Miles woke me up this morning by waving an iPod in my face. He had spent 15 minutes writing this note, getting it just right (which in his mind means a period after each word). His writing has come so far this summer; he’s been busily labeling everything he owns with permanent marker. “Dead alligator head.” “The Specials.” “Secret Spy Legos.” Even an equation: “Play + Mobil = [happy face].” It’s amazing to watch how fluidly he’s taken to computers and technology. He can now read enough to navigate the Tivo interface without help. Knows how to launch a browser and type in the URLs for the sites he likes the most, though he was a bit unclear on the concept at first — typed “URL” into Google, said he was trying to get to the Legos web site. Loves the concept of progressively difficult “levels” in games and now talks about life as if it were a game. “Daddy, what level are you on at your job?” We take care to limit the amount of TV and technology time he gets, and to balance it against analog time. But we also see concrete evidence of it making a big impact on his reading and writing skills, so cut him some slack.
So. Mach.
Music: Carl LeBlanc :: Indian Love Song
I’m curious, what evidence do you see of a “big impact” on his reading and writing skills?
Man, if it weren’t for all the other things, you’d almost make me want to have a kid. :)
What do you have that he labeled The Specials?
@Vic: “Concrete evidence” is prob. too strong a word. What we do see is him sitting down to play Word World on the computer, then showing a markedly increased interest in reading and writing that same day. Or playing Legos puzzle games on the computer and then talking about problem solving with us. I shouldn’t imply that the same results couldn’t be gotten in other ways.
@mnep: “The Specials” is a box of playmobil and lego parts that don’t seem to fit any of his “sets.”
And of course I always think of that Specials too, which makes it extra fun/funny for me :)
Mach = high speed love.