Learning & Teaching

Welcome back! Glad you’re here.

Wasn’t really sure what my topic would be this week, but I told myself I was going to blog a minimum of at least once a week, so I have to write “something”.

I spent the past 24 hours with my wife and three grandchildren.  During that time we visited my daughter, had dinner with her and her boyfriend then stayed up late watching Cars 3, while eating cookies, popcorn, and ice cream.

It’s the final 5 hours I want to share. Those were the hours it was just “grandpa” and the three kids because mommy and Bama (what the kids call my wife) were busy.

A little background here…I didn’t have children of my own so dealing kids 4, 7, and 9 is a learning experience in and of itself. Oh boy…

Today was a good day. We went to the park and invented the game “Find & Chase”; much like “Hide & Seek” but different. I’m not sure “how different” because there was still counting, hiding, and lots of running away from whoever was “It”, but they assured me with all seriousness that is WAS different.  So, I guess I learned something from them.

After the park we went home. My granddaughter blissfully watched silly videos on YouTube while the two boys played Wii games.

This is when things got interesting.

The oldest boy likes to be in control and becomes upset easily when he doesn’t get his way. Now, his younger brother can be quite headstrong and oftentimes stands up to his brother. This usually does not end up good.

Well, not today. I wasn’t in the mood to put up with the whining, pouting and bickering. I decided I would attempt to teach them to work together so they could both get what they want in the end. I have grown tired of having to turn off the game as a means to resolve his issue.

Today we worked on “sharing”.

Yup, it was decided that the winner of the single player game would continue to play, but only if he won. If he lost, the other one got to play. This worked for a brief time, but the boy watching would become bored and start whining.

So, I got them playing two player games together. But then they began to argue about which team to be on. Easily solved, they’d play together on “blue team” then again as “red team”, and one final game with one on “blue team” and the other on “red team”.

Never have I seen the boys seem to enjoy their Wii time more. There were no fights or crying. I think each boy understood that “giving up what they wanted” allowed them to play more.

And more importantly, I maintained my sanity.

Whether or not this lesson sticks with the boys isn’t important. It’s a lesson they’ll be taught over and over again as they travel through life.

It’s a lesson we all need to remember as we go through life.

Why “share”?

Because we all have something to give that someone else needs.

It’s just that simple.

Thanks for reading. Hope to see you next week.