Learning | Introduction: Learning is Fun

This blog will meander through different topics related to learning. At various times, I'll talk about parenting, or teaching, mostly in the context of having fun.  I consider myself a lifelong learner, and hope that my children will do the same.

I'm the youngest of six children (three boys, and three girls, kind of like family in the The Brady Bunch TV series, except that all six of us had the same biological parents.) Think of me as Cindy Brady, without the curls. 

Carol Brady's question, "What have we learned from this?" reminds me of answering to my own parents. It's a question I throw out to my own sons occasionally. Regardless of the reason I ask the question, they usually answer, "Not to play ball in the house!" before giving the matter any serious thought.

I was lucky enough to be raised by parents who valued education, reading, and libraries. We always had plenty of books around the house. My parents read to me, and my siblings read to me; some of them even listened patiently as I learned to read to them.

I read nearly everything I could get my hands on, particularly encyclopedias and dictionaries.  A special favorite of mine was the set of Golden Book Encyclopedias.  I could pick up any volume and find something to read.  It was fun discovering things like banyan trees, or pyramids. Our SSJCPL Kids Page has some sites that will allow curious young people to have a similar pleasure.

Alas, the Golden Book Encyclopedia is no longer in print, but I picked up a set at a Friends of the Tracy Library book sale a few years ago.  I adore these books with alliterative collages on the covers.  The "Chalk to Czechoslovakia" volume, depicted below, shows a clock, compass, cotton, chemist, and coral, among other things. How many more items can you identify in this picture?

"Golden Book Encyclopedias Vol. 4 - Chalk to Czechoslovakia - Back Cover" by Thoth, God of Knowledge, on Flickr