[twitter]There are a few ways to be impressed by your kids. You can watch them master skills you teach them, or they can blow your mind accomplishing tasks you dont have the talent for.
Just spend 30 minutes watching a kid work the controls on Minecraft and you’ll understand – at a very young age your kids can do things you can’t. And the learning curve just goes up from there.
Charlie‘s art blows my mind. Sure, he’s 5, and he produces art like a 5 yr old, but there’s something there that makes my heart smile.
His sunset piece he did as part of a program where his class was twinned with another classroom in San Jose Del Sur, Nicaragua is so subtly awesome. He got it right down to the reflection of the sun on the ocean.
We have Charlie in art classes and I love watching his muse mature. And now it’s Zacharie’s turn to artistically amaze.
He’s been taking music for 5 years in school now, and despite him not being a fan of the subject in school, he’s loving it on his own. Anytime he hears a song he likes, he’ll just randomly dance.
And now he’s writing his own music.
He came home last week and asked me to load Garageband on his iPad. Apparently they’ve been poking around the program at school. Next thing I know, he’s making his own loops, recording his own rhymes, and writing his own songs.
Here’s a loop he created, called Download:
Now, he’s only 7. I’m not seeing anything particularly chart-topping here, but, just as I am excited by the work of Charlie, I see something in Zacharie’s love of this app that makes me smile.
He’s passionate about music and dance. As Charlie is in art, Zacharie has been taking dance classes. He beams with pride as he explains how and why he writes his songs.
I stressed a lot about my boys not being in hockey.
I wondered a lot about which activities would inspire them and cultivate their soul.
All we can do, as parents, is give our kids the opportunity to explore. Present them with as many options as possible to help our kids discover their true passion.
I think we’ve found them – for now. Zacharie is all about music. Charlie is all about art. And I love seeing my kids excel in two fields I have absolutely no talent in whatsoever. 