Our (probably 10+ year-old) baby monitor died recently, and Mike took the opportunity to give the kids an electronics lesson. They talked about hooking up LED lights, and saw where the speaker, antenna, and microphone were, but mostly they just admired the capacitors, transistors, and resistors on the circuit board.
Mike also used the remnants of a rotisserie chickens to give the kids a hands-on Biology lesson about skin, muscle, bones, and more. Here they are learning about how cartilage helps helps joints (like elbows) move.
I know Mike is really looking forward to the day when the kids are old enough to learn about computer science with Dad =)
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
Fantastic! I love Johnny’s cardigan, Sunnyboy had a green one like it when he was a baby. :)
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this looks fun and what fun to learn with Dad
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What? They haven’t mastered applied physics or neurosurgery yet? Mike must be slacking! ;-)
I love how he uses these opportunities to teach the kiddos. That is so cool!
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This is SO like my husband! He took him to a swap this morning and came home with a used laptop for him! 27 months and his own laptop.
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I love how Emma and Johnny are holding their elbows while watching the chicken. Wow! That’s some fantastic learning in action.
Now I’m very curious what our baby monitor looks like on the inside… Reminds me of the experimental circuit board I had in the 5th grade.
I remember programming BASIC for a high school class. That would certainly provide computer science entertainment for littlies (getting the screen to blink different colours and words, make noises – maybe not so much recreating form 1040EZ).
Ah science… :) Beautiful in all its many forms.
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We love circuits around here, too!
Yay for science! Brendan is really looking forward to being able to do chemistry things with Ingrid. The chicken thing kind of grosses me out though, I have to say! I pretend meat doesn’t actually come from an animal, so to think what I’m eating has body parts…yuck :)
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It’s awesome that your husband takes time to show this hands-on science to them. It’s a lot more interesting than just batteries. Emma and Johnny look very interested in poor chicken – just like Anna :)
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Awriiiight, MaryAnne! Science is so this-season! Your amazing husband – rotisserie chicken and science! So clever. We did one of those vinegar and baking soda playdoh volcanos last week and the kids were so amazed. They asked, “Is it magic?” and I, party pooper that I am, said, “It’s just science, honey!” But science IS magic, especially if done with rotisserie chicken and circuit boards. What a fun childhood your kids have!
P.S. My husband is an open source/Linux guy, so I’m afraid the user interface is not very fun for kids. Pity.
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That is so neat! What an awesome dad. I know I loved science as a kid and hands on only makes it so much more interesting!
That’s wonderful! I guess you don’t have any cats, because if we put a chicken on the floor, we’d have some pretty happy cats! LOL!
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I’m afraid neither of us have the aptitude to take electronics apart, but it would be interesting to try the Chicken experiment. I love it when Peter’s around to help with some of my kids learning.
Oh how FUN! I’m science theory mom, and Lucas is mechanics Dad. He’s taken the girls on a tour of the underside of our car before, and they LOVE to hand him tools. They get upset at getting dirty, though.
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We’ve done the chicken one, and that was wildly popular, but we haven’t taken apart any electronic gadgets yet. That sounds like fun.
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