On long car rides and paddling excursions, the boys like to play their version of 20-questions. They just don't like limiting it to only twenty. They prefer to keep asking questions until they figure out the answer.
Poor 6-year old YB's turn never lasts more than 3 questions. He always picks something he saw immediately before playing the game. For example:
[Eagle flies by.]
Me: "Oh, look! An eagle!"
YB: "Okay, I'm ready."
ES: "Is it an eagle?"
YB: [exasperated] "Yeeeees" [tone of voice interpretation: how do you ALWAYS know what I'm thinking???]
ES has been throwing me for a loop lately. During our Monocacy River kayaking trip on Saturday, he stumped me. After what seemed like a hundred questions, I had figured out it was a previous ruler of Germany, but my level of knowledge of German history isn't all that great. ES gave me a hint: "Unification." Still stumped, I finally gave up, and ES said, "Otto von Bismarck!"
Uhhhhh....
Dude...
You're 8 years old.
How on EARTH do you know ANYTHING about Otto von Bismarck???
ES likes to play the video game Civilization - a sort of grand-strategy, global domination simulation game. I guess Otto von Bismarck is one of the characters / leaders you can choose to be in the game, and ES didn't know who that was, so he looked him up on Wikipedia and read about him.
Who says video games aren't educational?
You have to love the 8 year old's curiosity. I work with second graders and their imaginations know no bounds!
ReplyDeletehaha. i love it. i have a 5 and 7 year old...and the things they think of sometimes astounds me...
ReplyDeleteThat's the first time I heard a parent have first hand knowledge of a video game teaching something interesting to a child. That is truly a good thing.
ReplyDeleteYou've got a bright one there.. that curiosity will take him far. What a kidlet. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, that was fun! I am glad he learned something from the video game. That was a fun story.
ReplyDeleteYoung kids should be given all the big stories; later on they can think about the content they retain.
Now if the geeks team up with the unemployed history majors, maybe our understanding of the past can grow.
fGames where they learn history...GREAT.
ReplyDelete