A Loud Bang

As a kid, I used to fold up a piece of paper a certain way to create a "paper banger" that would make a loud bang when I whipped the paper downward. I forgot how to fold the "paper banger," so I had to refresh my memory by looking at the instruction book from Professor Proton's Fun Lab kit. The kids had a lot of fun with their paper banger tonight. They kept telling my wife and I to pretend we were sleeping so they could make a big bang to wake us up. I warned them not to wake me up with any paper "bangs" when I slept. I hope I impressed on them the fact that my wife and I really did not want them running to our bedroom in the middle of the night to try out their "paper banger." We'll see.

Reading A Story

My daughter read tonight's bedtime story. She read How Much, How Many, How Far, How Heavy, How Long, How Tall Is 1000? by Helen Nolan and Tracy Walker. My daughter just volunteered to read for us. This was not the first time. She reads every now and then. Every time she does, I am very happy because it tells me she likes to read and is not afraid to read in front of others. I believe that all children should be given the opportunity to learn to read and to read often. Reading helps them learn, grow, and develop. So kids--read, read, and read some more.

Planes

We created planes tonight. We used colored paper to create all kinds of planes to fly. Some flew straight and some flew in a curve. They wanted to build planes with a sharp tip. I said yes and warned them to not fly them at people because this could poke a person's eye. I wanted to explain to the kids the aerodynamics of flight, but realized I did not have the energy at night to fully elaborate on gravity, high and low pressure areas around the wings, and other related issues. So we just made the planes and flew them and enjoyed the experience of paper-plane flying despite not understanding the mechanisms of flight.

The Universe

The kids listened attentively as I read The Universe (by Scholastic) for their bedtime story. The book discussed the big bang, the solar system, Earth, and the moon. The kids liked the graphics and the pictures. I liked the fact that they were interested in astronomy. As a kid, I loved astronomy. I loved reading about the sun, the moon, the Earth, the stars, the constellations, the entire universe.

I still recall being a child in some office somewhere pulling a magazine off the rack and reading it. I forget the name of the magazine, but it talked about the life cycle of our sun and how it was billions of years old. The sun would continue to age, shifting from a young star to an old star that would flare up and destroy the planets and finally explode and shed all of its surface material with only a core remnant remaining. I recall the wonderful graphics depicting each stage of the sun's growth, and how entranced I was by the graphics and the wondrous knowledge of the great drama that the sun would undergo. I did not become an astronomer, but the love of astronomy remains with me still. Maybe my kids will be astronomers, but if not, they can still love astronomy.

Miscommunication

As I listened to my daughter practice her violin, my young son began talking to me. He was reading his dinosaur book and asked me, "Do you know what a dead dinosaur is?" I replied, "What?" I thought his response was, "Stink." Thinking he said this, I agreed with him and told him that yes, dead dinosaurs are stinky. My wife overhead this conversation and stated emphatically that I needed to listen to my son's answer again. The second time around, I finally realized my son's answer to the dead dinosaur question was "extinct." I said, "Yes, yes, you are right!" I also thought that this was a pretty big word for a four-year-old, and if a dinosaur book helped him learn big words, then he could read his dinosaur books as often as he desires.

Abacus

Grandpa today taught my son how to use the abacus, something I do not know how to do. My son was so excited he eagerly showed Mom when she got home. He knows how to move the beads to represent certain numbers without being able to use those numbers to perform calculations. But that is still more than what I can do.

The abacus represents "old" technology. New technology is calculators and computers. But new technology does not just appear out of thin air. The old leads to the new. The past shapes the present. What came before determines what is. So the old is the precursor to new. The abacus, then, was a prior stage in the development of what we have now.

French Toast

Breakfast this morning was French toast, along with milk, blueberries, and kids' vitamins. I made the French toast by beating two eggs in a shallow bowl, placing both sides of the bread slices onto the bowl to soak up the beaten eggs, and cooking both sides of the egg-soaked bread on medium heat. The kids ate it all up.

I made a point of cooking French toast this morning because my daughter swims and I want her to have sufficient protein to sustain her during her strenuous swimming practices. A breakfast with eggs (and milk) should help provide a diet that meets a swimmer's nutritional needs.

An American Song

During dinner tonight at Sweet Tomatoes, I asked my kids if they sang My Country, 'Tis of Thee at school. My kids said no, although they did say the Pledge of Allegiance, they told me. My wife added that when she substitute teaches at public schools, the students also do not sing My Country, 'Tis of Thee at school (and that some do not even say the Pledge of Allegiance).

I then sang My Country, 'Tis of Thee to my kids and told them I used to sing it as a first- and second-grader in a public elementary school named Jean Parker in San Francisco. I still retain this memory of being in my Jean Parker schoolroom at the end of the school day with the sun shining brightly through the windows. We had just placed our chairs on our desks to make it easier for the janitor to sweep the floors. We then stood by our desk, placed our hands on our hearts, faced the U.S. flag at the front of the room near the teacher's desk, and together sang My Country, 'Tis of Thee as the last final act before being dismissed from class.

That simple act remains with me today. The lyrics remain with me today. The part of the song that says, "Land where my fathers died, Land of the Pilgrims' Pride," remains with me today. That sense of being a part of something larger, which I felt even as a child, remains with me today. It would be a good thing for our students today to sing this song. I'll continue to sing this song with my kids so that they will learn this song.

My Country, 'Tis of Thee

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From every mountainside

Let freedom ring!

(above lyrics copied from Wikipedia; song written by Samuel Francis Smith)

Microphones

My son and I attended "Storytime" at our local library where the kids listened to stories and sang songs. After the stories and songs, the kids had craft time. Today's craft was making a microphone using foil paper, toilet paper rolls, and paper streamers. As usual, my son asked me if he could make an extra craft for his sister. I of course said yes. It is heartening to see that he cares enough about his sister to want to make her a craft. They have their moments when they argue. But cooperation rather than conflict is the norm in their relationship at the moment. My wife and I hope to keep it that way into the future.

Calculator

My son wanted me place a new battery in an electronic calculator he recently found in a desk drawer. I was not thinking about the battery, but about the memories associated with the calculator. It had belonged to my brother until he gave it to me many, many years ago, perhaps over two decades ago. It is a TI-25 made by Texas Instruments. I do not even know if Texas Instruments is still around. (Yes it is. I just read the Wikipedia article on Texas Instrument that says it is one of the major semiconductor manufacturers.) I just remember Texas Instruments being a big, if not the biggest, manufacturer of electronic calculators during a time when having one was all the rage during the 70's and 80's. I, like everyone else, wanted one, and I eventually had several including my brother's TI-25. Now, after a simple battery replacement, I will pass it on to my son.

Upside Down

Tonight's dinner included chicken strips and ketchup (by Organics). But the ketchup container is the type that is placed upside down making the top cover act as the bottom so that the ketchup flows down to the cover thus making it easy for a person to squeeze ketchup out. This way, the user does not need to bang the container to force the ketchup down as would occur in a regular container where the top is the top and the ketchup settles to the bottom.

My four-year-old son could not figure it out and kept placing the container in the traditional position and I had to reposition it. I had to explain to him that the container was designed to be placed upside down. But this appears counterintuitive to a young child who is used to seeing similarly-shaped containers placed right-side up with the cover on top. This shows the power of habit, familiarity, and ingrained perceptions. We see what we see in part because we are shaped by what we have seen before. It appears we do create frameworks and models and modes of perception that regulate what we see. Only with effort do we see beyond our established modes of perception, and thereby see that upside down ketchup container as it really is.

Wrestling

My young son's current indoor fun activity is wrestling with me. Whenever there is a spare moment, he will say, "Let's wrestle, Dad." What can I say? Of course I will wrestle with my son. While laughing, he will run full speed at me and push me and I will pretend to be knocked over. Then we wrestle on the floor. He is still laughing.

My daughter heard us wrestling tonight and asked to wrestle also. I said, "Sure." So tonight, just before bedtime, all three of us wrestled while Mom watched from the sidelines, waiting for the kids to wear themselves out just in time for bed.

Fun Day

Presidents Day means "no school" for kids. I still had to work, so my wife was with the kids all day. They first got a haircut, then off to the mall for lunch, followed by a birthday party at Pump It Up where kids get to romp and roam in a building full of big inflatable play structures. Kids always have fun with these big inflatable play structures.

But parents have to be wary of big kids or adults on the play structures because I recall a news story involving an adult who injured a child when the adult bounced off the play structure onto a small child. This should not have occurred. That adult should have known better. Thus, as always, parents have to constantly be vigilant in protecting their children against harm, even in seemingly safe locations such as children's play areas.

Science

Mom and daughter took time to go downtown together today, so I (Dad) and son spent time together too. At the mall, we got a balloon, ate ice cream, and sipped some complimentary tea. Then we headed to the bookstore where we looked at books and eventually purchased Professor Proton's Fun Lab at a discount.

This purchase is part of my effort to get my kids to like science and the study of science. I especially want my daughter to be exposed to science because of lingering societal gender bias that might cause girls even in twenty-first century America to feel they are not qualified to be in certain fields. I hope that my daughter, and indeed, all girls everywhere, believe that they are fully capable anywhere at any time in any field, including the field of science.

With Professor Proton's Fun Lab, my kids and I learned about air pressure by blowing up balloons and letting them deflate to propel a paper roll on a string. Then we learned about electricity by creating a buzzer (door bell) using a piece of cardboard, batteries, and equipment supplied by the Fun Lab. All in all, having fun with science was a good way to end the weekend.

Chevy's

What was intended to be a Valentine's dinner for two turned into a Valentine's dinner with the kids after grandma (our babysitter) got sick. With insufficient time to find another babysitter, we decided to just do a family dinner.

When dining out with kids, I look for kid-friendly establishments. We like Chevy's because it gives dough to kids to play with. My kids love kneading the dough. During tonight's dinner, my son molded the dough into some sort of animal. My daughter shaped the dough to create pizza dough. They were happily shaping their dough until dinner arrived. As a parent, keeping the kids occupied while waiting for food is critically important. Dinner is so much more enjoyable with kids who are engaged in a constructive way than with kids who are whining and out of control. Tonight's dinner was enjoyable.

Auction

I attended an auction fundraiser for my daughter's school. It was a well-planned event with the kids serving dessert treats to the guests and plenty of worthwhile items to bid on during the silent and live auction. Some of the most sought-after items were crafts and tables created by the students. One item that sold well was a full-course Italian dinner extravaganza that would be prepared for the winning bidder. It was a lot of fun.

I wonder, though, if these auctions can sometimes generate friction, as when two people want the same silent auction item and compete by hovering over that item; or perhaps when during the live auction two people compete a bit too fiercely and only one win, thus creating perceptions of "winners" and "losers." I am sure these situations can occur. But for the most part, these auction fundraisers are needed to provide adequate funding for schools. If it helps the kids, then I am all for it.

A Little Chat

During our morning ride as I drove my son to his preschool class, I talked with him about "frost." It was a cold morning with frost on the windows of cars and roofs of houses. I asked my son if he could see the frost. He said, "Yes." I explained to him that frost occurred when the temperature was low, and that frost was similar to snow. I asked him if he knew the song "Frosty the Snowman." He said, "No." It was not an extended discussion because it was a short drive to his preschool. But I am glad even for such a short discussion.

I recall television commercials that showed parents with their kids during moments in life such as driving in a car or eating breakfast together. But these were silent moments where the parents and kids never talked with each other. The commercials always ended with a comment that these were wasted moments that could have been used by the parents to talk with their kids about important issues. These commercials made a valid point. Parents need to talk with their kids. I plan on doing so.

Chicken and Apple

For food variety, I heated up some "Organic Chicken and Apple Sausages" by Organics. Combining chicken and apple seems like a strange mix, but the tantalizing combination was what caught my eyes in the supermarket. The fact that the ingredients were organic also made me receptive to trying out these sausages. Moreover, chicken and apples seem like wholesome food when compared to pork. For all these reasons, I tried these sausages for dinner, and my kids enjoyed these "hot dogs" (the term I used to describe these sausages to my kids). With little grease, little preparation time needed, and more nutrition than regular sausages, these non-traditional "hot dogs" made for a nice, enjoyable dinner.

A Round

My wife is the musically-inclined person in the family. She studied and plays the piano. I, in my younger days, strummed a guitar (and not very well). My lack of musical inclination probably accounts for the dearth of musical activities that I engage my kids in at home. To make up for this, I suggested to my young son tonight that we should sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as a round. He did not want to, and made only a half-hearted attempt after some urging from me. My daughter was more receptive to my idea, and in fact, she enjoyed the singing because she was laughing and chortling at my attempts to sing with her. After a bit of singing, she introduced me to a new song with the following lyrics:

Make new friends
and keep the old,
some are silver
and some are gold.

Maybe I learned this as a kid and forgot it as an adult. In any case, I was glad I learned (or re-learned) something from my child.

Feeling Down

This blog makes up for yesterday when I missed writing the blog because everyone in the family was sick and I barely had time to work and come home to get the kids to bed. During the winter period when kids get sick and need to stay inside, my wife and I allow the kids more computer time to make up for the lack of outdoor time. One computer site with some games suitable for my kids is www.agkidzone.com. As usual, my wife and I have to review the various games to ensure they are appropriate for my children's age. Once we do find an age-appropriate game, it keeps the kids interested for a short period and this can be so helpful when I have to run around the house to clean up or cook or do the laundry or a host of other duties.

Puzzle

With the kids (and mom) sick, everyone stayed inside to rest and recuperate. The challenge then is to keep the kids sufficiently occupied when everyone is stuck inside the house. One activity the kids enjoyed was putting together the pieces for the huge Children of the World floor puzzle. I like this puzzle because it is circular like the world and teaches the kids the various countries and flags of the world.

Games and toys that help teach kids about the world are increasingly important as the pace of globalization quickens. As countries and people become more interdependent, we need to understand who are the people that we increasingly depend on (and vice versa). A type of mutual self-interest, then, is a reason for knowing who else is on this globe. But putting aside mutual self-interest, there is another reason for knowing our global neighbors, and that reason is understanding--knowing who are the peoples of the world just to understand more fully who they are, where they reside, how they live, and what they do. Pure understanding might not produce a practical benefit, but it central to who we are as humans. A person needs to connect to other people. Understanding that other person allows us to connect to that person. As the world gets smaller, we need to understand more.

Marbles

My kids and I added to our origami repertoire by attending the "Origami Extravaganza" at Graham's Book and Stationary in Lake Oswego where we practiced making windmills, boats, and balls using paper. An added bonus was seeing the largest paper crane in Lake Oswego hanging right outside the entrance to the store.

Before leaving, I picked up a book about marbles (with marbles included) for my son and we all played marbles at home. I told my son and daughter I used to play marbles as a child in San Francisco. We used to draw a chalk circle on the sidewalk, spread the marbles out within the circle, choose our favorite marble and use it to knock out marbles one by one. Today at home, I placed a plastic hula hoop on the wood floor, placed the marbles within, and with our favorite marble took turns knocking the marbles around. But what the kids had most fun with was taking the marbles and flinging them so that they whizzed around the inside of the hula hoop. They did this for a long time. This is not playing marbles, I thought. But who am I to determine for all ages how kids should play with marbles. That they just play and laugh and giggle is more important, I suspect.

Tofu

I knew my son was not feeling well when he said he did not want to eat anything for breakfast. He likes food and eats a lot unlike some children who eat very little. With the onset of cold symptoms, though, he did not want to eat anything. Tonight, I made some chicken soup with a bit of vegetables, tofu, and chicken potstickers. I thought he would eat the potstickers, but to my surprise, he ate all the tofu. I think when a person gets sick, bland food is more appealing than food full of spices and flavoring. Whatever the reason, I am fine with his continued eating of tofu because it is healthy food that is full of protein.

Teaching

My grade-school daughter went to her pre-school brother's class today to play the violin for his classmates. I told her that she was a "teacher" today because she taught her "students" what a violin is and how to play it. Such instances when a young child instructs younger children are "growing up" moments that help the young child learn important lessons about teaching, mentoring, and leadership. But the benefits extend from the child (teacher) to the children (students) because children who see a peer assuming a leadership role realize that they too can assume a leadership role and are inspired by the peer leader. Peer motivation through example can be quite effective at times. So letting kids teach kids can be an effective teaching model.

Puppy Phonics

My son insisted on showing me his Puppy Phonics game he received yesterday. I was heartened to see that he wanted to play the game. I am quite sure that there are many more learning games than there are kids who want to play them. But my son wanted to play this learning game. It's a board game with a spinner containing vowels and if the spin lands on a particular vowel (such as the "e"), then the little doggy figure is moved to a word containing the "e" vowel.

It is sometimes a challenge to limit the time the kids spend playing online games on the computer. But with learning games such as Puppy Phonics that are also educational, the challenge can be more easily met. Of course, it helps if the board game relates to something the child already likes. My son likes puppies, so with a game called Puppy Phonics, it is a sure bet that my child will want to play it.

Fun and Learning

My wife and I love books, and we try to instill this into our kids. Rather than buying another toy, at times, we will instead buy them a book. Today, my wife got a WordGirl book for our daughter. I like Wordgirl a lot because she is a superheroine based on words. The plots includes words like "lexicon." My daughter enjoys reading Wordgirl books (and at times watching the Wordgirl cartoon), and my wife and I are thrilled that she is doing something she enjoys while learning at the same time.

For our son, my wife got him a Puppy Phonics board game. He didn't get a chance to play with it because it was nearing bedtime. But he will probably want to play with it the first thing in the morning tomorrow. He loves dogs, so the combination of "dogs" and "phonics" will go well together to create the "fun" and "learning" combination that I like so much.

A Simple Sandwich

I grew up eating peanut butter. It seems so American like mom and apple pie. But nowadays, with all the fears about peanut butter allergies and food poisoning from tainted peanut butter, my wife and I look for peanut-butter alternatives for my kids. One we found is almond butter. I made my kids an almond butter and jam sandwich and the kids loved it. Almond butter on bread is a low-sugar snack, and almond butter seems to be a good source of protein. There are probably more peanut-butter alternatives out there, and the next time I shop, I'll look for them. For now, though, my kids are happy with almond butter and so I'm happy.

Web Games

My wife and I narrow what our kids can do on the computer. They can, for example, write using Word or Wordperfect on the computer. If they want to play games, we monitor what sites they can go to. One site we allow them access to is PBS Kids that contains games such as Wordgirl and Clifford.

But because they say variety is the spice of life, I thought I would see if there was another family-friendly website for the kids. I found Qubo.com that also offers many online games. When I saw that VeggieTales games were included, I felt this site probably contained games my young kids could play. They had a great time playing Duke and the Great Pie War.

I limit the time they can stay online because I want them to do other things that actually involve face-time with other people. They would miss so much of what life involves (e.g., connecting, bonding, friendship) if they were glued to the computer screen day in and day out. At the same time, though, I do want to acquaint them with the computer and the opportunities created by the computer such as comprehensive research into vast databases, easy document creation, and inexpensive communication across great distances. The computer, like many other things, can be a boon or a bane. Our role as parents is to ensure the computer is a boon for our kids.