I attempt to regularly ask my children the question, "What did you learn today?" I think by rephrasing the age-old question, "What did you do in school today?" this helps to create a continual environment of learning and education. If you've visited this blog more than once, you know that I firmly believe that education and learning is a lifestyle, and that it doesn't only happen at certain times of the day in certain locations. We all have an innate desire to learn and discover. My end-goal as a home educator is to foster within my children that love of learning for a lifetime.
As an experiment, for the month of November I asked my children the question, "What did you learn today?" and wrote down their responses. This took some organization and discipline on my part (something I learned !!), but I was excited to see how these 30 days would unfold for them. This post is a little longer than my usual posts, but I think you will enjoy some of their thoughts.
For reference, my son is 12 and my daughter will be 10 this Wednesday. Also it should be obvious, but I will mention that all of this was learned without my instruction.
1 - Him: Pyong An Oh Dan.
Her: How to make a spider out of pipe cleaners and beads.
2 - Him: Nate's airsoft gun really hurts.
Her: I need to point my toes more when I gallop.
3 - Him: When driving, you need to stay 4 seconds behind the car in front of you.
Her: What a fox really does say.
4 - Him: How to make a tripod.
Her: Vanilla is used to make chocolate.
5 - Him: I have enough money to buy an X-Box.
Her: I need to keep my foot flexed while tying my pointe shoes.
6 - Him: Paintball wars are very tiring.
Her: I learned how to memorize The Tale of Custard the Dragon.
7 - Him: I learned a new side-step defense when sparring.
Her: How to start a sentence with a subordinate clause.
8 - Him: The first half of Bassai.
Her: How to make sweet potato bread.
9 - Him: The second half of Bassai.
Her: There are 2720 calories in 3 pounds of bacon.
10 - Him: Raking leaves is not so bad.
Her: How to make a starburst bracelet.
11 - Both: WWI formally ended on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918.
12 - Him: How to play pinball on my DS.
Her: How to make a paleo sports drink with coconut water, molasses, and honey.
13 - Him: A musical sentence is called a phrase.
Her: The body's golden rectangle in dancing.
14 - Him: How to make a rocket out of vinegar, water, baking soda, a bottle and a cork.
Her: How to spell carnivore.
15 - Him: How to flip a 250 pound tire.
Her: How to scale an 8-foot wall.
16 - Him: I like buffalo chicken pizza.
Her: A peanut is not a nut.
17 - Him: I can find a wetsuit in a trashcan.
Her: How to make a pen doodle design.
18 - Him: How to make a tripod-frame tent.
Her: How to braid my hair with a flip-braid.
19 - Him: The Leaning Tower of Pisa leans 2 inches every year.
Her: How to dance a waltz.
20 - Him: The surface area of Asia is larger than the surface area of the moon.
Her: How to make a winter hat out of a sock for my dolls.
21 - Him: Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system.
Her: Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system.
22 - Him: Mt. Everest grows a 1/4" of an inch every year.
Her: A spitting cobra can spit venom 6 feet directly into its victims eyes.
23 - Him: How to spell obsidian.
Her: How to spell ivory.
24 - Him: Hummingbirds have really weak legs, which is why they always fly.
Her: Not to wear black clothes in a car with a white dog.
25 - Him: How to order a Butterbeer at Starbucks.
Her: More of Pahl Dan Kum Bong.
26 - Him: How scented Gothic banquet water fountains were used in medieval France.
Her: It takes two months to make a suit of armor, longer if it's decorated.
27 - Both: S'mores in the oven are better than s'mores over a campfire.
28 - Him: The Big Muskie mining machine weighed 27,000,000 pounds.
Her: While the Big Muskie was in operation it moved twice a much earth as the Panama Canal.
29 - Him: How to play The Arabian Dance from the Nutcracker.
Her: How to hook up the sewing machine.
30 - Him: How to adjust the hot water valve leading to the second bathroom.
Her: How to sew a pillow.
I am so going to do this, fabulous answers! I loved reading all their responses!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kia. The hardest part was remembering where I had written it all down. ;) Just have your daughter keep track of it herself. That's what I learned for next time !!
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