Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Am I smarter than a kindergartener?
My husband always says he's book smart and I'm practical smart. He says he can quote facts and share random information, but I can balance our checkbook and create loan amortization tables for our large purchases. To put our intellectual differences in perspective, a game of Trivial Pursuit with his like-minded friends begins with Danny saying, "Let's draw for teams!" whereas the other couples assume we'll play couples. They have found me to be the common link to losing.
Well, at least my kids think I know everything. Well, for the time being. Emma is in kindergarten now. She has in impeccable memory like her father so she just soaks in facts all day. I don't know the order of species that lived on earth, what countries animals do or don't live in, or how much of Antarctica has electricity. Countless conversations between me and Emma end in "We'll have to ask Daddy" or "We'll have to look it up on the computer." I'm waiting for her to start requesting me to "google it" or find it on Wikipedia.
She's been learning about dinosaurs this past week. Okay, I know a few dinosaur names I can spout off. I remember what a herbivore, carnivore and omnivore are. We're in good discussion and I'm doing my motherthly duty to encourage her love of science. Emma starts sharing with me all the different theories there are about how the dinosaurs became extinct. Per Emma (because I have no clue), there are theories that it got too hot, too cold, or a flood. Everyone in her class was supposed to write a theory about how they thought the dinosaurs became extinct and draw a picture of it. She said many kids made up their own theories and laughed at the crazy ideas from the silly boys, but she's sticking with the scientists. She drew a picture of it being too hot. I told her how great that was and I like how she loves science. We got to talking about theories, so I thought I was all smarty pants trying to encourage her love of science, which is not my thing in the least. Here's how my mommy teaching moment went:
"I think it's great how you love science. We'll have to work on a science experiment together. Mommy remembers one she did to learn if plants grow better with vitamin C. I started with a question, tested it, then came up with a conclusion."
[I feel good. I'm encouraging her love of science and I remember this!]
"That's what scientists do. They come up with theories and they experiment to determine if their theory is right or not. There are different phases of a science experiment. First, you have to have a theory, then you test it out to see if you can prove it. Based on your experiment results, you conclude with an hypothesis."
[Oh, crap. Is the hypothesis the theory or the conclusion?]
"Actually, Emma, I think the hypothesis is the theory and you come to a conclusion after testing. I'm not certain, so we'll have to ask Daddy or look it up on the computer."
At least I can explain to her how a search engine and the Internet work, and how great it is that we can search for all the information people put on computers to share with insufficient mothers like me. Although, I am banking on the contributors to wikipedia being more like Daddy than Mommy.
So, I see a day in the near future where I'll have to find the words to admit that there is so much I don't know. Daddy can talk people, places and things and Mommy can handle emotions, problem solving and math. I think I'll have to couple it with a lesson in humility for the two of us. My lesson to admit it, and her lesson to not gloat in it.
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