I am a geek. I know this because I can see it in my children’s eyes when I discover any sort of academic tidbit hiding in real life and attempt to point it out to them. Sometimes they smirk or even glaze over a bit. But sometimes they’re actually interested. Just this weekend I discovered such a tidbit. It involved the names of G.I Joe figures. The nine-year-old was pouring over The Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe 1982-1994 in the car on the way to Grandma’s. “Hey Mom – the file names of the Dreadnoks are Tom Winken, Dick Blinken, and Harry Nod,” he informed me. “It says they’re from a children’s poetic nursery rhyme.” I squealed with delight.
This, indisputably, is one of the many advantages of homeschooling: the recurrence of opportunities to capitalize on something that interests children and use that interest to advance academic purposes. Customizing their education to their interests while still covering the important bases. In the car on the way to Grandma’s, I was handed the opportunity to make a meaningful connection for my child between something he enjoys (small, militant, plastic people) and something I want him to learn (high-quality children’s literature). I submit to you that without the connection to G. I. Joe figures, a poem about a child nodding off to sleep whose eyes and head are symbolized by three fishermen, would have been a considerably tougher sell to a nine-year-old boy. Now, he thinks it’s nifty.
Under my tutelage, these connections often fall within the areas of language and literature or music. My music history professor at Southern Methodist University, Dr. Carol Reynolds – a.k.a. Professor Carol – conducted (pun intended) many of my musical adventures at SMU and opened my eyes to how so much of music is connected to so much of everything else. If you’ve never encountered Eugene Field’s “Wynken, Blynken and Nod,” you can encounter it and many other artistic works in Discovering Music, and connect those works to whatever you already know and enjoy. Make connections so you can pass them on to your kids. Or just make them.
Tomorrow the nine-year-old starts memorizing “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.”
Fantastic post, Susanna! I love having those kinds of homeschool experiences with my kids as well. Dr. Reynold’s course is one of those rare curricula that leads the child on this same journey of discovery. Well written and well expressed!
Poetry Alive! is delighted to hear that this nine-year-old will be learning Wynken, Blynken and Nod. With our keen interest in poetic cultural crossovers, we love the idea that G. I. Joe is connected to this poem. Next time we go to Toys R Us, we’ll be on the lookout for poetry action figures.