The Way They Learn

I took Delaney and Sophie to an outdoor art event last weekend at Heritage Square, hosted by Willow Bend Environmental Center. The presenter talked about the water cycle with some visuals, and had a game/art project for the kids to demonstrate it. They had to begin at a station (clouds, lake, groundwater, soil, ocean, animals and a few others), roll a big die, and go to the station it landed on. For instance, from the ocean you could go to the clouds (evaporation), from the clouds to most of the other stations (precipitation), etc. Each station had different colored beads, which the girls put on string, and had a pretty bracelet by the end of the game. It was a fun way to learn the water cycle.

During the talk, Delaney didn't say very much. I couldn't tell if she was even listening, and she definitely wasn't participating. She enjoyed the game, but I still couldn't tell if she comprehended the purpose. Sophie had a lot of fun running around and making a bracelet, but she is a little young for the learning part.

But then, three days later...

Delaney sat at the kitchen table with Sophie, two bowls of water, a paper towel and some change. I asked her what she was up to, and she told me it was a water experiment.

She explained to Sophie that the first bowl was the ocean, the paper towel was a cloud, the second bowl was a lake and the change was different types of fish.

She soaked up the water from the first bowl, and explained that the cloud was full.

She squeezed out the water into the second bowl, onto the "fish", and Sophie said, "it's raining!".

It was an excellent reminder to me that answering questions when put on the spot is not necessarily the only way to tell if my kiddos are learning, and just because you're only 2 doesn't mean that you don't comprehend big concepts.

My kids teach me something new every day.