Thursday, September 14, 2006
Making kids light up with joy
I was reading an article in a local paper here in West Chester, Ohio. The story told about a high school senior who spent her summer dancing in shows at nearby King's Island. Last year she danced next to SpongeBob in a parade; this year she reprieved that role and also danced in a School of Rock show. At one point in the article, she mentioned how good it made her feel when she saw how excited the little kids got.
Not to take away from her generous, caring spirit, but it made me sad to think that little kids are getting excited about Sponge Bob. Or Elmo. Or Mickey Mouse. Or Dora. Or any other TV character.
When I was a kid, I got excited over swallowtail butterflies, foxes, deer, especially deer with fawns, the view from the top of a mountain, the sounds and sights of a rushing creek. I was thrilled when I held a tiny tree frog in my palm, caught fireflies in the bluing dusk, or leaped into a rustling pile of crisp fall leaves. I loved to go apple picking and make fresh applesauce. I love kneading bread and watching it rise in a slow oven. I like sitting in our living room, listening to classical music while my mother, father and I read, or played Scrabble.
Almost all my best, fondest memories, my most excited moments center around nature, family and friends.
None of them feature commercial products/personalities like Sponge Bob or Mickey Mouse.
I'm pretty sure my kids memories are going to be similar to mine. I only hope the same can be said for the majority of their peers. I worry instead, that their lives have been commericialized from infancy, to the point that they won't be able to discriminate between things of value, and things that are designed simply to make money for someone else. ¶ 12:48 PM
Not to take away from her generous, caring spirit, but it made me sad to think that little kids are getting excited about Sponge Bob. Or Elmo. Or Mickey Mouse. Or Dora. Or any other TV character.
When I was a kid, I got excited over swallowtail butterflies, foxes, deer, especially deer with fawns, the view from the top of a mountain, the sounds and sights of a rushing creek. I was thrilled when I held a tiny tree frog in my palm, caught fireflies in the bluing dusk, or leaped into a rustling pile of crisp fall leaves. I loved to go apple picking and make fresh applesauce. I love kneading bread and watching it rise in a slow oven. I like sitting in our living room, listening to classical music while my mother, father and I read, or played Scrabble.
Almost all my best, fondest memories, my most excited moments center around nature, family and friends.
None of them feature commercial products/personalities like Sponge Bob or Mickey Mouse.
I'm pretty sure my kids memories are going to be similar to mine. I only hope the same can be said for the majority of their peers. I worry instead, that their lives have been commericialized from infancy, to the point that they won't be able to discriminate between things of value, and things that are designed simply to make money for someone else. ¶ 12:48 PM
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nuh-uh you did NOT go there! Dora and Spongebob ROCK.
On a side note, I would have been dern excited over Sesame Street Characters and the Thunder Cats, and I don't suffer much from either (except for the occasional "HOOOOO!")
On a side note, I would have been dern excited over Sesame Street Characters and the Thunder Cats, and I don't suffer much from either (except for the occasional "HOOOOO!")
I feel the same way. Granted, I didn't have the good fortune of growing up near a mountain, or a rushing creek. But the relatively urban setting of my own childhood did include about three acres of woods.
That meant a walk of but a few minutes would immerse me in those woods, and three acres were plenty big enough for a kid's imagination to go crazy. Most of my formative time was spent there.
We live in a regular neighborhood now, and it is much harder to be spontaneous with our quests into nature, but we try to do our best with our two kids.
Speaking of kids:
Joshua (our five-year-old) has actually started doing some semi-autonomous orienteering! I drew an O-map of our house and yard, complete with trees, fences, bushes, etc. Joshua understands what the various symbols represent, and can orient the map correctly (using his eyes - we're not using a compass) and can show me his approximate location on the map.
I started by hiding a baseball somewhere in the yard, and then coming back to Joshua and marking his map with a circle. Then he'd march off and find the baseball.
Then I tried giving him a actual "course", by hiding five baseballs, and marking circles and a sequence on the map. With some shadowing and coaching, he would make it through and find all the balls.
Granted, he's using his familiarity with our yard to help him understand what the map is trying to say (rather than the other way around), but I'm so proud of him.
Sorry about the tangent, but I figured you'd appreciate that story!
That meant a walk of but a few minutes would immerse me in those woods, and three acres were plenty big enough for a kid's imagination to go crazy. Most of my formative time was spent there.
We live in a regular neighborhood now, and it is much harder to be spontaneous with our quests into nature, but we try to do our best with our two kids.
Speaking of kids:
Joshua (our five-year-old) has actually started doing some semi-autonomous orienteering! I drew an O-map of our house and yard, complete with trees, fences, bushes, etc. Joshua understands what the various symbols represent, and can orient the map correctly (using his eyes - we're not using a compass) and can show me his approximate location on the map.
I started by hiding a baseball somewhere in the yard, and then coming back to Joshua and marking his map with a circle. Then he'd march off and find the baseball.
Then I tried giving him a actual "course", by hiding five baseballs, and marking circles and a sequence on the map. With some shadowing and coaching, he would make it through and find all the balls.
Granted, he's using his familiarity with our yard to help him understand what the map is trying to say (rather than the other way around), but I'm so proud of him.
Sorry about the tangent, but I figured you'd appreciate that story!
# posted by 
: 1:56 PM
: 1:56 PM
Hey Eric! It's great to hear from you and what a wonderful story about Joshua (who is still known around our house as Buj, from the days he was a toddler and answered every question put to him by my kids with the word "Buj.")
Anyway, that's a wonderful way to introduce a kid to orienteering. I'm a big believer in map reading, rather than compass work as the essential skill in orienteering. The compass should be a backup and a confirmer, rather than the primary tool. And how clever of you to use something he is excited about finding as a "control." Makes orienteering into a really fun game. I'm thinking you ought to write your experiences up for ONA or one of the other orienteering magazines.
Unfortunately, with this danged sprained ankle, it's going to be a while before I can investigate the Cincinnati orienterring scene. :(
Pamela
Anyway, that's a wonderful way to introduce a kid to orienteering. I'm a big believer in map reading, rather than compass work as the essential skill in orienteering. The compass should be a backup and a confirmer, rather than the primary tool. And how clever of you to use something he is excited about finding as a "control." Makes orienteering into a really fun game. I'm thinking you ought to write your experiences up for ONA or one of the other orienteering magazines.
Unfortunately, with this danged sprained ankle, it's going to be a while before I can investigate the Cincinnati orienterring scene. :(
Pamela
Definitely agree about deemphasizing the compass work in teaching orienteering (and in practicing it, too!).
I just attended the OLOU meet at Cherokee Park this past Saturday, and they had five buses of JROTC cadets in attendance. More than once, I came upon a group of cadets at a control, only to see one (or more) of them in the same pose: one knee on the ground, map on other thigh, compass on map, squinting closely at compass while turning capsule to find a bearing.
It killed me to see them wasting all that time fiddling with toys, when they should have been using their eyes to see where to go next. In terrain as feature-laden as the midwest typically offers, there's no reason to rely on a compass to figure out how to exit a control.
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I just attended the OLOU meet at Cherokee Park this past Saturday, and they had five buses of JROTC cadets in attendance. More than once, I came upon a group of cadets at a control, only to see one (or more) of them in the same pose: one knee on the ground, map on other thigh, compass on map, squinting closely at compass while turning capsule to find a bearing.
It killed me to see them wasting all that time fiddling with toys, when they should have been using their eyes to see where to go next. In terrain as feature-laden as the midwest typically offers, there's no reason to rely on a compass to figure out how to exit a control.
# posted by : 3:07 PM
: 3:07 PM<< Home
