Category Archives: Education

Tonight, my daughter demonstrated the benefits of a short memory. One hour after a tantrum of epic proportions, she talked to my wife and me about her day as though nothing had happened. “You know,” she said confidentially, “I’m not that crazy about tomato sauce.” We did know. “Oh boy,” she said, rolling her eyesContinue reading “Short Memory”

Tonight, my daughter attended her first middle school girl’s basketball game. When she got home, she reimagined what she had seen as a game between cats and dogs. She drew a picture first, then wrote the story. I was proud of her for writing it down without asking for our help. You can tell. TheContinue reading “Storytelling”

Yesterday, my daughter showed me something she made at school: a collage of photos featuring her and two friends. The project featured an audio file where my daughter described the idea behind the project. She called it “You and Me” (she didn’t know how to spell “Friendship Collage”). I was impressed. “Did everyone make one?”Continue reading “Collage”

In high school, I loved the programs Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Cartoon Planet. I have introduced my daughter to both of them, particularly the goofy songs from the latter. Yesterday, I began singing “Everybody Wants to be Space Ghost,” and at a key moment, my daughter filled in the line supplied by oneContinue reading “Space Ghost”

Last night, we had dinner with our church family. Three different women told my wife and me about our daughter’s fantastic prayer from the week before. The Methodist Youth Fellowship crew had just learned about the passing of a former church member. When the grown-ups asked the kids who wanted to pray, my daughter raisedContinue reading “Prayer Time”

This summer, I read my daughter The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. For her birthday, my daughter received the film version and has been wanting to see it. Tonight, my wife was out to dinner with friends, so I took the opportunity to make Saturday evening a dad/daughter movie night. We got through aboutContinue reading “The Book vs. The Movie”

This afternoon, my daughter sat with my wife on our living room couched and geeked out over a dictionary. My daughter wants to write, but she doesn’t know how to spell many words. This wouldn’t be a problem if she weren’t so devoted to perfection. My wife broke her out her first dictionary, and together,Continue reading “The Dictionary”

My wife’s second cousin passed away Sunday. She had been sick for awhile, but it was sad to lose her. While she battled cancer, my daughter and I sent her postcards. Typically, I would write a short message, and my daughter would draw a picture and write, “I love you!” As we approached the funeralContinue reading “Postcards”

My daughter watched a cartoon today that featured a spelling bee. After dinner, she spent time working on a “book” (really, more like a worksheet) of her own devising and wanted us to help her spell numerous words. My wife and I are trying to teach our daughter to be a) more self-reliant and b)Continue reading ““Can You Give Me Some Words to Spell?””

Our daughter learned to play Crazy Eights last night. She even won two of the three games we played. But she needed help. She didn’t get the concept of matching, and strategy? She called out random suits when she played her Crazy Eight. Today, she and my wife played a few more games, and myContinue reading “Crazy Eight”