Ms. B’s Thoughts

Last night I spent an amazing evening with my seven year old.  Thanks to their adoring grandparents, my sons were off for a sleep over so it was just a “girl’s night” for McKenna and I.  We just hung out at home, her on a laptop checking in with her Webkinz, typing her spelling list on Google docs, (and highlighting each word in alternating colors), and visiting Panwapa to see where in the world she could travel.  I checked email, read a few feeds, saw that our Google Teacher Academy site was back up and running and read some twitter chatter.  After about an hour, we had some dinner.  The spelling list had spurred me on to check out online sites that she could visit to practice her spelling words…of course there are many out there, but I wanted one that you could enter your own words…and I found a few, nothing earth shattering, but fun enough. I thought of creating her own del.icio.us account, but my friends are worried enough about my techno craziness and figured that there was a better way to help her organize her web-world.

I had a brainstorm.

A wiki.

So with my daughter snuggled next to me on the couch,  I created a wiki: The VanAbel Kid’s LOVE TO LEARN! I uploaded pictures, images, linked to their elementary school, changed the “look and feel” of the wiki and made each of them their own page.  She was mesmerized.  Let me try! So I slid the laptop over to her.  She typed her own information in and included a comment about a future career in art.  We linked to her favorite pages and her blog and gmail account.  I know some of my friends would just chuckle and roll their eyes, but seriously…she is like a sponge and just loves to do this stuff!

It was getting late, so to wrap it all up we went over to Youtube and found a few videos…VanGogh, Picasso and a PBS video on the creation of the Solar System.  Each were just 2-3 minutes in length, but we watched the VanGogh and Picasso ones twice…her comments were priceless…it was a mother moment I’m not likely to forget.  That one is in the hallway at school. (Starry Night)  She had comments for many others.  I saw that one in Little Einsteins!  Look at the swirly, silvery clouds!  That one is silly!  Picasso is kind of different, Mom!  All from a very short glimpse of art.  Sure…we could have done the same thing with a book.  And I probably will get her one…(my home does not LACK books as they are stashed in every corner, bin and basket!), but the engagement and attention grabbing that initially caught her attention, was the musical video of the artwork…the presentation!

We put the computer away and got into our jammies.  We snuggled and read a few chapters of The Talented Clementine” by Sara Pennypacker.  A delightfully funny read.  I tucked her in and sang her her lullaby as she snuggled with Peanut, her blue elephant.

Even though I had pulled a total of 8 worksheets from backpacks afterschool, I am becoming more comfortable with the fact that the learning environment in our home is going to fill in the gaps missing in their formal education.

I am one lucky lady.