This week was the international mathematics competition in the Netherlands to which 4 million children worldwide participate. The name for this competition is the Kangaroo. On this map you can see what countries participate. For this occasion I thought maths puzzles would be in order. Many, many maths puzzles.
I don't know about you, but here, after January it is the start of trying to organize my house and especially the cupboards. I have children and the youngest is still at home and he is so full of initiative and exploration. I have cupboards with paint, materials, paper, wool, scissors, and much more... He can make such a tapestry of things, it is unbelievable. When I'm doing the laundry, he can disorganize more than I can organize.
Okay, so organizing is not my strongest point at all. I was not the most organized person before I became a mother, I still am not, but I am on the other end of the spectrum, I have children that make electrical circuits themselves... That should count for something.
First they took apart the box of electrical experiments (it was not a very expensive one) and then they used every little bit in another way than they were supposed to. They wrapped the electrical wire around the arm of the doll to make jewelry.
After two years, my son asked me to buy him exactly the same box for his birthday. I did and he went upstairs. A quarter of an hour later he came down and had put together the circuit exactly how it was supposed to be, and completely on his own.
For those who resemble me and want to think some more or read some more before doing, this link might save you some time and energy.
I'm a mother and I have a problem. I have the urge to do scaffolding with everyone around me. I don't know at what age this started, if I did it before my children were born, or when I was young, but I tend to get into a discussion and take the level higher, if I can. Of course this will be difficult when I know nothing about the subject, but I do try. I will even turn a discussion about cars to a discussion about design and psychology in order to be able to scaffold... I even give puzzles to men in their hands who then start trying to solve the cube of Rubic and then get frustrated. I even don't stop at young men, I even try to get older people to play. Do you think this is annoying? Please tell me.
I gave a link to an explanation on scaffolding before. The idea was first followed in special education. It is very popular right now. I see a trend that novel education ideas are first used with the children that have the highest need for help (mediation) by their higher educated teachers and then when it is succesful finds its way to other childrens education. Autism is a spectrum where there is high need of help in education. Many autistic children can only learn with intensive training and don't transfer knowledge. Others function at a high level, but have typical impairments. One way of support for parents is looking at other parents who use techniques with their children, e.g. a video on scaffolding.
Want to be lost and found? Or do you want to playfully teach children to solve problems without them realising? Get amazed. The idea that playgrounds could use more structure to steer the behaviour of children and their interaction is one that I welcome, having seen the results of a test in the Netherlands on aggressive behaviour some years ago. The idea that aggression is best prevented by practicing restraint got support in this experiment instead of the idea of diminishing it through unleashing it. Another good idea would be to promote reading on raising boys. It would be a good idea to make very easy to read books on how to raise young boys for parents. Maybe a video to show at schools with tips for parents. http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisingboys/emotion.html
is a site where you can read more about raising emotionally strong boys. I like that this site even has a section "talking about war and violence". Typically it is a subject that worries boys and that mothers (hum hum) tend to avoid.
for parents:
If they enjoyed Blokus, your children will like Rumis. It is a game in which you build a pyramid shaped Inca temple with bricks that make me think of tetrix. Another game you might consider is "Tamsk" by Burms. This is a game that uses sand timers as pieces. The indication is 12+ years, for some children I would lower the age limit.
Other games that I like keep my children away from the computer. I found a set of coaching cards, with positive messages on them. Also I found a set of philosophy cards, with dilemma questions. There are some on internet for
