When Gavin was 4, I picked him up from a children’s program and was met by ladies who were ranting about how smart he was and what a great job I was doing of homeschooling him. They explained how he had explained to the other children what photosynthesis was and how it worked. They were so impressed. ‘Keep up the good work’ they told me.
When we were safely in the car with the windows rolled up tight, I asked Gavin where he had learned these facts. Spongebob, he replied. Way to keep me humble.
I have noticed time and time again, that my kids know lots of facts and concepts that I have not presented to them in any formal manner. I love when Mikey relates something he’s experiencing, to something he has watched. He recently knew that the same force that kept the coin rolling and ‘sticking’ to the side of the cylindrical tube he donated it into was the same force that kept the motorcycle in the ‘circle of death’ up on the wall – centra, centro – centrifugal!! I don’t think that would ‘stick’ if he had not seen it in action.
Here are action and fact-packed shows to pack some science, physics, engineering, and other good stuff into their noggins.
We often watch a series for a while, and often all together as a family. It makes for good conversation and a nice shared experience.
Watch and learn, kids! Life is too short to watch boring stuff 🙂
I wish my girls watched more shows that I could easily see the educational value in. Lately, we have been watching Switched at Birth, which is a little soap opera-y, but has deaf characters which inspired my girls to want to learn ASL and provided an opportunity to learn about cochlear implants and discuss the debate of whether they are a good thing or not.
Excellent stuff!!! D has learned some things from cartoons that blow me away! And Sid the Science Kid? Don’t even get me started! 🙂