My son has a passion for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you ask him which one is his favorite, he’ll say, “All of them.” He looks forward to the Saturday morning cartoon, watched all the movies and, of course, was Michelangelo for Halloween.
Many parents might see this passion as “cute” or “nice” or “fun,” but not something that is actually “teaching” children anything. The child is just playing; he’s not really learning anything, right? Except he is. Besides learning about what makes him happy, he’s exercising his imagination, trying out story lines and scenarios, and testing out theories and possibilities. It’s much, much more than simply “playing.” But even with that said, there’s always another dimension with learning anything in life.
Interests or passions can branch out into an infinite number of related interests.
So, let’s take the Turtles for example. I know my son loves the physical action and storylines behind the figures. We enjoy the Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 1-4: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon
series and read them together over lunch most days. One day we read Night of the Ninja and my son absolutely loved it! This of course led to reading other books about Japanese samurai. We watched DVDs on the samurai and learned a bit more about Japanese culture. They also loved watching Families of Japan (Families of the World) [VHS]
. Who knows? Someday they might even want to sample sushi.
We need to start with our child’s interests. Learning more about Japan grew organically out of a different but related interest. I just introduced things and brought things in that I thought he might find interesting because of their connection to something else he was interested in.
It’s impossible to separate subjects like they try to do in school. Our brains thrive on connections; we unconsciously make them all the time. We might start out thinking about buying milk but that might lead a half second later to, “I also need to buy a birthday present this weekend,” which might lead to, “I hope buying that Chi tea was a good idea for her present,” which eventually might lead to, “I wonder if we could go to China in the next four years.” There you go. From milk to China less than ten seconds.
But if our children let their minds drift from one thing to another too often, if they start making too many connections, we suddenly throw a label on them. I doesn’t matter if the connections and thought patterns lead to extraordinary creativity or unique ways of perceiving something. If it doesn’t fall on a list of correct answers, than it’s just not acceptable.
Instead of dwelling in a small, confined, pre-determined world, we need to embrace the connections our children make and where they take them. Explore your child’s interests with her. Take time to consider why she loves that topic; what about it fascinates her? Then check out new resources and introduce them to her.
Linking new experiences and knowledge with a child’s interests in ways that are real and genuine opens up the door to new possibilities.
Take where your child is now and widen his possibilities within that place. Even better, let him show you where he wants to go
What interests do your child have that seem like “playing” or “frivolous” or “non-educational.” How might you connect with your child’s interests where he or she is right now, and at the same time open up doors to more possibilities?
Photo image by Rennett Stowe