BootsnAll Travel Network



1-2-3 a-b-c

by Mama-Teacher
Hong Kong (back in Kowloon)

It almost felt like a New Zealand kind of learning day today.
When I popped down to the bakery to pick up our lunch goodies (OK, so maybe not entirely NZ-ish!), a biggish boy accompanied me, along with the two-year-old, who was enthusiastic about playing at the playground. As we walked I instructed Boy about how to watch Little Girl and left them safely under the watchful eye of many Chinese Grandmas while I conducted my business. Business, which included a great deal of mathematics (price and size comparisons as well as plenty of addition) for the remaining Bigger Girl at my side.

On our return to the flat I had my arm twisted behind my back (not that they had to try very hard) to read aloud from a delightful book discovered on Mr Generous Couchsurfing Host’s bookshelf. Some of the kids had already delved into it and were eager for a Mama-reading. The eldest two disappeared to another room to try to finish the massive tomes they’d been lost in every spare moment for the past two days while I read out “Hanukkah in the Poorhouse” from Isaac Bashevis Singer’s “Stories For Children”. We wished we’d had time for more. There were a number of great lines, and one especially for a travel blog….

“When you wander you come to all kinds of places.”

We wandered in the afternoon and definitely came to all kinds of places. Most specifically the Science Museum. We don’t actually have a science museum anything like this in Auckland, but the wonder and awe of exploring afternoons at home made me think of home learning.

And of course there was plenty of opportunity to give reminders about turn-taking and thinking of others first when everyone wanted to fly the plane into Hong Kong’s old airport. Just like home learning (the sharing thing, not the airport).

They also got to do other exciting things like take a driving test and cycle off an apple’s worth of kilojules and put together the bones in a body and use morse code and pound millet the African way and giggle into mirrors and play virtual reality games and do an exercise course and watch a science experiment (which admittedly we didn’t finish, not understanding enough of the Mandarin to make it meaningful – although all the kids got excited that they DID understand the word for apple!)….and could anyone tell me how Mboy6 knew how to go up to an interactive display on electricity and put it all together so that the light came on? He had the light shining before I had even worked out what the activity was about!

Then there was reading out passages to interested children.
And encouraging one to finish something she was finding difficult.
And enthusing with another over a discovery.
And trying to answer too many questions at once.
And knitting a few rounds.
And checking that someone knew where the little ones were.
And thinking about what to have for dinner.
And realizing again that food doesn’t figure when the children are engrossed in learning.
And comforting someone in tears.
And enjoying watching their interest, their engagedness, their marvelling, their concentration, their co-operation, their fun.

I tell you, it was just like learning at home.

PS.



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5 responses to “1-2-3 a-b-c”

  1. May says:

    Cool being able to go hands on in the Science Museum…

    LOL re yr last photo!! Was that taken in the funny mirrors room?

  2. Gran and Pa says:

    The science museum would be right up the older ones alley.
    Hope you are enjoying Hong Kong.
    Love to all.

  3. The Eds says:

    Wow, that’s looks like a fantastic place to visit……….love the photo of J13:-) I’m not sure about ‘proof of losing weight’, more like ‘shrinking in your old age’! A day just like we love to share with you. x

  4. rayres says:

    Hey… not so sure about this old age stuff!! C’mon…. one of us only JUST turned 40 LOL!!

  5. Naomi says:

    an environment of learning… it’s like being up to your neck in a bubble bath, while people ask you, how on earth you will wash your hands-you have no sink, nor bar of soap- it’s hard to not say, “Are you serious?” Thanks for the reminder of the learning around us!

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