Thinking and Learning is all about Connections, Connections, Connections!

Hello Friends,

The word connections seems to work its way into every single kid watching moment.

Baby Brody, seems driven  to connect with caring adults.    What and why is this so pervasive, so important, with the very young and how does it fit in with thinking and learning?

I am in awe of the strategies Baby Brody comes up with to ensure that  we (big people) stay connected with his everyday experiences.  He is a master at getting adult's attention while in a social context.   He seems to know all sorts of tricks to keep us focused  and talking together for every increasing spans of time.

Let me give you a few of the things he does.

When he passes me things like his soggy bread for me to taste, he has my undivided attention.   I inspect the gooey mess, return it to him and he generously provides me with more tasty samples to try.    We have a grand conversation about the details.

When Baby Brody hides behind a wall and then quickly pokes his head out into view...he has made a connection!  Of course, I think it is hilarious and so we have a good laugh and repeat the routine a jillion times.  Then we have a grand conversation about how fun this is.

When Baby Brody sees me, he gets a favourite book and gives it to me... He knows this will keep me focused and connected.  We snuggle together and we talk about  tractors and the wheels.   As a result of our snuggle time...we have a grand conversation.

When Baby Brody holds up his short arms and uses his pointing finger to direct my attention to what he has deemed important...DOG... he has once again successfully managed a Grandma and Brody connection...we are now both "all about the dog" and of course we have lots of things to say  about our  dogs...This leads to a grand dog conversation.

When Baby Brody tries Grandpa's mashed potatoes for the first time, he throws back his head and opens his mouth as wide as he can and laughs.  We all agree that this clear statement of approval is  connected to the sheer joy of mashed potatoes.  Everyone gets a chance to give him a spoonful of the buttery, squishy glob,  Each time he responds with "the head back, mouth open wide and great big  laugh" routine. The whole family has a grand conversation with Brody about mashed potatoes.

When Baby Brody finds the ball even though it rolled under the big ottoman and it is completely out of sight, he  throws it at me with a great big grin, we have our connection.  We have a lot to talk about now that the red ball is back in his hands and the throw the ball game can begin again and again and again.  

Connections, Relationships and Learning

The very young thrive when caring adults focus on following baby's lead.  Baby Brody does not learn about the world by himself.  Parents and caring adults do many things to intentionally promote learning and thinking and language growth.  
The most important catalysts that adults  provide are the spontaneous, uncoached, unhurried, untroubled, sensitive interactions with the children they love.

Baby Brody works very hard to make sure we pay attention to him.   He has his ways.  All the big people have to do is notice.

 And when we pay attention, Baby Brody is able to   keep us connected for longer periods of time.
 When we make   connections , we have a lot to talk about.
And that is what and how all learning happens.

I have pontificated on only a tiny portion of what is embodied in this concept of "making connections".  I believe that Baby Brody is banking all these connections and he now thoughtfully uses them to scaffold deep concept development.   But that is for a later discussion.   Brody is pointing to his Dad's Blue Jay baseball cap.  He wants to put it on me and this of course is hilarious.  We are going to have a wonderful conversation about hats.

In friendship,
I am  the Grandma
Donna

World Champion Stevie Smith Motivates and Inspires our Youth. He will be missed!

Dear Readers,

Such tragic news! World Cup winner and local hero from my community of Nanaimo, B.C. died from a motorcycle accident. My deepest sympathy goes out to his mother, Tiann. I taught with Tiann for several years and was witness to her devotion and enormous sense of pride and love she has for her son. Stevie was a sensation and his death at age 26 is on all the news channels.

What I would like to respectfully share today, is my short article that I wrote  about Stevie Smith a few years ago.  I wrote about Stevie because I knew that  Nanaimo  kids would connect with his life and his achievements. My own grandchildren are crazy about BMX racing and mountain biking.  I wanted to promote the idea that when kids are highly motivated to read about something or someone they are interested in; comprehension, critical thinking and conversations deepen. I plan to dust off my hard copy to share with my grandchildren today and I offer the article to you, in case you would like to share with your students.

                            

                                          Steve Smith                                    Passionate to Pedal

                               Elite downhill mountain biker and Nanaimo native, 

                            Steve Smith at the 2013  International World Cup.

Draft Written by Donna Klockars

When Stevie Smith was five years old, he got a bike. The bike was not shiny or new.  It didn’t cost a lot of money.  In fact, Stevie’s first bike was thanks to his grandmother’s idea: to trade twelve delicious apple pies for a used BMX bike. 

Stevie loved to go fast on that bike, and it wasn’t long before he discovered BMX racing.  His devoted mom took him to every BMX race up and down Vancouver Island.  It was clear to Stevie’s mom that he was passionate about his sport, and though she was studying for her teaching degree, she made sure her son was at every important race.  By the age of ten he was ranked a top junior and soon was the Canadian BMX Champion.

By twelve years of age, Stevie thought the predictable tracks used for BMX racing were a bit boring.  BMX racing lost out when Stevie discovered the thrill of competitive mountain biking.

 “ I love anything that is full of rocks and roots...the gnarlier the better. “

Steve  made the switch to downhill mountain bike racing and started his journey to becoming Nanaimo’s downhill mountain biking world-class superstar!

 Right from the start, Steve’s trainers noticed his determination, ability and positive attitude. Like any top level competitive athlete, his life has been full of literal and figurative ups and downs.  He worked through some injuries and connected with world-famous trainers who helped him improve his physical and mental fitness levels.  He soon reached elite status in a sport that was dominated by Europeans, Australians and New Zealanders.

Steve Smith is passionate about competitive mountain bike racing and considers it to be unique sport.   Each race is a tight battle. Victory or defeat is determined by small tweeks and split-second decisions. Despite the competitive nature of the sport, Steve describes it as a friendly event.

“You rarely get the sense that someone is trying to mess with your game.  The downhill battle is really against the “fiercest of opponents...yourself.”

Smith has travelled around the world and become friends with many of the top ranked riders. A You-tube clip follows Stevie and his arch rival,  Atherton, planning their route together at the World Cup course in Norway. 

The  "Course Walk"  is the time when athletes make mental notes about the track and decide on strategies they will use during the lightning fast three minute flight down the mountain.  

The mental preparations really paid off. Smith won the race by 1.311 seconds for his third win of the season and the overall World Cup title!

“This is an indescribable dream come true” stated Smith.  “It has been the most pressure I have ever had in my entire life.  I knew I was in contention for the World Cup. I am just so pumped to come away with the win”

Each event is unique.  Even though Smith jets around the world, his favourite race is the “Crankworx” held in Whistler, B.C. 

“I love that race because it feels like home turf to me, and it is a pretty amazing massive event.  The series opens with a 15 minute marathon, before it shifts to an A-line jumping course, and then finishes with an open downhill event.” 

Steve not only loves to compete at the Whistler venue; he is the one to beat.  He has won this Canadian Championship event three years in a row.

Steve is proud to represent his home town, Nanaimo.  After travelling all over the world there is still no other place he likes more than Nanaimo. 

 “I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”

No one could have predicted that twelve apple pies, traded for a used BMX bike, would lay the foundation for Steve to become one of the top competitive downhill mountain bike riders in the world. But that is how it all started for Steve Smith from Nanaimo, British Columbia. 

What Aristotle taught me about Kid Watching-or- How Aristotle and I are similar

Dear Reader,

If you happened to have been one of the few who willingly  toe-dip into my blog, it might not surprise you that Aristotle has worked his way into the conversation.  I like to kid-watch...and I mean really WATCH the kids.  And as a result of this REALLY, REALLY, INTENSE, kid watching,  I have noticed certain things about the very nature and structure of human thought.
But first,allow me to provide some background.

A very long time ago, Aristotle enjoyed his evening chill time by watching ships disappear into the distance as they left port.  He was a man of routine and so one might speculate that he watched a lot of ships disappear as they made their way to new destinations.  He routinely noticed that the first thing to disappear from his sight was the hull.  No exceptions...every time he watched, the hull vanished before the mast and sail. But one day, this sequence of events struck him as rather odd.  On a flat surface, shouldn't the dwindling of ships occur equally as they eventually disappear.  Shouldn't the ship just fade into a smaller and smaller dot?
I am suggesting that just as Aristotle discerned all sorts of profound things about the nature and structure of the universe from the simple act of spending countless hours observing what many might consider a rather ordinary event. I am also suggesting that through careful observation and logic every one of us can see the evolution of  thinking, cognition and creativity unfold simply by watching how the very young (aka my grandkids) early language manifests.

I have already pontificated about the Brody's uncanny ability as a newborn to lock on the human face and engage in conversation.  But what has me tossing and turning at night are the hidden messages in Brody's recent burst of gesturing and vocalizing.  Dear Reader, I am going to be bold. I am going to be brave.  My next entries will chronicle my daily observations... and you guessed it: my pontifications about what it all means.  I believe that brody's unfolding/blossoming early early language events hold the essence of the structure and nature of thinking.

Oh my, I am full of myself tonight!
Till later,
Donna says bonsoir  for now.