Dragons and a Centipede

A dragon holding a dragon ball, a bird's nest, a rock pile, and a dead centipede are the kind of things I see on an afternoon walk around the neighborhood.

The weather was cool and clear early in the week so we headed outside. Although our kids go to public school during the day we have two hours together in the evening to explore. We call this time "Daddy School".

Daddy School's object is to integrate what they already know into projects. It has been a lot more difficult then I expected. Most of the projects go unfinished. My two boys get into it for about three days and then something comes up and we all forget about the projects. Another thing that happens when they do a project is discover it was a lot more difficult than it looked and decide to do it another way.

So far two months of Daddy school has passed and I don't see any learning targets achieved. They haven't improved in any measurable skills. When I look back I see that is not bad because they are learning independantly and for the first time they do things by themselves. They want to learn. Both sons are now picking up books by themselves and asking questions. They are beginning to think about who they are and where they are going.They don't play the songs I teach them on piano but they play piano by themselves. They don't do the projects we started but they start their own projects.

In conclusion I shouldn't expect them to get better at school stuff through Daddy school but get better at life. As for me I am learning with them and found that a Dad can not run away to a study room and expect kids to learn. They learn by being with me and trusted with responsibilities of their own. I have obstacles to overcome. The mindset of the people around us is to work hard and find tutor's and special afterschool academies to send our kids too. I think the kids have enough of sitting in a classroom for 6 hours a day. Little by little my wife is beginning to see the truth and may even let my older son stop his math, English and Korean tutor and learn to learn independantly and do real things like cook and wash the dishes. She said she will give us one month more to prove it so I'm the one that has to work hard to motivate them.

I just know my kids can do better on their own. I hope we can prove it and in one month my wife can drop the tutor without sending them to any special after school academies.