I had a conversation with my son the other day about having to get our piano and math practice done so we could go to his sister's dance class.
He thought about it for awhile and commented that he believed that "Time is our boss."
I thought about it for awhile and came to the conclusion that he could not be more right. As a parent, I am rushing to get the kids ready in the morning with getting everyone dressed, making a quick breakfast (most likely cereal), a quick spelling test (because his test is today!), then try to get everyone into their winter clothes and strapped into the vehicle. I have to get to the school by a certain time or we are considered late and good luck finding a parking spot because everyone is trying to get their kids to the same spot. The rest of my day seems to go at the same sort of pace, except Saturdays, I (try to) SLEEP in on Saturday. As a new teacher, I could relate to time being my boss in that area of my life as well. The bells ring to start and finish periods, we have a designated time period for eating lunch (sometimes only a few minutes if you have supervision), and your day is done at a certain time.
I told him "You are right, time is our boss!"
He smiles enthusiastically and laughs along with me.
He is leaving for Hawaii in less than a week and he has been hesitating on wanting to leave his sister and myself. So I told him that "In Hawaii, time will not be your boss. Your learning will be done on YOUR time and you will get to learn things that you could only see in pictures at school."
He was THRILLED!
I am experimenting with this vacation a bit because I will be setting up a blog so he can communicate his adventures to his classmates and myself. I want to know what he is learning during this practical experience to demonstrate how hands on learning is beneficial, especially to a more active child. He normally has a hard time focusing on his work and listening to his teacher, so I want to see how a more interactive way of learning can help him. In other words, I want to see if he can learn better when time is NOT his boss!
