Do Not Instill a Love of Learning in Your Children

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

13 Jul 2006 03:38 AM

Do not instill a love of learning in your child or what happened to us yesterday may happen to you!

We were driving to a hospital two hours away to see my darling mother in law who had just had surgery. But something went desperately wrong and that two hours ended up being more like four.

That something that went desperately wrong was a tornado. As we were driving in an absolute down pour of rain, we began to notice the wind picking up and the sky turning almost black in the afternoon. We struggled to keep our vehicle in our lane as did many other cars who were on the road. And then we saw it: horizontally flying bits of debris that were unmistakable signs. We were driving on what I can only describe as the "outskirts" of a tornado.

Now if you live in tornado country, you know that there's really nothing to do at that point except to start praying. You cannot predict which way a tornado will turn, and you can't really out run it (well, maybe if your car is nicer than ours--but I promise you--WE can't outrun it)! But here at this point, as we're watching debris fly across the road in front of us my husband makes the critical error: "Look kids, I think we're near a tornado," he exclaims. And then, what can only be described as an overload of information ensues.

"Will we be sucked up," asks my 7 year old. "No," we reply calmly; but I'm thinking we may well get smacked with a branch.

"What's the difference between a tornado and a hurricane?" asks my 5 year old. "A hurricane is over the ocean," my husband tells him.

"If we get sucked up, can we go to the land of Oz? That was my favorite book we read this year," declares the 7 year old.

"Dad, did you know that a hurricane has sustained winds of 140mph? Dad how fast are we going? 30mph? Is that twice as fast? Dad?"

"Dad, can a tornado touch ground in New York City?" To which my husband replies: "Kids, daddy needs to concentrate." Now to my husband this meant that there should be silence. But my kids merely redirected the conversation.

"Mom, isn't a tornado like a vacuum?"

My 5 year old replies, "Does cold weather make a vacuum or hot weather?"

"NOOOOOOOO! Silly! It's when the cold weather meets the hot weather that it makes a vacuum," my 7 year old declares. After all, she is proud that she is clearly the most knowledgable on this topic.

"Mom can we go to the library tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we need to look up how the weather works."

"Yeah, like what's the difference between a typhoon, a tsunami, a hurricane and a tornado."

"Oooooohhhh! What about earthquakes? Maybe we can make a model of an earthquake?"

"Yeah. . .hey look at that! A large tree trunk flying across the road!"

"Oh cool! Is that trajectory or does it just lift of the ground?"

"I don't know, but we can go to the library and find out."

"Oh Alex, I know how to make a funnel that's like a tornado in a bottle."

"Cool. Let's do that tomorrow too!"

"Please mom, can we," they all chimed in together.

All of this is all together dandy if you're not driving on the outskirts of a tornado. However, let this be a warning to over zealous homeschoolers everywhere: if you teach your children to be naturally inquisitive, they may become unaware of their dangerous surroundings. They may start to ponder great books, scientific phenomenon and other things while you are perilously trying to stay on the road and avoid other cars. They may start to pontificate the manner in which the large tree branch came to fly across the road rather than dodge it. They may even ask, or beg to go to the library during a tornado.

Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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LeggsRobbins_fam (361) 13 Jul 2006 07:50 AM

LOL. This is GREAT! I only hope my kids are as precocious and fascinated by the world as yours are.

Valorie Delp (49078) 13 Jul 2006 06:33 PM

If you aswer all their questions and promise to look up the rest, I don't see how they couldn't be!

Valerie Nelson (1149) 17 Jul 2006 05:37 PM

Terrific article Valorie!! It made me laugh out loud. Glad you all got away from the twister ok. That is quite a testimony to some of the advantages of homeschooling.

Valorie Delp (49078) 18 Jul 2006 04:58 AM

Hmmm. . .couldn't my kids just go win a spelling bee or something? I mean it was a TORNADO! Yes, we just took the drive again on Sunday--which was beautiful and we drove through a part where all the trees were snapped in half. Kind of scary. . .but I won't tell you what my kids said about THAT!

Sherry Holetzky (11404) 18 Jul 2006 08:08 AM

I live in tornado country, and one hit our neighbor's home -two doors down- last year (no one was hurt but there home was destroyed). My kids sound like yours, although they attend school and I "supplement" their education at home. Thankfully, we weren't IN the tornado when they were asking all the questions, and thank Heaven my 13 year old who is fascinated by weather/storms has now decided not to be a storm chases after all.

Aimee Amodio (11497) 18 Jul 2006 01:27 PM

WOW, just wow. Tornados are about the scariest thing I can imagine...!

Valorie Delp (49078) 18 Jul 2006 07:21 PM

Truth be told, my kids just know a lot of science. Some of it is because they are homeschooled--I think we've kind of made it a lifestyle; but particularly with science they know lots because my husband just knows lots and makes it really fun for them to learn. He used to tutor middle schoolers in math and science and the kids thought his class was so cool they skipped basketball games to stay in it.

mommytotwo (526) 25 Jul 2006 12:16 PM

This is great! I love how kids can take a situation such as a tornado and turn it into an exciting learning experience. My four year old still talks about the tornado that hit near our home when he was two. He remembers it vividly and still asks questions about it two years later. I love it! Great blog! -Kaye

Pam Connell (2559) 30 Apr 2008 11:30 PM

This definitely brought a laugh to my day and reminded me of my son. Although it wasn't quite as dangerous a situation, I was once driving alone on the interstate with the three kids crammed together in the backseat of a small car. The toddler threw up, which wouldn't have been so bad except that for some unknown reason the kindergartener began screaming in hysterics. I don't know if she was just grossed out or worried that Regina was really sick or what. Since we were far from an exit, I was rummaging with one hand in the diaper bag on the passenger seat trying to find a cloth diaper or towel to toss back to the kids.

At this moment my seven-year-old, who has apparently been oblivious to the fact that the child right next to him is covered in vomit and his other sister has been screaming for several minutes, chooses this moment to ask,

"But, how does a baby get INTO the mommy's tummy, anyway?"

(Note that the topic of babies growing in some mommies' tummies had not come up for several months.)

I know you are supposed to stay calm when kids ask these things so they will feel like they can come to you with their questions rather than peers, but I'm afraid my response at that moment has forever scared him off the topic!