Posted in My Kids

Emperor Q-tip and his trusted Ambassador!



Okay, so the other day I 'm sitting in the Living Room playing with my 2-year-old.  The older two are suppose to be upstairs doing schoolwork.  All of a sudden my 4-year-old marches into the room proclaiming "All rise for the Royal Emperor Q-Tip!"  Then my 11 year emerges from the staircase in full Emperor Q-tip regalia!  What a pair!  Apparently while looking for something he needed for his schoolwork my oldest son had come across this extra piece of closet organizer rod.  Well, it might look like a closet organizer rod to you and me, but to him, Giant Q-tip!  So he gets his little sister involved in the fun.  They take Kleenex and tape and transform the closet rod so even I can see it's a Q-tip.  (I did appreciate that this was the week my daughter and I were studying the letter Q, although I think the kids missed the beauty in that!  LOL) Anyway, Emperor Q-tip and his trusted Ambassador were quite the thing at our house for about a week.  (Ah, I just love my kids!)

A few days later I am talking to a SchoolTeacher at church.  She seems like such an awesome teacher.  We start talking about the difference between having knowledge and using that knowledge.  She was saying how the schools don't really appreciate creativity and whenever she institutes creative, problem solving projects into her classroom she gets flack.  She said she likes to use the example of the movie Apollo 13 to show how being outside the box can help in real life.  There is a part in the movie where the ship is in real trouble.  The Astronauts know that to save themselves it's in their own hands.  They gather up every spare thing they can find in the ship dump it on the table and say, "We need to build a filter."  Great example!

Being able to think outside the box is something I think is very important for my kids to learn.  So how do we teach it?  Well, I think it is more of an attitude than a single lesson.  When my kids came down during schooltime and were obviously off task I could have gotten after them.  I didn't, I laughed and got the camera.  I played along and let the silliness continue for a week.  This was their thing.  We talked about all kinds of things in government; we improved their costumes. (This is where the question "What's the difference between a Empire and Kingdom?" came from.)We took pictures.  We laughed.  Yeah, all our other schoolwork got done.  But, we were outside the box for awhile, and it was fun.

Kids don't know there are limits until we teach then there are.  Sometimes I joke that my kids don't even know there is a box!  When they want something they just assume they can make it happen.  I absolutely love this science experiment my oldest son did when he was 4.

Science Experiment
Nov.30, 1998 - December 1, 1998

OBJECTIVE: To make an action figure

PROCESS: We mixed together sugar, oil & soy sauce. And it was a mix. We let it sit and when we came back it was just melted. We had to try something else. We fed it sugar and Marshmallows and stirred it up. Then it turned gold and was crystal like. We added more soy sauce. Then let it sit overnight. In the morning it was still the same. We then added more soy sauce and sugar and a whole bunch of hot sauce and it became brown and looked like mud. We let it sit and the marshmallows became crystallized.

RESULT: Smell - like soy sauce & mud (stinks)
Texture - some of it feels like sand
Taste - sugar and soy sauce and marshmallows and hot sauce. (Yuuuucckkk)

IN CONCLUSION: I thought it would work, but it didn’t. By accident I chose to put the hot sauce in so it didn’t work. Now the marshmallows need to be melted.

(Experiment assisted and dictation taken by Mommy)

I want to keep this joy of discovery and love of learning in my kids.  I want them to think outside the box!  I want them to be able to take the things I am teaching them and apply them in their lives with whatever plans God has for their futures.  I want the to succeed and have fun!

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Comments

Posted by LoveIsPatient

Oh that is an ingenious costume and creation! Now whenever I see a Q-Tip I'll think of your son! I agree that homeschool allows a lot more creativity and allows the children to really expand their imagination. When I was little my sisters and I would also have dress up times and wow, some of the things we came up with! LOL!

P.S. Thank you for stopping by my blog!

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Posted by Juldos

I love the banner across your blog, "Every day is a gift from God, that's why it's called the present." Our oldest son had some challenges with his eyes when he was 6 and we had to work with a specialist for a year. On the day we first got his diagnosis a friend wrote that phrase down on some pretty stationary and gave it to me. Every day truly is a present from the Lord to get to walk with Him, know Him better and to love those around us. Thanks for the sweet reminder. Thanks for visiting my blog too!
Happy Day!
Julie D.

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Posted by lillinda

This is something you will remember all your life. Maybe you will blackmail him with it when he's a teenager! That was so cute. I enjoyed your pictures.
My middle son used to "string up" his room with a ball of yarn and create elaborate webs. We took pictures . It's a memory I love. Linda

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