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April 17, 2008
The Game Group
Anyone a little math phobic? That was a question asked last night of twenty parents of third through fifth graders. To overcome any phobias we played games-dominos, crazy eights, cards, Sudoku, and some we made up. It was math night for the Fowler Unified School District parents. The night before the same number of parents of kindergarten through second grade parents played similar games. The idea was to learn as much about math as possible in the most non-threatening way.
I’m a big fan of games. They’re such a fun way for parents and kids to interact all the while they’re learning something. The parents in both of these groups laughed, won or lost, played again, and learned some math activities in the process.
Both evenings I asked a group to help me evaluate a game I had created. The game is designed to have a player’s pawn land on a square in the outside or Learning Circle. The square matches to a learning activity the parent can do with their child. If they can tell how they will do the activity at home they get two chips
Once they’ve gone around the board and “graduated” they can move their pawn to the center or Future Circle. In the Future Circle are things like job, promotion, wedding, children, and any number of adult kinds of fun events. Landing on a square in the center circle means you have to match one of the activities you did in the Learning Circle. Since we had been playing mostly math games during the evening, what math activity matched with a future event? Perhaps the math activity you planned in the Learning Circle will help with the future wedding by figuring out the catering bills or get you through the taxes you need to pay by April 15. Four chips to each person who can make the match.
The winner is the one with the most chips after someone matches all their Learning Circle activities with a future event.
Two sets of parents tried out the game and made suggestions. I decided it must have been a hit because there was a great deal of laughter from their direction. I got some good suggestions to make it easier to play, but both evenings the comments were good.
If games work, I hope this one helps parents and kids see how their learning in school and at home really does make a difference in their adult life. Maybe I should have included things like what would help when your car breaks down or the price of gas goes up to $4.00 a gallon. It’s math, but nahhhh. Why bring up ALL the stuff they get to deal with as adults. I think we’ll wait and let them figure those things out when they get there.
My thanks to the game players at Fowler: Inderjit Bopoarai, Gus Del Toro, Nirmaljit Gill, Adrian Ruiz, Christina Ruiz, Karmjit Ball, Maria Garcia, and Idalia Peña. And a special thanks to Magdalena Zorita who attended all six of the workshops for her two children.
Posted by Dr Joni at 04:16 PM
April 01, 2008
Quicker Than Dad
Carmen Rose age, a 16-month-old half-back, tried outflanking her Dad to get to the glass cups sitting on the shelf at Barnes and Noble. A fake to the left and a quick shift to the right failed to move Dad from her path. Not to be deterred she tried the next opening, running through his legs.
David laughed as he scooped her up and put her back in her high chair, but even bit of a muffin couldn’t keep her from exploring. It wasn’t five minutes before she wanted down to explore again. Jessica, her mom, explained that she was the youngest of four and the one most likely to keep on trying even when the other kids would have given up. Mom and Dad both mentioned that Carmen had quite a vocabulary for her age and just that morning had very clearly said, “I love you.” I heard the words or at least the utterances most children at this age hear most “uh-uh.” In case you haven’t been around almost two-year-olds lately, that’s the early form of NO.
Children have few words available at this age, but don’t sell them short on what they are learning. Carmen touched everything in her reach; the table, chair, and the handcart for the books. The cups on the shelf continued to be on her list even if she couldn’t get around Dad fast enough to get to them.
Learning comes through two major modes, experience and words. Carmen needs the experience of what she touches, hears and sees. For example, she needs to touch the book cart, feel it, look at it, watch someone use it, and try it herself. She needs to experience all parts of it. Then she needs to have words to go with it. “Carmen, this is called a cart. It’s a green color. The cart carries the books or things that are heavy. See the girls carrying the books on the cart…”
No, she won’t get all of the words, but she will get some this time. When she hears them again, she’ll get more. The third and fourth time she sees a cart and hears the words, she’ll get more. It won’t be long before she will say the word cart when she sees it and because she’s had experience with it, she’ll know what it does.
Carmen is 16 months old and just beginning the process of building a working vocabulary. Watch out, it won’t be long before she’ll be talking her Dad out of the car keys and her Mom into a new dress for the prom.
Posted by Dr Joni at 06:33 PM