I did. He did it in an art class in Taipei. I just wasn't sure if it was the 3-year-old's original idea to put three triangles on top of one another and call it a Christmas tree. Kai's most recent creation was a few crooked lines going up the paper at different angles. He told me that was fire, and I thought it was great.
I told her we registered Kai in Red Cross' Sea Otter swimming class every Saturday from January to March. "If he likes it, there are 8 levels in total (from basic to rescue), so he can just keep going." Too bad we were typing. She wasn't able to hear the lightness and joy in my voice. I'm very pleased with our decision 'cause Kai loves swimming!
"That's only Saturday morning though. What about the afternoon? I know! He can take a music class. You know kids who learn to play a musical instrument perform better academically than kids who don't, right?" she continued. "And are you gonna put him in a Chinese class? My friend's kids in the States went to Saturday Chinese class from kindergarten through high school. Oh no! Kai already has swimming Saturday mornings! What are you gonna do if the Chinese class is also on Saturday mornings?"
Hold your horses. Did I say I was going to put Kai in a Saturday Chinese class?
"Don't you want him to play soccer too? Don't kids in North America all play soccer?"
Do they?
"You know what? This is what you should do: Chinese Saturday morning. Swimming/Music Saturday afternoon. Soccer Sunday morning. Music/Swimming Sunday afternoon. There! I solved your problem for you!"
First of all, I didn't know I had a problem. Also, with this 'schedule', when does Kai play or hang out with us?
"You know, my son already goes to a music class, an art class and a gymnastic class now, but we still want him to go to an English class. He knew the alphabet and was able to count to 20 when he was only 2 years old! But I think he should learn how to write soon. Do you know most kids in Taiwan know how to read and write the alphabet and numbers before kindergarten?"
I know. Same with Kids who go to a Montessori daycare/preschool. But the problem is some of these kids quickly get bored and lose interest once they enter the regular school system in which children are expected to start learning the alphabet and numbers in kindergarten. The long term effect could be that they stop paying attention in class and may completely lose interest in learning once things start to get more challenging and they're no longer the "know-it-all"s in class.
But that's not the case in Taiwan. In Taiwan, parents feel that they have to shove things down their kids' throat in order for them to get ahead in the highly competitive academic arena. Taiwanese junior high school kids are solving problems taught in first-year university math classes in North America, yet there are no Gates or Jobs in Taiwan.
"You can't be too lenient or they'll become lazy. Kids don't know what's best for them. All they want to do is play, play, play! It's up to us the parents to provide them with the opportunities to learn and make better use of their time. Otherwise, they're just gonna play and waste the time away."
How could anyone call children's play "a waste of time"? She seemed to have forgotten it's our 3-year-old sons she was talking about, so I typed, "They're THREE!" with a smiley face to hide my anger.
"Exactly! It's better for them to start acquiring knowledge when they're young. The older they get, the more difficult it will be!"
So I'm no tiger mom. I believe kids learn best through play, either it's free play on their own or guided p,Ay with adult presence. In my observation, Kai makes up the best stories or songs whe he's playing by himself. I also believe kids... or anybody for that matter, learn best whe they enjoy learning. I know I do.
Out of curiosity, I asked Kai to draw a Chrsitmas tree last night, and this was HIS tree:
Ithink it's pretty awesome!!
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