First target: make things with Big.
Back later 🙂
Notable conversations:
‘Mummy, I’ve been thinking, can I do some maths today?’
‘Yes, I suppose so, if you want to.’
‘Then I’ll be better at chess and draughts. Woohoo!’
With Small:
‘Lift up your feet – how many feet? one, two.’
‘Do!’
‘How many eyes?’
‘Do!’
‘How many noses?’
‘nos’
Guess he’s getting the hang of that then. Difficult to tell without feedback.
And in between, a Madeline inspired conversation about morality:
Big:’Mummy, Pepito is being horrid, he wants to win the money to buy a boat, and he doesn’t want to help ppl.’
Me:’Hm, what could he do with the money?’
‘Well, he could give it to ppl to help them. If I won the money I would give some of it to ppl to help them.’
‘So there’s more than one way of helping ppl?’
‘Yes, but he’s still being horrid.’
‘Why do you want to help ppl?’
‘Because it’s nice.’
And there was me wondering where we’d get our morality from if we excluded the bible from Merry’s newest curriculum venture! Looks like tv isn’t necessarily the root of all evil (although we’ll leave out any considerations on the type of morality being inculcated, as that’s a pondering for another post).
Comments
8 responses to “First day”
The bible is a messy way to present morality to children that I’m sure your eldest will see through at first opportunity. Surely there are some secular moral stories that dont require submission to the common idiocy?
Thats not to say there isnt a great deal that is important for children to learn from the bible. They are growing up in a country where unless a declaration is made to the contrary, they will be assumed share the protestant interpretation of the christian/pauline religion. They need to be aware of its existance, the reverence that many people put in it, and at the same time be aware that many intelligent people will dismiss any intellectual vigour when considering this subject, and willingly hold contradictory information to be true.
Once they understand that then the whole of the rest of this society starts to make sense.
Another though about morals. If you choose a ready made set such as from the bible or koran, then you as a parent always have a fall back if the child questions them. You revert to a higher authority.
If you create your own moral set, picked perhaps from several religions and philosophies, then any questions have to be answered totally from yourself. So if there are any relative morals you have [where perhaps you and tim dont agree], or some that are picked by choice rather than intellectual rigour [and lets face it we dont have the time of the ancient greeks to ponder over the accuracy of all our moral choices] then you are up against a bright child who will override your wishes because they are yours and she is perfectly valid to chose differently.
If you go for the higher authority approach, you dont have to take so much responsbility for the range of morals, but of course run the risk of being seen as hollow when they come to understand that these also are relative and subject to interpretation to suit the users.
Frying pan and fire situation
It is ok, I didn’t fancy a cut and shut job so we have ordered “Religion In A Box” from B&Q and are going to DIY our own cult.
Does it have crystals? And Angels? And there’s-something-in-star-signs options? And will it be mandatory to watch Derek Acorah?
Hey, don’t knock it, it worked for L Ron Hubbard…
I am thinking along the lines of a gentle blend of Buddhism and Stalinism. But I dare say we can do some crystals, angels, star-signy things and Derek Acorah for you if you want to join in too.
Scientology: “Kids, this is Mr. Derek Acorah. If we do not regularly process your clears, this is what happens to you.”
Stalinism: “Kids, this is Mr. Derek Acorah. If you disobey the state, this is what happens to you.”
Buddhism: “Kids, this is Mr. Derek Acorah. If you do not seek the path of enlightenment, this is what happens to you.”
Vegetarianism: “Kids, this is Mr. Derek Acorah. He eats meat.”
Realism: “Kids, do you want to watch Yo-gi-oh?”
*Yu-gi-oh
It was a TYPO! Honest! :blushes: