Museum of Science

We became members of Boston's Museum of Science in July 2006, and it has been a wonderful investment so far. We have already been there 4 times and it has become our favorite family outing. The new ramps off and on I93 have made the commute very convenient and the parking is cheap with membership. We also pack a lot of food with us which also saves money.

We had a great visit today. Supriya and I saw "Far, Far Away: The worlds of Star Wars" and enjoyed it immensely. Manisha and Aseem missed it because Aseem is afraid of the dark planetarium.

Another highlight was Supriya and the Tower of Hanoi. Supriya and I read the rules, and she struggled with it for a minute of two. Then I took over, spent another minute or so and solved it. She was watching me very intently. The minute she started on it I knew she had figured out the algorithm! Before I knew it, it was done. Manisha was the next in line. She solved the problem of course but not as fast as Supriya did. We have been noticing a pattern with her strategic thinking. She excels at it, like she did with Nine Men's Morris. Definitely an innate talent.

All in all a great visit. The membership is totally wasool.

Supriya is Reading!

We were in Orlando over Thanksgiving for a mini-reunion of Manisha's IIT batchmates. We also did several visits to the theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Sea World). Supriya was in heaven - she got to hang out with the kids of our friends; She had 3 sleeovers and she also went to EPCOT Center with them.

There was another unexpected side-effect. Kailas, who is 11, was reading his Calvin and Hobbes collection, and that turned Supriya on to reading the series! It turned out that we had a copy of the same book at home. She had a good time reading about Spaceman Spiff and the evil Mom Lady. Supriya was developmentally ready to read, and now that there was a context to reading, she just took off. It was just like the Chinese proverb: "When the pupil is ready the teacher appears."

In the last 6 weeks or so Supriya has zoomed ahead. First she finished Calvin and Hobbes. Then we bought her a collection of Peanuts, which she enjoyed very much as well and ate it up. She had been a fan of Captain Underpants books. She read them all by herself this time. Now she is attempting to read chapter-books.

Manisha and I were just amazed at the speed at which this "phase transition" happened. It reinforced something which we already knew - learning is nonlinear and unpredictable. An alternate path was available to us all this time - keep forcing Supriya to read by drilling her & making her do worksheets etc. We chose to let her learn to read at her own speed. Now that she can, she owns that skill and she enjoys reading. There is a big lesson in there.

"Succeed on Your Own Terms"

I checked out this book by Herb Greenberg and Patrick Sweeney from the library out of curiosity. The subtitle is "Lessons from top achievers around the world on developing your unique potential". The book is full of inspirational stories. The concluding chapter says, "It's all about focusing on your strengths, being self-aware, taking chances and loving what you are doing."

I found this paragraph particularly interesting:

Individuals who are self-aware know what drives them, and they do not let the outside world define them. This takes a combination of reflection and action. To succeed on your own terms, you first have to know how to check your own temperature. This means asking yourself some tough questions, such as: What is really motivating you? How do you affect others? Do you really like what you are doing now? Is there something you could be doing that would be more fulfilling and a lot more fun?

Our plan and hope is that Supriya and Aseem grow up with these ideas in their heads. They truly are the architects of their own lives. We are here to enable them to design and build their own cathedrals.

Nine Men's Morris

Our friend Marianne introduced us to this game . Supriya and I have been playing with pennies & dimes on a board I drew on a used envelope. I have been winning most of the time, but last night Supriya actually beat me. She is really getting good at it and thinking ahead a couple of moves.

Here is an online version that is rather challenging.

"Do Schools Today Kill Creativity?"

That's the title of this TEDTalk by Ken RObinson. I'd go further and say that most institutions kill creativity - in fact it is their goal to kill creativity. But that is a topic for another day.

I wrote this reply in response to the video and Manisha really liked it, so here goes:

"As I see it he is pushing what unschoolers have alwayspushed - pay attention to what your kids are good at,what sparks their imagination, what piques their interests. Then make resources of all possible kindsavailable to them - people, friends, classes,materials, videos, computer games, you name it. Andthen get out of the way and watch the magic happen!

I would like to emphasize that creativity does nothappen under duress. It can only blossom with freedomand honor and trust and yes, play.

PS: As I write this, Supriya and Aseem have set up agame called Bowling Alley (which Supriya has designed)in the foyer and are having a great time playing.Supriya has made a grid on paper and is keepingscores. Aseem is winning for now. Life is beautiful. This is what Ken is talking about..."