As an atheist parent, you know how important it is to cultivate and nurture your child’s love of learning. Unfortunately, public school systems don’t always see it the same way. One of my biggest fears is that my son will become disillusioned with learning through our lacklustre school system. I can’t rely on his teachers to prevent this from happening, unfortunately. I know it’s pretty much all on me.
Learning is fun. It shouldn’t be a chore, and if it appears as though your child is starting to see it as a chore, well, that’s a sure sign it’s time to step in and take control.
Learning about anything should be as exciting as a Cosmos episode; as entertaining as Bill Nye; as fun as building a paper mache volcano and filling it with vinegar and baking soda.
There is absolutely no excuse for learning about anything to be boring.
I remember my History 12 teacher made wars boring. Wars. Boring.
In the age of information, we really have no reason to let our children slip through the cracks anymore. There are so many resources out there, and so many of them are not just fun, they’re incredibly exciting. One such resource is DIY.org
DIY.org… think Boy Scouts but for science, math, history and more. The site is teeming with challenges that, when completed, will have not just taught your child something, but will also have been fun. As your child completes his challenges, he can post them to his profile and get feedback. The more he completes, the more patches he can earn… just like Scouts.
Challenges vary widely from building a model solar system, or launching a near space balloon to performing an impersonation or making noodles from scratch.
Here’s a bookbinding challenge:
The site is divided into skills. Skills range from acting and the arts to science and math and everything in between. Each skill has several challenges listed and once you perform and post a certain number of them, you earn your patch for that skill. Challenges come with video instructions and many other users post videos of their completed challenges, so your child can choose from several different ways of tackling each one. Once your child posts his or her completed challenge, the DIY community can comment on it and like it.
The Centre For Inquiry here in the Okanagan has a program called Kids for Inquiry. It’s a program for kids to get together and enjoy learning in a group setting. All of their activities are from the DIY.org site.
Recently,DIY.org added online camps. They are 4 weeks long each and there are camps for nearly every interest. Camps consist of new challenges and tips from camp counselors every week. Your first camp is $10, so it won’t break the bank either!
DIY.org is a site for kids of all ages, including the over the hill type of kid. It’s hours upon hours upon hours of educational family fun that builds skills and confidence with ease. If you have not gotten into this site, you simply must. You must.
Check it out: DIY.org
If you like what I do here and want to support my work, you can chip in here or become a member here.
Comentários