Pottery Class and Math

The kids have been taking pottery class and they love it, but what's really cool is that N in particular has really taken to it and made some really cool stuff. The significance of this lies in the fact that most of the activities that we take part in revolve around A. She loves to read and rides horses and takes guitar lessons (and perform) and many of their friends are in fact her age, while N seems to go along for the ride, though he has fun. A is just good at capturing the spotlight (the big stage could be next up), she's a natural, while N is more reserved.

Even still, we scramble to find and encourage his own interests. He loves baseball because he's such a jock, and we regret missing out on soccer (I know, I know, so cliche), but in the meantime, we sit back and watch and wait. A loves books and creating worlds out of materials around the house, she's every imaginative that way. N, on the other hand, doesn't read as much, though he loves being read to. Unfortunately, mom and dad don't always have the time to drop everything and read to him, though we make sure he gets exposed to a lot of books. We check out tons of them.

Anyway, a few months back, HH mentioned her kids (A&I) take pottery in town. There is a woman, KR, who teaches a class at the local gallery. We love the idea of the kids getting their hands dirty, so we signed them up, but the class was expensive. Those sort of things always are. Their friends were taking it, so we jumped on the opportunity, but weren't exactly sure what would come of it.

Well, as it turns out, they love the class, and they get to make some pretty cool stuff. AND, N seems to have found something he really digs. In fact, it could very well be an activity that we could pursue further with him, because he gets into it and makes some amazing stuff. He made a cup for mom and a bowl for dad. Keep in mind, the pic does not do justice to the quality of the work. He does a great job. The class ended last week, and we wrestled with whether or not to enroll them again because of the cost, but after seeing what they made, how could we not? It's not easy discovering what interests your kids when they're searching themselves.

Then again, now that it's Winter, we have skiing and ice skating, both of which they love (mom and dad do, too). Let's hope for snow, lots of it, and soon.

On the academic note, just wanted to mention that N has also taken a real liking to math. He can read very well for his age, and could easily zip through certain easy reader books (level 1, maybe level 2), Henry and Mudge and Biscuit books, he just isn't interested. Math, however, really gets him excited. He's such an engineer, just like his uncle and grandad. We hope he can spend more time with them and see the cool things they do to really spark his interest.

Now that he's a math machine, it also makes teaching that much easier, because he's enthused. We don't have to wrestle him to the ground to get him to practice his problems, he actually asks for them. How cool is that?

Until the next time, thanks for reading.