A Love of Learning: Born or Bred?
Sometimes I wonder if I’m overthinking this whole parenting thing. Either that or my parents didn’t give a crap. No… I don’t mean that. Not really. But seriously, am I overthinking this?
Since I took a left turn down onto homeschool lane I’m constantly second-guessing myself, or wondering how I can do a better job.
Part of me is all “Come on, if I’m in charge we’ve gotta knock this stuff out of the park!”
Then the other side of me is saying “No no, a big reason we’re doing this our way is to have more freedom and flexibility, slow your roll lady!”
I want to make learning fun, and help nourish a love of learning in my kids, but that’s also a lot of pressure to put on myself. So I’m just trying my best and coming to grips with the fact that some days, it might just not be as fun; but whenever possible, I want to make it enjoyable.
It’s great when we hit a breakthrough and I find a new way to teach something that’s otherwise boring. Whether it’s reading practice or counting to 100 I’ve found sometimes it’s all about the approach. Instead of just practicing reading sight words off a card, if I turn it into a “capture the card” game, all of a sudden it’s exciting for my daughter. When counting, if I have her shout out the number every time she finishes writing a row of 10, writing to 100 isn’t tedious, it’s fun. Throw in some stickers and she’s in heaven.
I guess the creators of the Code-a-pillar had that in mind when they developed a toy about coding.
My kids have adopted this thing as a new pet. It’s a toy but they’ve named her Calli. She’s a Code-a-pillar from Fisher-Price. It didn’t take long for my kids to figure out how she moves according to the order of her pieces. Well, it didn’t take my daughter long. My son throws a fit every time she takes it apart and hurries to reassemble her.
We have a fair share of toys, some of them educational because of tools like letter recognition, others are helpful for learning life skills, and this is a fun in between.
“Let’s get Snoop!” Lil’ J plotted yesterday evening.
Getting on the floor and playing with my kids, designating Snoop as the target then watching my daughter program the code-a-pillar to circle around the carpet and up to our unsuspecting pup–That’s fun learning.
Fisher-Price sent us the toy to try, but we were having so much fun with it went online and ordered extension pieces on our own so we could have her take longer courses and make full 360 turns.
I watch as my daughter uses her hands to outline a path she’s pictured in her mind. I’m amazed at her little mind hard at work. I’m impressed at the beginning stages of coding she’s learning. I mean who knows… Maybe some day she will create the next virtual reality app craze that brings back a fad from the 90s.
Three decades into life I still absolutely love learning. I love history, learning languages, studying cultures, religions, and plotting to learn piano. I’m forever curious. I’ve been this way for as long as I can remember so I don’t know if that’s just my makeup or if it can be taught.–But I want that for my kids. I want them to feast on knowledge and enjoy studying new things and I’m thankful for tools and techniques that help make developing the love of learning easier.
I may be overthinking some parenting decisions but this is one effort I think is worth it.
Learning about the world around us is so important and making it enjoyable for my kids is something I’m passionate about, which is why I partnered with Fisher-Price on this post. All opinions are my own.
Tags: Fisher-Price, homeschooling, learning, positive parenting
Never second guess yourself, we give our kids what they need. This looks like its really interactive, I think I will add it to my homeschool curriculum.
Great share, I think sometimes parents do over think things a bit. My perspective is I was supportive and their when my daughter needed me but education is individual I did my time her time was her own journey. I provided the tools she put in the work. We helped each other stay sane. I read to her while she was in my belly and played music through headphones. She had her own library from birth but all the extra programs etc…that wasn’t me. She was in gifted programs since kindergarten and went on to specialized H.S. I want to think it was a combination of several things not just one. Kids need to be kids and play even that is learning time. Finding a happy balance I say 🙂
You are so right Mari! I KNOW I overthink things. I want to make sure I’m giving her the education she needs but she’s a kid, and I don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on her to be someone she’s not. Thanks for helping keep me in check 🙂
This is adorable kids seem to love to p[lay with it and there learning at the same time. Wish i had when my kids were little ones.
I know! I’m so jealous of all the fun our kids get to have. They’re so spoiled.
I’m so curious to hear about your journey with homeschooling. I think my girls would love this code a pillar! Thanks for sharing!
I think your girls would love it too! And homeschooling has been an interesting adventure so far, but we’ve beginning to get the hang of it! I love it. I feel like you would too Ms. Travel!
Do you have to be a child to get one of these? I had to look it up after reading your article and it’s a fascinating toy. It is completely different than the caterpillar we had when I was a kid. As a former programmer, I never found it boring. I love that this teaches basic logic. What a great toy. If you are looking to further entrench your children in programming, be sure to check out Microsoft Kodu. It would be a great companion to this toy.
hahahaha! The recommended age is 3-6 but I totally think adults could have a blast playing with it on their own. I’m not gonna lie… I do. ha!
Great photos and I love the dog’s reaction!
My kids would love this. Playing and learning at the same time? Perfection.
Haha, he was like “what the heck is this?!” But at the same time so excited to have our attention. haha
You’re so sweet Linda. I try not to. Thank you!
I saw this code a pillar in the store and I totally am saving pennies to get it. I know my kids will love it.
I love the idea of introducing coding to little ones. This Fisher price toy seems like such a great gift. I bet my niece would love this.
I am keen to try homeschooling after reading your article. but I am still worried, whether the child will get what they should get, including the happiness they get outside.
i think adults will also enjoy this :)) i have 2 little 3years kids, i’ll buy them all these toys for sure. learning and playing at the same time is the greatest idea. thanks for your post.
The toy looks perfect. The design, color as if it is for adult too, I love it :)) A interesting way to learning code at home. Gonna buy this online. Thank you!
So happy to hear you like it too!
The toy look interesting. I bet even adults would love it too. I’m gonna give it a try. Anw, I believe you’re doing a good job so never wonder yourself. Keep going and enjoy your life. Thanks a lot for sharing.
You’re so sweet Lydia! Thank you so much!
Look the DOG’S is very funny ! The toys make me and my son laugh all the time. Thanks for sharing !
I love this! I didn’t realize it was for bigger kids. Actually, I did but I forgot. LOL I bought my daughter her first LEGO kit in an attempt to get her into legos because to me legos mean robotics. LOL This is gonna be next!
Yea! I am loving all techie toys for kids lately. It’s cool (and a little out of this world) to witness the kinds of things kids are learning these days!