the wall beside the bed

Do not underestimate the power of the wall beside your child’s bed.

the space above the bed

I didn’t really think much about it last summer, when I thumb-tacked that map of the world above Mr. T’s bed. He’d been interested in maps lately, and this one was colorful, with cute pictures of animals. I thought he’d like it.

cool map

I had no idea that such a small act would eventually prove my fathomless ignorance.

At first he was simply fascinated by certain places on the map. Mongolia. Sri Lanka. Greenland.

But soon he began to talk about places I’d never heard of.

Him: “Did you know that Norway is one of the highest countries in the world? Because of Spitsbergen.”

Spitsbergen?

Turns out it’s a Norwegian island in the Arctic Circle.

have you ever heard of spitzbergen?

And, “Can you find Myanmar on the globe?”

Myanmar? I’ve never heard of Myanmar.

“It’s Burma, Mama.”

Oh.

We didn’t realize how much he’d been studying the map until one afternoon when Mr. T was spinning our globe at the kitchen table. Chris started naming countries for him to find.

it's right here

“Argentina.”

“D-a-d-d-y! That’s too easy!”

“Laos.” He found it.

“Tajikistan.” Got it.

“Oman.” No problem.

I think Chris finally stumped him with Eritrea.

I’m just glad he hadn’t asked me to play. Although I could have found Argentina.

Another day my parents were over for dinner, and my dad started telling about a radio story he’d heard about Bangladesh. The story, he said, claimed that Bangladesh’s population was almost 160 million–in an area the size of Iowa.

Chris, a numbers guy, thought that sounded funny. “That can’t be right. That’s half the population of the United States.”

“It is right,” piped up Mr. T, and he ran out of the kitchen. Soon he was back, with a notebook and a pencil in his hand. He’d written out the number 133376684. “This how many people are in Bangladesh. It says so on my map.”

the data the kid studies for fun

Which proves, you realize, that the kid has lain in bed looking at his map and contemplating the population of Bangladesh. (His map, with data from 2002, is already a bit outdated.)

I showed him some online geography games here. He played the alien game, in which the names of countries flash on the screen, and you click on the appropriate country on a very small map, so the alien knows where to go. T knew the locations of Greece, Saudi Arabia, Chad.  Click, click, click. Lulu and I watched behind him, and when he clicked on Chad, we looked at each other sheepishly, knowing that if we played, our aliens would be lost and teleporting back home in no time.

He never asked to go back to that geography site again. Too easy.

He loves to play Scrambled States of America–but I’ve learned that my typical game-playing tact of “going easy on him” is not in my best interest here.  He knows where all the states are, and he knows the capitals (sheesh!) My chances are better with Passport to Culture because the game includes questions about culture, instead of just geography. And I beat him at Take Off! the other day–only because we were playing the basic version, in which luck factors more than geographical knowledge. If we played “The Challenge Game,” I’d be a goner.

playing take off!

The corner of Mr. T’s map are bedraggled because he lies on his bed looking at it, while walking his feet up the wall. The map is constantly loosening from its tacks, and left dangling from one corner. I told T I’d like to find another copy of it, and have it mounted so it would be sturdier.

“No! I like this one!”

Clearly he does. But some day, if he tires of it, I’ll put some thought into what goes in its place, knowing what may follow. A Table of the Elements might be a good choice for the spot. Or a diagram of the complete animal kingdom. Or how about an elaborate timeline of the world, from pre-history to modern times?

Yeah, that would be good.

14 comments… add one
  • Just Peaches Apr 29, 2010 @ 13:40

    That is really fantastic! You never know what those little sponges will absorb.

    • patricia May 3, 2010 @ 22:21

      I’m just getting back to comments after our homeschool camping trip…

      You’re right about them being little sponges. It’s only a problem when they absorb stuff you wish they hadn’t. Like when Mr. T started saying “what the heck?” when he was three.

  • susan May 2, 2010 @ 10:00

    I love it. I always make sure I have interesting things on the wall beside the toilet…but hey, they spend even more time in bed. I’m going to get right on using that space. It is amazing to think that Mr. T was contemplating the population of Bangladesh.

    • patricia May 3, 2010 @ 22:26

      The wall beside the toilet. Hadn’t thought of that…

      I don’t think he’d memorized the actual population of Bangladesh. But I think he had noticed that it was in the top ten most populous countries, so he was ready to defend his Gramps. I think I could have guessed the top three countries, but beyond that, forget it.

  • molly May 3, 2010 @ 15:56

    wow – that’s awesome! i remember reading something years ago in a homeschooling book about a mom putting a poster of an upcoming unit/lesson on the wall of her children’s bedroom – such as a times table poster before introducing multiplication. i did it with avery, then put an addition poster up on the wall when aidan was pre-k. i don’t know how much time they spent looking at it though. i think i’m going to put a world map on aidan’s wall. it’s not getting much traffic up in the playhouse 🙂

    • patricia May 3, 2010 @ 22:33

      I think if I put posters of upcoming units on T’s wall–as if I’d know what our “upcoming units” would be ;-)–he’d sniff me out in no time. My kids have amazing sensors for resisting what they think I want them to learn.

      I think T is just a map-loving kid, which is why I put the map up there in the first place. H had a US map on his wall, but he didn’t take to it the way T has.

      You just never know what will grab them, do you?

  • Kristin May 4, 2010 @ 7:50

    T is a geographic boy genius. I like how you pay attention to his interests and plant objects related to them non-nonchalantly–and he gravitates to them naturally. That creative way to facilitate learning works in my house too, with any age.

    • patricia May 4, 2010 @ 8:32

      There’s a John Taylor Gatto quote: “…genius is as common as dirt.” I believe that. And I know you do too!

  • Kristin May 4, 2010 @ 14:19

    Oh no I don’t.

  • Kristin May 4, 2010 @ 14:19

    Tee Hee…

  • Carrie Pomeroy May 4, 2010 @ 20:15

    This was very inspiring. Thank you!

  • Angela May 5, 2010 @ 21:35

    I love seeing the things that peak their interest … and that it’s not always the thing that I think will be of interest or in the way that I expect it. So cool to think of him lying in bed just taking it all in and making connections. Good stuff.

    • patricia May 5, 2010 @ 22:39

      Seeing what makes them light up–and often being surprised by it–is my very favorite part of homeschooling.

Leave a Reply to patriciaCancel reply

Your email address will not be published.