Lots of people ask me about homeschooling, about how things work, about what kids learn, how they learn and a whole pile of things. Here is a conversation between my kids and me in the past hour.
They go for karate classes twice a week. The classes are just ten minutes away by bus and we take the bus both ways. We talk non-stop when we have nothing else to do, as in nothing to read or nothing to play with!
We got out of the class and crossed the road to the bus stop, as we were crossing the conversation started...
Me: Let's see who guesses right, tell me how many more minutes for the bus to come.
Abhi (my son): 6 minutes amma...
Anou (my daughter): 3 minutes amma...
We look at the display and it says the bus is at 19:00 and the current time is 18:53. So my son is declared the winner as he is the closest. Unfortunately today there seems to be a lot of traffic and the bus is getting delayed, as we watch the time for the bus to arrive is constantly changing in the display. At one stage it said 8 mins and the current time was 19:04, they added up the time and said, the bus would be there at 19:12, and then added to say that 1912 was the year in which Titanic sunk!
Abhi: Talking of which, I read about a ship that ran aground and sunk. How can that happen?
Me: I don't know we will have to check, but from what I understand when a ship runs aground it is not in waters deep enough for it to sink.
By then the bus arrives and we get in. The bus is overcrowded and we huddle up together near the front of the bus.
Abhi: Amma, I want to make a funny story about people stuck in a bus in traffic jam, say for 24, 48 or 62 hours! 62 hours is 2 days and 14 hours amma.
I calculate mentally and I nod my head, I tell him and Anou, 24 + 24 =48 and another 10 is 58 and another 4 is 62, so yes 62 hours is 2 days and 14 hours.
Abhi: Amma I do the other way around, three days is 72 hours and 72 - 10 = 62 and 24-10=14, so it is 2x24 + 14.
Me: Good one Abhi! (the joys of homeschooling, they find their own way of handling numbers. They don't have to follow rules set by the teacher!)
Anou: Why is it all yellow outside.
Me: It must be the Mercury vapour lights Anou.,,, No..no it is the Sodium vapour lights!
Anou: What are Sodium and Mercury?
Me: They both are elements Anou and Mercury is used in thermometers and Sodium is available in the salt that you eat. Salt is Sodium Chloride.
Anou: I thought Mercury is poisonous.
Abhi and me: Yes it is poisonous.
Abhi: Amma I thought Chloride was pronounced as Chlorid.
Me: No son, you cannot change pronunciations here... this is Chloride and that is how you say it. See you have Nitrates, Nitrides and Nitrites they are all different and you cannot mix them up, So spellings and pronunciation are really important.
Abhi then started then explain about allotropes of Carbon.
By then we reached home. It was dinner time.
We had our dinner while reading Famous five and then went on to check about ships that sank when they ran aground and surprise... surprise we found one - this ship sank in Santorini in April 2007!
Now we are ready to hit bed and most likely there will be a few more discussions in bed about another one hundred different things...
PS: My son is 8 years old and my daughter is 6 years old!
They go for karate classes twice a week. The classes are just ten minutes away by bus and we take the bus both ways. We talk non-stop when we have nothing else to do, as in nothing to read or nothing to play with!
We got out of the class and crossed the road to the bus stop, as we were crossing the conversation started...
Me: Let's see who guesses right, tell me how many more minutes for the bus to come.
Abhi (my son): 6 minutes amma...
Anou (my daughter): 3 minutes amma...
We look at the display and it says the bus is at 19:00 and the current time is 18:53. So my son is declared the winner as he is the closest. Unfortunately today there seems to be a lot of traffic and the bus is getting delayed, as we watch the time for the bus to arrive is constantly changing in the display. At one stage it said 8 mins and the current time was 19:04, they added up the time and said, the bus would be there at 19:12, and then added to say that 1912 was the year in which Titanic sunk!
Abhi: Talking of which, I read about a ship that ran aground and sunk. How can that happen?
Me: I don't know we will have to check, but from what I understand when a ship runs aground it is not in waters deep enough for it to sink.
By then the bus arrives and we get in. The bus is overcrowded and we huddle up together near the front of the bus.
Abhi: Amma, I want to make a funny story about people stuck in a bus in traffic jam, say for 24, 48 or 62 hours! 62 hours is 2 days and 14 hours amma.
I calculate mentally and I nod my head, I tell him and Anou, 24 + 24 =48 and another 10 is 58 and another 4 is 62, so yes 62 hours is 2 days and 14 hours.
Abhi: Amma I do the other way around, three days is 72 hours and 72 - 10 = 62 and 24-10=14, so it is 2x24 + 14.
Me: Good one Abhi! (the joys of homeschooling, they find their own way of handling numbers. They don't have to follow rules set by the teacher!)
Anou: Why is it all yellow outside.
Me: It must be the Mercury vapour lights Anou.,,, No..no it is the Sodium vapour lights!
Anou: What are Sodium and Mercury?
Me: They both are elements Anou and Mercury is used in thermometers and Sodium is available in the salt that you eat. Salt is Sodium Chloride.
Anou: I thought Mercury is poisonous.
Abhi and me: Yes it is poisonous.
Abhi: Amma I thought Chloride was pronounced as Chlorid.
Me: No son, you cannot change pronunciations here... this is Chloride and that is how you say it. See you have Nitrates, Nitrides and Nitrites they are all different and you cannot mix them up, So spellings and pronunciation are really important.
Abhi then started then explain about allotropes of Carbon.
By then we reached home. It was dinner time.
We had our dinner while reading Famous five and then went on to check about ships that sank when they ran aground and surprise... surprise we found one - this ship sank in Santorini in April 2007!
Now we are ready to hit bed and most likely there will be a few more discussions in bed about another one hundred different things...
PS: My son is 8 years old and my daughter is 6 years old!
