Monday, January 23, 2006
Quiet Monday - odd and precious addition of having a couple of hours during KK's ballet class to help Danny with his homework. He had so much! But he worked diligently, reading aloud, drawing farm animals and their associated products, coming up with words containing "oi" and "oy", and practicing mixed addition and subtraction and "ar" sounds. There is so much to learn when you are seven! I remember sometimes how confusing it was to be a kid - so many ideas and rules and things grownups thought were important. Reading came easily to me, but I remember getting caught by little stuff - like the period at the end of a sentence and the decimal point looking the same. I cries so many tears over that one thing, util my Daddy finally figured out what was confusing me and taught me one symbol could have two meanings. Working with Danny tonight I wondered if he had any similar confusions. Nothing surfaced. He definitely knows the difference between adding and taking away and can show me with objects how both processes work. Watching young learners leaves me in awe of how much each of us learns in a lifetime.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I've been thinking a lot recently about how strange it is that people act as if kids have it easier than adults do. I know I'm incredibly spoiled in my life. And I admit that money pressures can sometimes feel really scary and hard. And I know I don't have kids yet. But my GOODNESS being an adult is easier than being a child!!
I remember strugling all the time to try to understand what I was learning, WHY I was learning it, how I was supposed to use it in life, which part of the new thing was the important part (am I focsed on remembering or understanding, and is it the ideas or the new vocabulary? or all of it?)
I watch Joanna's kids and how much they are juggling at any given moment (as are all kids). They amaze me with their ability to learn new things, deal with having so little control over their own lives, accomodate so many different sets of expectations (one for school, one for home, one with mommy, one with daddy, one with grandma, one with auntie--what about it grandma and auntie are together--then who's rules do I go by?) and do it all with a smile. Children really are amazingly resiliant and smart aren't they?
I agree that being an adult is easier than being a kid - so much more that we do have influence over and a better understanding of the ground rules - though still incomplete. This exchange tunes me further in to the importance of being gentle with children, checking out their understanding of situations, taking their questions and concerns seriously, taking time. How cn they build strong frameworks of understanding if we con't help them do so. And I'm thankful to those who helped me - who took the time.
Post a Comment