Anne:
Jake picked up some Sculpey today at the art store downtown. He hasn't worked with it in YEARS and it was great to see him excited and inspired, expanding his art world in yet another way (he's rarely *not* excited and inspired, come to think of it...)...
I remembered that I still had some of his earlier creations (Pokemon)...from about 8 or 9 years ago...
Some are missing limbs and/or ears (poor Surfing Pikachu!), but they're still wonderful!
. . . .
Sam is Mr. Monopoly. I could tell he was needing some connection time with me today, so I suggested we play. It sure didn't take long before his *tycoon* side emerged and he was putting Jake and I into poverty. Jake and I had enough and left the game...Sam continued to play for all three of us, later relaying tales to us of not only the moves we made, but the things we said...(he's so freakin' funny...)...
It's a Joy for me to see my kids play this game, to do the math easily and without fear or intimidation, in their heads...without ever having been *schooled* in math...EVER. Math is just a part of their lives, a part of our world. It's impossible to *not* learn it, unless you make it extremely boring and rote by putting it in a workbook that has no relevance to a child's real life in any way.
I can't say where my kids learned their math skills...because when you're a part of the real world, living a full, rich life, the learning can't NOT happen. The learning just happens. It happens when they play their video games, when we're grocery shopping, when we're talking about plans and dreams... Math is in the real world everywhere, in our lives every day, and this is how we ALL learn how to REALLY use it...by living with it.
All is well.
