Saturday, February 18, 2012

Relaxed Learning

We have a somewhat relaxed approach to learning in our house. Perhaps it's because I'm an Aspie and seem to have a very difficult time keeping us on any type of schedule. Throw into this mix my 10 year old Aspie and two allergic to work teenagers.

Of course, my kids are required to do a certain amount of school "work" each day. But the majority of their time is their own. Probably too much of their time is their own. How do they spend all that free time? Mostly on games, either on the TV or on the computer. Some of their favorites include, Minecraft, Little Big Planet 2 and Team Fortress 2. RoboBoy has a passion for origami. He loves to go to specific channels on YouTube to learn new techniques.

With all this gaming they do, it's a wonder to me sometimes to hear them come out with things that I'm at a loss to figure out where in the world they learned THAT? I've heard it said that kids have a natural curiosity. I believe it! My daughter has pursued, on her own, a study of Greek Mythology. If I had forced this on her, she never would have learned half as much as she has chosen to learn all on her own!

It cracks me up and puts me in awe when they use big words and use them in the correct context! I suppose they get a lot of that from me. I've always used big words and didn't stop just because I had kids. When they were little, I often had to stop and explain to them what a word meant. Now I hear them saying things like, "I'm exponentially bored!!!" Wow! That's what I call bored!

Now that we are looking at entering the high school years, which I have no doubt will pass in the speed of a blink, I'm beginning to think that games are the way to prepare them for the SAT! Yes, there are such animals as SAT games! If only I could find a way to turn cleaning their rooms into a computer game!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Even tonight my daughter told me that she was feeling peckish when I asked her why she was eating a slice of bologna shortly after dinner. I asked her where she learned the term "peckish" which she had indeed used correctly. She couldn't tell me where she'd learned it. No wonder I often find myself asking my kids, "How did you get to be so smart??"