delegate,” I mean that I either bought the solution (e.g. buy Halloween costumes for … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots, Solutions
Our Favorite Toy Store is EBay
[Note: I first published this story almost two years ago. Since then, I can add Pokemon cards to the long list of pre-owned items we buy on EBay.] When I take my oldest two boys (5-1/2 and 2-1/2) to a toy store, most items there don’t attract them the way they do other kids. That’s because my boys have yet to consume any electronic media – television, movies, or video games. So, they are totally unfamiliar with all characters of … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots
Never Bored at Home
Really. I’m serious. Despite the fact that they play a lot less in our wonderful front and back yards in these cold and dark months, my boys (8, 5 and 3) have been playing like mad at home. In fact, when we’re out, they often plead loudly to go home. When they get here, they spring into action, climbing, building, hiding, riding their plasma cars, playing board games, and playing cards. They make up imaginary worlds and play games with … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots
Television as a Learning Tool
These days, it’s difficult to find an expert who thinks television is good for children. And yet, it’s pretty obvious, even to the biggest TV critics among us, that television can provide information in a far more memorable way than any other medium. The problem of television for children does not lie in the technology itself. Instead, it lies in both how television is used by children, as well as the specific TV content that they view. I’ve found a … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots, Solutions
Learning at Home With Deep Dives
Two years ago, Marco’s (8) passion was geodes – hollow rocks with crystals inside. Sometimes, it still is, but last year, he also got into the solar system and gardening. These days, Nico (5) has joined in our deep dives, and it’s World War II, with a little tangent on prison escapes (POW camps and Alcatraz). It looks they’re getting pretty deep into woodworking in the near future, too. If you just scan these topics – geodes, the solar system, … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots, Solutions
How a Kid Masters His Neighborhood
Today, my son Marco (8) took Wayne, a school friend, to the house of Jacob, another school friend. Then, the three of them made their way to our house. They made this entire journey, 1-1/2 miles, without any adults involved, either in transporting or in planning, and Marco was the leader. And, they did it in the rain, with no raincoats. Marco can do all this on his own, too. In fact, he usually rides his bike home alone. This … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots, Neighborhood, Solutions
Doers Don’t Get Their Inspiration at School
“I’ve never let school interfere with my education.” – Mark Twain These doer kids who I’m studying (see my first article on them, Doers Don’t Watch TV) are incredibly action-oriented. They’re articulate. They ooze potential, yet they seem very self-assured and happy. In short, I can’t imagine a group of older kids that I’d rather my young kids emulate. They’re some the world’s best makers, software hackers, entrepreneurs, and social innovators. I’ve been interviewing parents of doer kids from two … Continue reading
Posted in Bright Spots, Solutions
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